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Community Information

Name

Denison, Iowa - Crawford County

Location

906 6th St. Harlan, IA 51537

Outcome

Teen

Geographical Type

Rural/small town

Organizations

5

Market Statement

Program Implementation

Following the Salir Adelante: Pathways for Our Future sessions that concluded in November 2023, 12 youth (cohort 1) began participation in the 4-H Career Pathways Academy (CPA). The six 4-H CPA sessions were held monthly (Jan-June, 2024) and youth explored careers in technology, health care, finance/banking, and agriculture, as well as entrepreneurship through hands-on learning experiences facilitated by extension educators and local professionals at local businesses, a bank, a community college and other organizations. Youth strengthened their communication skills through practicing skills needed for customer service occupations. Youth learned how to prepare a resume and participated in mock interviews conducted by local professionals. Youth completed a career assessment using an iPad and then explored information about their interests via an iPad. Youth also explored career interest through job shadowing experiences with a dental office, police officer, and certified nurse assistant. Eight youth strengthened their leadership skills and were further engaged in 4-H through participating in the 4-H Connect Retreat. Two parents volunteered to be chaperones for the retreat. During Fall 2024, 15 youth and 24 parents (cohort 2) participated in the Salir Adelante family workshop series that were facilitated by two volunteers, the CYFAR project Youth and Family Coordinator, and an Extension Health and Human Sciences Educator. During the workshops, one item youth learned about was the importance of a high GPA and how to calculate their GPA using their cell phones. Denison middle school provided meals for each workshop, and a school staff member helped to recruit families into the project. Two family events were planned in which 30 youth and parents learned about Iowa agriculture during a field trip with an extension agricultural specialist, and during a tour of a local technology company, BlueSpace Creative, led by the owner, followed by youth and parents participating in a STEM activity. Eleven youth explored options for career training through visiting with staff at the Iowa Western Community College campus. Youth shared, "I didn't know about this opportunity we had in our community. I will definitely have this option as one of my plans in the future,” and asked “Can I start taking classes for my desired program before I graduate?” The local extension council provided $5,742 in wages of another staff to assist with project activities and $570 for food during project activities. The local Rotary Club contributed $1,500 to support project activities.

Community Integration

Six members of the community advisory committee meet quarterly to provide input to guide program activities and partnership development. Western Tech Community College staff (two who serve on the advisory committee) provided a campus tour for youth in the project and assisted them in learning about career options via their training programs. Denison middle school provided meals for the Salir Adelante family workshop series in which five sessions were held at the school. The sixth session was held at the extension office to help families become aware of the location of the office. Two parents of youth enrolled in the project volunteered as chaperones for the 4-H Connect Retreat. Two volunteers and two extension staff facilitated Salir Adelante, and the school staff helped to recruit families. Advisory team members, an extension council member, and local partners (school principal, police and sheriff staff, community college staff) participated in the CYFAR site visit to share their role in the project and information about the community that provides context for the project.

Technology Integration

Youth used iPads to complete an assessment on career interests and then explored webpages to learn more about their interests. Youth and parents completed pre- and post-surveys via a QR code using their cell phones or an iPad. Monthly virtual meetings were held with project staff (campus, local sites). Youth used cell phones to calculate their GPAs as part of a project activity.

Sustaining

Partnerships continue to be developed with organizations who have mutual interests (e.g., school, community college, local businesses) and complementary goals to this project. Volunteers are trained and co-facilitate ¡Salir Adelante! with extension staff. Local businesses and organizations provide expertise and space to implement the 4-H Career Pathways Academy sessions. Local school provide staff time, meals, and space to implement ¡Salir Adelante!. A local service organization (i.e., Rotary Club) provided funding to support project activities. Extension councils provide funds to support project materials, secretarial support, and contribute .50FTE to increase the CYFAR Youth and Family Coordinator position to full-time. This additional time is devoted to linking families to additional programming (e.g., parenting, nutrition). At the end of the project period, the extension council plans to build in a minimum of .50FTE to support the educator position. The Vice President for ISU Extension and Outreach and other extension staff increased their understanding of and impacts of the project via a CYFAR site visit.

Form A - Age Group by Ethnicity and Race

	Pre-K	K-6	Youth (Grades 7-12)	Parents
Total Participants	0	0	28	41
Ethnicity
Hispanic or Latino	0	0	28	41
Not Hispanic or Latino	0	0	0	0
Race
White	0	0	10	0
Black or African-American	0	0	0	0
American Indian or Alaska Native	0	0	0	0
Asian	0	0	0	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: 72.10%

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	0.50	0.50	0.00	11.00
Ethnicity
Hispanic or Latino	1.00	1.00	0.00	7.00
Not Hispanic or Latino	0.00	3.00	0.00	4.00
Race
White	1.00	4.00	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: 142.00

Approximate hours contributed by Youth Volunteers:0.00

Form D - Computers and Technology

Computers at all sites funded through sources other than CYFAR: 12

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: 0

Total Number of Children K - 6: 0

Total Number of Youth Grades 7 - 12: 0

Total Number of Youth Volunteers 0

Total Number of Adult Volunteers 0