ACROSS AGES
PROGRAM OVERVIEW:The Across Ages mentoring program builds relationships between older adult volunteers and at-risk children age nine to twelve. Program goals include promoting the healthy growth and development of vulnerable youth, and preventing, reducing or delaying their involvement in substance use/abuse and other risky behavior(s). There are four components to the Across Ages Model Program (originally developed at Temple University): 1) intensive intergenerational mentoring; 2) social skills (problem solving) curriculum; 3) community service; and 4) monthly family activities.
Program Outcomes:Desired outcomes for Across Ages youth are: (1) Significant improvement in knowledge about and reaction to drug abuse, (2) significant decrease in substance abuse, (3) significant improvement in attitudes toward school and the future, (4) significant improvement in attitudes towards adults in general and older adults in particular, (5) improvement in self esteem and well-being, (6) enhance the problem solving and decision making skills of targeted students, and (7) strengthen relationships with adults and peers.
PARTICIPANTS: In 2006/07, Interages hosted Across Ages at three sites: Highland Elementary School, Weller Road Elementary School, and the Silver Spring Boys and Girls Club. A total of 52 children and 26 adult mentors participated in this after school program, and 32 children completed the entire year.
In addition, a summer program was held during July 2006 at Highland ES and Weller Rd ES. A total of 10 children participated in the summer program with 10 senior mentors.
ACTIVITIES:
Social Problem Solving Module (SPSM) (Weissberg: 1990): The children participated in 27 weekly lessons focusing on developing effective problem solving skills. The SPSM lessons cover the following topics: Introduction to problem solving, Coping with stress, Acknowledging feelings, Setting goals, Solutions, Consequences, Making a plan, and Mastering problem solving.
Family Activities: Each month the children, their families, and mentors are invited on a family day trip. Family Day trips provide a time and place for mentors, children, and their families to spend time together. The following is a partial list of trips taken this year: the Maryland Science Center, the National Smithsonian Museum of the American Indian, the US Naval Academy in Annapolis and ferry boat ride on Chesapeake Bay, the Decatur House, and Mount Vernon.
Community Service: The children participated in ongoing community service projects at
Arcola Health Services (nursing home) and Brookside Gardens Nature Center. They also
participated in various off-site community service projects that benefitted the National Institute of
Health’s Children’s Inn and the Greentree Shelter for homeless families.
MAJOR ACCOMPLISHMENTS:
The top three accomplishments for the year were:
• recruiting 11 new volunteers and sustaining 15 returning volunteers. Recruiting volunteers is a challenge every year, and this year we recruited more volunteers than in any prior program year.
• increasing parent involvement. Parent participation at Highland Elementary School, in particular, was impressive. Across sites, the majority of parents at all locations participated in at least one family outing this year, a significant improvement over prior years.
• having three sites, each with a two-day per week meeting format, which involved additional staffing to cover duplicate sessions on Thursdays each week. We elected to consistently provide twice weekly sessions for the students based on feedback and evaluation outcomes from the 2005/06 program year, which demonstrated that the students gained more from the curriculum, and developed stronger relationships with their mentors and each other in the twice weekly format.
MAJOR CHALLENGES: Parent involvement and participant recruitment at SSBGC were the two most significant and ongoing challenges throughout the program year. Although we were successful in increasing our numbers of participants at SSBGC, attendance and parent involvement remained a challenge throughout the year.
EVALUATION METHODOLOGY: The Across Ages program is reviewed by a professional evaluator, Marge Rosensweig. Marge has evaluated the program for past 4 years. She manages the evaluation process, which includes: choosing and fine tuning the evaluation materials, evaluating the pre/post surveys, parent and volunteer customer service surveys, and developing our annual program evaluation report.
Quantitative data focusing on outcomes were collected through administration of pre- and post-program Across Ages surveys, as well as a Youth Survey developed by Public/Private Ventures that attempts to measure the quality of mentor-mentee relationships.
Qualitative data were collected through a Parent Satisfaction Survey and a Mentor Satisfaction Survey distributed at the end of the year.
SUMMARY OF EVALUATION: Quantitative data indicated modest improvement in all constructs examined, including attitudes towards school, future, and elders; attitudes towards/knowledge about older people; sense of self; sense of well-being; problem-solving efficacy; and frequency of substance abuse in the past 30 days. Adult mentors, children, and parents of participating children all reported a high degree of satisfaction with the mentoring relationships and with the program overall.
Among the final evaluation findings, Ms. Rosensweig summarizes that “judging from the quantitative and qualitative data compiled, it is clear that Across Ages met most, if not all, of its process objectives…Many researchers and practitioners assert a presumed program effect if a Model Program targets an appropriate audience and is implemented with high fidelity. If that is the case, then Across Ages/Interages is effective as it meets those criteria and achieves the same outcomes found by program developers. Outcome data are collected, nonetheless, and though results are modest, data support that notion and comport with developers’ findings.”