MIDDLE SCHOOLS-LEAP

Leading to Empowerment and Prevention (LEAP) provides a positive classroom experience for seventh and eighth grade students. This semester-long program ignites leadership and peer relationship skills, and the engaging activities break down barriers. Students start to see themselves as active, responsible and positive individuals, which greatly improves the middle school culture. At the end of a semester of LEAP, students lead their peers in a teambuilding Challenge Day. For the past three years, LEAP! ran as an after school program in the Mountain View-Whisman School District. In 2007, LEAP! began to run as an elective during the school day at Columbia Middle School in Sunnyvale, CA. The Columbia LEAP! program serves as a pilot for expansion to other area middle schools.

CLC forged a partnership with Columbia Middle School in Sunnyvale to provide the LEAP! program to their at-risk youth as a school-day elective, rather than as a voluntary after school program. This unprecedented partnership allows us to teach team building and community skills to a consistent group of pre-teens, at a developmental time in which their decision-making skill remain highly moldable. School staff members select students to receive specialized leadership training, and gain experiences in trust, teamwork, conflict resolution and goal-setting. 

Purpose

• create a close-knit and trusting community of students and adults

• give our students positive ways for coping with real-life challenges

• develop the self-esteem, confidence, leadership skills, and trust of our participants toward their peers and adults

Timeline
In the first three months, a day of experiential classroom instruction includes the following sequence:

• Check-in: each participant answers the question of the day and shares the best and worst parts of their week.

• Energizer: class participates in a short activity to engage their bodies and minds.

• Problem-solving: class splits into teams to work on a problem-solving initiative that emphasizes the daily objective (i.e. taking responsibility, building trust, moving out of comfort zones).

• Debrief: staff facilitates a group discussion on the tools needed for success in the activity. Class develops practical applications to help them apply the skills learned to their daily life.

In the last month of training for the Challenge Day a typical day includes:

• Check-in: each participant answers the question of the day and shares the best and worst parts of their week.

• Energizer: class participates in a short activity to engage their bodies and minds.

• Practicum: Class splits into peer leadership teams to practice leading the teambuilding sequence.

• Staff members train students to debrief the activities

• CLC staff offer feedback in effective activity delivery and debrief strategy

On Challenge Day, the student-led experience follows the following model:

• LEAP students break into several leadership teams

• LEAP students lead an icebreaker with their assigned peer group

• LEAP students lead the Trust Sequence for their group

• LEAP students lead a set of problem-solving initiatives for their group

• LEAP students lead a final debrief for their group

• (CLC and other support staff provide equipment, and offer support)

As a finale, the LEAP students participate in a high ropes course at the Sunnyvale Baylands Park.

LEAP PROGRAM FACTS

Program cost per year: $63,117
Number of students served per year: 50
(26 students for 1st semester, 24 students for 2nd semester)
Number of sessions per year: 90

Cost per student: $1262.34
Cost per session per student: $28.00 (Average of 45 sessions per semester)
Cost per session: $701.30

What we know about preteens in Santa Clara and San Mateo County
The preteen years (ages 9 to 13) represent a developmental stage of profound cognitive, physical, and emotional change for children. Their bodies transform as they go through puberty; peer pressure intensifies; their interests shift as they move from the familiarity of elementary school to the complexity of middle school; their independence increases, and their analytic skills improve. During this transition, positive decisions and associations can lead to success, but developmental changes and a greater amount of unsupervised time can create opportunities to engage in risky behavior.

Research shows that the attitudes, behaviors, and habits developed during the preteen years will shape these children as adults, even more so than will the behaviors they engage in during their teen years (Lipsey and Derzon 1998; Thornberry, Huizinga, Loeber 1999; National Research Council and Institute of Medicine 1999).

Children who navigate these preteen years by taking on positive roles, affiliating with positive peers, and learning to deal effectively with problems are more likely to thrive as adults; however, those who get involved in unsafe activities, such as drug use or crime, are more likely to continue risky behavior as adults (National Research Council and Institute of Medicine 1999).

"Students learn more about themselves and others in a single day, than
is possible in other venues."

-Adrienne Moberly, Fremont HS