CYFAR Suite

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Market Statement

This project aims to eliminate the gap in post-high school pathways exploration for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) youth. The program design prioritizes mentored learning that guides youth through developmentally appropriate decision processes and goal-oriented activity, and access to critical information to help assist them in reaching their goals. This program intended for 13-18-year-olds will build social awareness as they interact with individuals who represent pathways youth are exploring and learn about their experiences. Youth will visit campuses and work settings, participate in project-based and experiential learning opportunities related to specific career pathways including agriculture, STEM, and social sciences. Youth will be involved in co-constructing program activities around the topic areas of identity development, social-emotional learning, and pathways exploration. This project will aim to help youth develop the ability to critically evaluate their personal interests, skills, goals, resources, opportunities, and challenges in the context of different post-high school pathways.

Program Implementation

Nia: Pathways and Purpose for the Future is a multi-state program that has active sites in several communities in each state. Programming activities in all sites involve small group and individual mentor/mentee activities designed to support social-emotional learning and post-high school pathways exploration. All program sites incorporate adult or young adult members of the community in modeling college and career choices through guest lectures, site visits, and/or on site mentoring. Sites also feature a variety of hands-on activities reflective of and driven by student interest, academic and study skill support, and opportunities for field trips to campus (ie. Nia Day at North Carolina A&T; Science Expeditions at UW Madison) and cultural events. We also sustained a cross-state partnership with our Waukesha, WI Nia site where the NC interns have served as post-high school pathways “ambassadors” to students at Waukesha North High School during planned virtual events. Core to the North Carolina implementation is the implementation of an internship model for School of Social Work students to deliver Nia programs. During 2024, the North Carolina Nia state team continued programming in two sites (Jamestown, NC/Guilford County and Wilson, NC/Wilson County) using our intern-based model. We also successfully completed our first year of programming in our third county (Robersonville, NC and Williamston, NC/Martin County) where we had experienced difficulty establishing a presence due to vacancies in key positions in the local Cooperative Extension office and county administration. Likewise, the Wisconsin state team continued programming in two sites (Rock County & Waukesha County), and was able to rehire in Kenosha County, after sustained staff vacancies.

Community Integration

Each of the sites across states feature significant partnerships with local schools or community centers to deliver Nia programs. In Wisconsin, Waukesha County 4-H Youth Development Educators partner with the local school district to host programming at Waukesha North H.S., and complementary programs in the middle schools. In Rock County, the Janesville School District supports program implementation through partnerships with each of the three local middle schools. The new Extension Educator in Kenosha County has made several connections with the local school district and community partners to co-host events and to determine potential programming partnership opportunities. In Wilson County North Carolina, White Oak Academic Enrichment Center is the primary community partner with whom we collaborate to deliver Nia. In addition, the local 4-H/Extension Office began a partnership with Foundation YMCA in Wilson, NC. In this partnership, youth participating in the YMCA’s Y-GIG program aimed at middle school students, had the option to select Nia as a “gig” where they were bused from the YMCA in downtown Wilson to White Oak in the outer rural area of the county for weekly sessions. In Martin County, after unsuccessfully partnering directly with schools in prior years, we established a flourishing partnership with Koinonia Community Solutions (KCS), an agency which was already doing youth work in the region. We held three events in 2024 in partnership with KCS. Jamestown Middle School (JMS) continues to be our community partner in Guilford County.

Technology Integration

We continue to utilize technology both for administrative purposes and for implementation of the Nia Project. We use the Zoom platform extensively for intra-state and cross-state administrative meetings between Wisconsin and North Carolina as well as to conduct our Nia NC/Waukesha, WI programming. As described in previous reports, we continue to incorporate interactive web-based surveys, videos, quizzes, and games both to collect/share data and to deliver content. Examples include qualtrics, padlet, kahoot, google forms/docs, Tiktok, and Youtube. Youth participants have access to computers at each site. North Carolina is still planning to purchase dedicated computers for Nia use with a desired 2:1 student to equipment ratio.

Sustaining

The intern model at the core of North Carolina’s Nia work is in the third year of implementation in two sites and we are in the process of recruiting a fourth cohort of interns for the 2025-26 academic year. This team of interns now includes five Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) interns from the grantee university, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, and five Master of Social Work (MSW) interns from three universities. We have also hired one former intern part-time for program support and capacity building activities. In Wisconsin, we have begun to explore ways to expand the internship program to WI institutions of higher learning (i.e. UW Rock County; UW-Milwaukee). The lead PIs for the North Carolina Team have also documented and shared/disseminated successful aspects of the NIA program. One co-director, Dr. Alexander, in collaboration with several interns, submitted two proposals to present the Nia model at the 2025 National Youth Advocacy and Resilience Conference, both of which were accepted. Likewise, proposals submitted by the co-director and interns to present at the 2025 Association of Baccalaureate Social Work Program Directors Conference were also accepted. Co-director, Dr. Wiley presented the intern model at the 2024 Family Sciences Association family meeting.

