In February, Mayor Karl Dean convened a Task Force to develop a Child and Youth Master Plan for Nashville and Davidson County. After six months of work, the task force completed Nashville’s first-ever Children and Youth Master Plan.
The plan charged the community to address 14 distinct areas of concern. Included in the plan are the following findings:
• 1/3 of MNPS students responding to a 2007 school culture/climate survey reported not having an adult they could talk to about their problems.
• Community survey respondents ranked ensuring academic achievement and providing a safe and caring school environment as the two most pressing issues that the community needs to work on (CYMP Community Survey, 2010).
• Almost half of school-age children suffer from depression, anxiety or aggression after becoming homeless (The Institute for Children and Poverty)
• Children and youth in Davidson County between the ages of 6-13 report involvement in bullying in some way at significantly higher rates than their peers nationally (Olweus Survey, 2005-2008).
• 1 in every 8 people in Davidson County is unable to read (Community Needs Assessment for Adult Literacy, 2010)
Monroe Harding is addressing these concerns through the Project SHARE program. Project SHARE matches adult volunteers with young people in the elementary schools. Over 500 elementary students need a positive adult in their lives. More volunteers are needed. A commitment of just one hour per week can dramatically change the outcome of a life.
Training will be provided. Contact the Project SHARE Coordinator, Laquita Harrison for more information at (615) 665-1409 or laquitaharrison@tnyouthconnections.net.
Options for volunteering include:
Project SHARE One on One Mentoring: Project SHARE volunteers teach at-risk elementary students skills necessary to engage appropriately and succeed in the classroom. These mentors spend one hour a week working individually with elementary students during the school day, throughout the semester or school year. Activities include reading, helping with class work, playing games or just talking.
Project SHARE English Language Learners Assistants: Spanish speaking volunteers are needed to spend classroom time with elementary students struggling to learn the English language. Teachers present curriculum in English, the volunteers are on-site to assist with class work in both English and Spanish to help ease the learning experience. Other languages welcome as well.
Safe at Last Education (SAL): Volunteers spend approximately ½ hour in each classroom presenting the Safe At Last curriculum to the entire class. Children utilize SAL skills to recognize unsafe situations such as abuse and inappropriate sexual behaviors. The volunteers teach children how to differentiate between good and bad touches, identify safe people, along with assertiveness and problem solving if they are in an unsafe situations.
Bullying Prevention Classroom Participation: Students in metro schools are taught the school-wide anti-bullying philosophy. Mentors help encourage the students to recognize bullying, to respond to it and how to avoid being a bully.
