Print This

Preview

Community Information

Name

Nia: Rock County

Location

Rock

Outcome

School-age

Geographical Type

Town/City

Organizations

4

Market Statement

Program Implementation

Educational experiences included afterschool meetups in community spaces, invited community panelists, onsite career exploration, cultural/community events, local field trips, statewide Nia field trips. Program was delivered through a combination of monthly 4-H Club meetings and quarterly community experiences. Youth meetups and trips were implemented around four main sections: Nia goals, Our Nia Community, Our Rock County Community, Starting our Pathway. Pre and post content was shared through our Snapchat group. Content was selected by youth and included both Personal Growth priorities youth set for themselves (e.g. goal setting, time management) alongside postsecondary pathways information they needed to learn more about (e.g. how to pursue a business degree). This year we also intentionally invited parents to several activities when possible.

Community Integration

Nia programming in Rock County is built from a community asset lens to define and implement programming. Our local assets are always key intersections of many communities important in Nia (i.e. geographical, professional, cultural, youth programs). Moreover, when possible we build community between youth across WI counties. Illustrative examples include: Opportunities to connect with community professionals who look like the youth participating in Nia. This is done in a variety of ways. First, a professional connection is identified by youth choosing career paths that interest them. Second, a personal connection is integrated either through the community professional sharing their postsecondary story or the community professional sharing personal growth examples (i.e. stress management or organizational skills). Community professionals this past year include mental health professionals, human services workers from county government, and small business/nonprofit owners. This year we were able to engage parents of Nia youth as several presenters. Network of postsecondary pathways professionals. Throughout Nia planning and activities, higher education representatives and students are invited to plan and participate in some or all of the activities. When possible, we also scheduled workshops or cultural activities on a campus such as the Blackhawk Tech Soul Food luncheon or the Business in a Day workshop on the UW-Whitewater campus. Elevation of culture/cultural groups. A series of Nia content was built around the idea of Kwanzaa in our Community-the title of a YWCA community program in December 0f 2024. Cultural and community history continued to show up in both in school meet ups (e.g. food during Black History Month through read alouds and a STEM activity featuring the wealth of Mansa Munsa through salt) or community exploration (e.g. Milton House-certified Underground Railroad site). We emphasized career opportunity through community events such as attending a ballet and a Black Business Expo.

Technology Integration

Technology supports the program in a variety of ways. Virtual meetings on Zoom provide the opportunity to connect easily across all participating groups. Texting with staff is an effective means to plan and follow up after meetings with youth. Youth selected the creation of a Snapchat group for note taking during our experiences. We also use this strategy regularly to preview upcoming content or experiences, reflection questions, gather feedback, vote on opportunities and share follow up resources to encourage learning more. Use of this group channel also means that youth don’t have to attend all activities to learn from them or learn what other participating youth valued from the experience.

Sustaining

The 4-H focus on postsecondary pathways provides the framework for Rock County 4-H programming to apply lessons learned about in school 4-H clubs and intentional engagement related to critical pathways content. This means not only supporting youth to identify their goals and options but also redefining that success here is not only about steps forward but better understanding how who they are matters/benefits from those steps. Community partners increasingly understand youth interests/needs and Extension youth development programming is learning how to frame its offerings in a way that meet partner needs using community assets relevant to the youth we hope to support.

Form A - Age Group by Ethnicity and Race

	Pre-K	K-6	Youth (Grades 7-12)	Parents
Total Participants	0	0	28	0
Ethnicity
Hispanic or Latino	0	0	12	0
Not Hispanic or Latino	0	0	16	0
Race
White	0	0	7	0
Black or African-American	0	0	9	0
American Indian or Alaska Native	0	0	3	0
Asian	0	0	2	0
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander	0	0	0	0
Persons indicating more than one race	0	0	0	0

Form B - Poverty Risk Factor

Total Number of Children Pre K: 0

Percent in Poverty: 0.00%

Total Number of Children K - 6: 0

Percent in Poverty: 0.00%

Total Number Youth Grade 7 - 12: 28

Percent in Poverty: 61.80%

Form C - Staff and Volunteers by Ethnicity/Race

	Extension Staff (FTE's)	Other Paid CYFAR Project Staff (FTE's)	Youth Volunteers	Adult Volunteers
Total Participants	2.00	0.00	0.00	0.00
Ethnicity
Hispanic or Latino	1.00	0.00	0.00	0.00
Not Hispanic or Latino	1.00	0.00	0.00	0.00
Race
White	2.00	0.00	0.00	0.00
Black or African-American	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00
American Indian or Alaska Native	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00
Asian	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00
Persons indicating more than one race	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00

Approximate hours contributed by Adult Volunteers: 0.00

Approximate hours contributed by Youth Volunteers:0.00

Form D - Computers and Technology

Computers at all sites funded through sources other than CYFAR: 0

Form E - Youth Delivery Methods and Program Contents

Form F - Adult Delivery Methods and Program Contents

Form G - 4-H Clubs

Total Number of Clubs: 1

Total Number of Children K - 6: 0

Total Number of Youth Grades 7 - 12: 28

Total Number of Youth Volunteers 0

Total Number of Adult Volunteers 0