Short-Term Results

• Youth gain exposure to adults from BIPOC backgrounds working a variety of professions/studying a variety of disciplines.

  1. How many participated in the evaluation? 112

  2. Evaluation Type used: Qualitative and quantitative - Attendance and participation logs and mentor case documents

  3. When was it given or conducted? Per session and cumulative

  4. Analysis We continue to summarize and analyze our extensive dataset while working within current capacity constraints. Our focus has shifted toward refining our data collection tools to ensure we are capturing the most relevant process and outcome metrics. This methodological refinement prioritizes the development of efficient and reliable data infrastructure, with particular emphasis on enhancing our social network mapping capability. Through this approach, we are improving how we differentiate and track relationship patterns, categorizing interactions as either intensive (such as ongoing mentor/mentee relationships) or intermittent/casual contacts.

  5. Findings Interim analysis demonstrates that Nia NC continues to excel in facilitating intensive exposure to young adult mentors from BIPOC backgrounds. Eleven youth are in their second year of participation and have had two mentor matches, while all three youth who started out in Nia as sixth graders continue to participate as eighth graders. Average dosage is 1 hour and 2 hours/weekly for the Wilson County and Guilford County sites respectively. Though we do not have systematic large-scale data analyzed at this time, there are multiple cases where there is evidence of the intended multiplicative relational impact. Specifically, several mentor/mentee matches from prior academic years have maintained ongoing relationships beyond their internship requirement/college graduation.

  5. Implications While we continue to prioritize deep and meaningful relationships, centered in youth-adult partnership principles, we have broadened access through strategic implementation of event-based activities. While capacity constraints have limited our ability to diversify programming to include the full range of majors and professional disciplines we had envisioned at this point, we successfully expanded exposure to STEM careers and academic pathways through our targeted campus events. These structured activities have supplemented the existing social work-centered intern model, providing participants with broader professional connections while we continue developing our long-term strategy to formalize the Nia "alumni" network that will facilitate ongoing mentor-mentee relationships and contacts across multiple disciplines.

• Youth Increase Self and social awareness through cultural exploration.

  1. How many participated in the evaluation? 120

  2. Evaluation Type used: Qualitative and quantitative - Observation, agendas, formal and informal survey and interview methods and mentor case documents

  3. When was it given or conducted? Per session/event

  4. Analysis We are still in the process of developing outcome measures related to this short-term result; however, we have data related to content covered during our Nia NC/Waukesha, WI cross-state events and JMS mentor/mentee activities. 1) With Waukesha, WI, we continue to use our pre-engagement surveys (qualtrics) and questionnaires (facilitated by Waukesha staff) to help determine specific topics of interest to youth. 2) Within the Guilford County/JMS site, our MSW interns continue to collect data via case notes and solicit feedback directly from youth to capture data related to this outcome.

  5. Findings Waukesha respondents continue to express that they are “not at all knowledgeable” or “somewhat knowledgeable” about topics including applying to college, HBCUs, and financial aid. Data analysis is ongoing. Youth testimonials from SEL group participants, as well as feedback from the guidance counselor and school social worker indicate that participation in these groups is correlated with a reduction in disciplinary incidents among participants.

  5. Implications Based on our initial positive experiences with Nia Waukesha, we have decided to “lean in” to focusing on the specific pathway of HBCU culture and experience in our interactions with students at Waukesha North High School. As we build capacity, we plan to administer pre-and post-test measures to provide additional evidence of impact. Regarding our JMS SEL groups, we will continue to solicit feedback from youth and adult staff, as well as formalize data collection and analysis procedures initiated by the interns currently facilitating the groups. The success of the partnership also provided the basis for expanding engagement opportunities with all three of the Wisconsin sites in Year 4 of the programs

• Youth will increase their knowledge in “the language” of multiple pathways. This will include readiness-related terminology such as SAT/ACT, FAFSA, Pell Grant, etc., as well as pathway-specific terminology related to career paths, and language specific to skilled trades (e.g. welding, masonry, steelwork), and the workforce (e.g. living wage, health insurance, income taxes etc.).

  1. How many participated in the evaluation? 8

  2. Evaluation Type used: Qualitative and Quantitative - Observation and formal and informal survey and interview methods.

  3. When was it given or conducted? Per session/event

  4. Analysis With Waukesha, WI, we prepared pre-engagement surveys (qualtrics) and questionnaires (facilitated by Waukesha staff) to help determine specific topics of interest and import to youth. With regard to the language of multiple pathways, we began with the college application and financial aid process and asked specifically about familiarity with the following topics/terms: Selecting a college, The Common App, Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Free Application for Federal Student Aid, Work Study, Selecting a college major/minor, networking for post-high school pathways, AP credit, and Standardized tests. (ACT/SAT)

  5. Findings Prior to the first session, a minimum of 75% of respondents expressed that they were “not at all knowledgeable” or only “somewhat knowledgeable” about each topic; conversely 25% or fewer self-reported being “very knowledgeable” about these topics.

