YMCA's program thrives with new focus: middle schoolers

LAKEWOOD RANCH — After school hours, Amber Nordland, a Haile Middle School student seated at a table in classroom, giggles because a vocabulary word sounds funny.

Kevin Weger, a Southeast High School senior and tutor for the day, chuckles, too, before explaining what the word means in context.

“There are limits to what a student can learn from a teacher,” said Amanda Rojas, the Haile teacher overseeing this tutoring session, which is a component of the Manatee County YMCA’s before-and-after school program. “A high school student can connect with a middle school student in a way that I can’t.”

At the beginning of the school year, the Manatee County YMCA redesigned its before-and-after school youth development program and gave it a new name, Y DASH; the program now targets middle school students.

Held at participating East County middle schools — Braden River, Haile and Nolan — and staffed by YMCA employees, the program offers a diverse set of activities within school doors.

Rhiannon Blaney, Y DASH’s first full-time director, designs a unique curriculum for each school, based on its needs.

Haile Middle School is the only school benefiting from the high school tutoring program.

Last school year, students enrolled in Southeast High School’s International Baccalaureate (IB) program began visiting Haile after school on Tuesdays and Thursdays to provide free tutoring to the middle school students.

For Southeast students, the tutoring qualifies as an action and service project required in the IB program.
For the middle schoolers, the experience provides direction.

“Middle school teenagers are in this an awkward, in-between age, with peer pressures and discretionary time that can lead to bad decisions,” said Jim Purdy, the director of operations for Manatee County YMCA’s four branches. “There’s always been this unequal focus on elementary school students. But a teenager can also discover early on that they can make a difference.”

Empowered by a $299,795 grant from the Children Services Advisory Board, an arm of Manatee County Government, the YMCA refocused a previous version of the before-and-after school program into Y Dash.

The YMCA is one of nine agencies to receive funding for child-related programming this year.
But because Y DASH is site-based, meaning YMCA employees travel to schools to administer the program, the nonprofit minimizes overhead costs.

Y DASH enrolls students for a price of $66 per quarter (down from $110). Enrollment has jumped to 650 students.

On any day during the week at participating middle schools, one can find the four pillars of youth development for which Y DASH is named — developmental assets, academic achievement, social responsibility and healthy living — put into action.

All students also must complete monthly service projects in low-income communities and learn about the dangers of alcohol and drug abuse, sexual activity, poor nutrition and, of course, fitness.

At Braden River Middle School, students participate in a book club. They recently read “the Maze Runner,” and, to pique interest, Blaney thought it best to show the movie version of the story first.

When they’re not focused on the story, the Braden River students take a baby-sitting course and learn CPR.

Students at each of the schools stay active and even learn Zumba from a certified instructor employed by the YMCA.

“You still have to separate school from after school,” Purdy said. “Y DASH can’t be an extension of school. To get students focused, it’s not unlike how it works for adults. Any activity, physical or academic, has to be fun.”

Blaney sends quarterly outcome reports to the county to ensure compliance with the terms of the grant.
The funding supports a staff of 14 site directors and 44 group leaders — many whom also work at the schools.

“We have a very transparent, collaborative working relationship with all parties involved with this — nonprofits, the schools and the county,” Purdy said. “We all bring our experience together to enrich the lives of kids.”

Contact Josh Siegel at [email protected].