  5. Implications This data continues to serve as a starting point for how interns/mentors plan interactions with participants. As reported in prior periods, interns discussed their own experiences working on campus, completing dual enrollment college credits while in high school, obtaining associates degrees prior to transferring to North Carolina A&T and other relevant topics, while also sharing authoritative fact sheets on topics (e.g. from the U.S. Department of Education, Educational Testing Services, etc). We will continue to iterate and refine these engagements and the related evaluation measures as we build the Nia model.

• Youth will “try out” experiences related to multiple pathways including visiting campuses and work settings, project-based and experiential learning opportunities related to specific career pathways including agriculture, STEM, and social sciences.

  1. How many participated in the evaluation? 83

  2. Evaluation Type used: Qualitative self-report

  3. When was it given or conducted? Post-event

  4. Analysis Youth participated in both individual and collective debriefing sessions following campus-based events, allowing program staff to gather rich qualitative data about their experiences and perceptions of different career pathways.

  5. Findings Youth reported particularly enjoying the comprehensive campus experience, engaging with academic departments, athletic facilities, and social spaces, while also valuing the physical presence on campus and gaining deeper insights into their mentors' educational journeys.

  5. Implications Future programming will build upon these positive experiences by creating more structured opportunities for youth to explore specific departments aligned with their interests and develop longer-term relationships with campus representatives, potentially including dedicated follow-up activities that maintain their connection to these pathways.

Long-Term Results

• Youth will derive a sense of motivation and efficacy concerning pathway possibilities.

  1. How many participated in the evaluation? 120

  2. Evaluation Type used: CYFAR common measures

  3. When was it given or conducted? April 2024 and September 2024 (across program years)

  4. Analysis Due to access issues related to CYFARsuite, we had to collect our common measures data using paper surveys and are in the process of compiling data. More careful efforts during data collection for Sept will hopefully yield better ability to track participation at the time of post-program completion and thorough results for the 2024-25 program year.

  5. Findings Data analysis incomplete at this time.

  5. Implications While we will continue to collect required common measures, we are also developing Nia-specific outcome-related data indicators and data collection processes.

• Youth will develop supportive relationships with a base of culturally-congruent mentors from different pathways.

  1. How many participated in the evaluation? 102

  2. Evaluation Type used: Quantitative - Nia roster, attendance and participation logs

  3. When was it given or conducted? Per session/event and annually

  4. Analysis Primary metrics that have been tracked and summarized include the number of mentor matches and the number of returning participants year over year.

  5. Findings At JMS, 100% of returning 6th and 7th grade Nia participants from prior years elected to continue participating in their second and third year. At our Wilson, NC site, we matched eight Nia participants with a college mentor in year one and 15 participants in years two and three for group-based mentoring. Ten girls participated in our pilot Martin County (Williamston, NC) summer site and were matched with two mentors who facilitated the two week program.

  5. Implications The college mentor model continues to thrive with social work interns forming the base of operations. However, in our Martin County summer 2024 pilot site, we successfully recruited a college student from the local community majoring in education to serve as co-facilitator. She continues to partner with us in planning for summer 2025.

• Building on the short term goal of pathways literacy, youth will develop the ability to critically evaluate their personal interests, skills, goals, resources, opportunities, and challenges in the context of different post-high school pathways.

  1. How many participated in the evaluation? 102

  2. Evaluation Type used: Qualitative and quantitative - Session artifacts and debriefs and mentor case notes

  3. When was it given or conducted? post session

  4. Analysis We have collected, but not analyzed data related to this item. Data are activity specific and have been retained for future analysis. As we build infrastructure and capacity for data collection and analysis (e.g. using technology as opposed to, or in addition to, whiteboard/wall paper), we expect to have near real-time analysis capacity.

  5. Findings n/a

  5. Implications n/a

• Youth will engage in timely and intentional, informed action regarding their chosen pathway.

  1. How many participated in the evaluation? 0

  2. Evaluation Type used:

  3. When was it given or conducted? Not yet implemented. Our first cohorts of graduating eighth graders are freshmen and sophomores in high school during 2024-25 and we are attempting to develop the infrastructure to maintain connection with them and collect data at regular intervals. This will be a major role task of the MSW interns and hired support personnel. We will work with our Wisconsin partners to develop relevant measures for our virtual interactions.

  4. Analysis

  5. Findings

  5. Implications

• Youth will apply critical thinking and decision-making skills to adjust their planning and action related to developing pathways, as necessary

  1. How many participated in the evaluation? 0

  2. Evaluation Type used:

  3. When was it given or conducted? Not yet implemented due to the current stage of program implementation as described previously.

  4. Analysis

  5. Findings

  5. Implications