Way to Go Michelle!

Upon the release of The Whitehouse Taskforce on Childhood Obesity’s report, First Lady Michelle Obama stated, “For the first time, the nation will have goals, benchmarks and measureable outcomes that will help us tackle the childhood obesity epidemic one child, one family and one community at a time.”

Given the fact that over the past quarter century the obesity rate for children has doubled (and tripled for adolescents), it’s critical to treat this issue as the serious epidemic it has become. The long term risks to our youth are significant given that obese young people are more likely than children of normal weight to become overweight or obese adults, and therefore more at risk for associated adult health problems, including heart disease, type 2 diabetes, stroke, several types of cancer and osteoarthritis. Additionally, obese children are at greater risk for bone and joint problems, sleep apnea, and social and psychological problems such as stigmatization and poor self-esteem.

So why has youth obesity become a major epidemic? While we can debate the influence of a multitude of contributing factors, we can clearly isolate two key issues:

· Poor Nutritional Choices: This is the “supersize” generation, consuming large portion sizes of high fat, high sugar foods and beverages.

· Limited Physical Activity: Kids today simply aren’t using their bodies like children of previous generations. Video games, technology and general conveniences of modern day life make spontaneous physical activity less likely for our current (and future) generation of youth. In his book, Getting Physical, Art Turock writes, “If when we were born, our bodies came with an owners manual, its basic message would be three words long, and that message would be, ‘use it regularly.’” In other words our bodies are made to be used—the more we use it, the better it functions, the less we use it, the more likely it will malfunction.

To blame our children for these habits would be to side-step our own responsibility. We know that environmental factors are key to the habits (good and bad) that we develop. As a society we’ve essentially said its okay for companies to target kids with their high fat, high sugar products. We’ve created urban environments with little or no green space and sidewalks. We’ve allowed our schools to limit or totally cut physical education while serving high fat foods in the school cafeteria.

In order to right some of these wrongs, the Task Force, under First Lady Obama’s leadership, has made important recommendations that if adopted, will help to reverse this alarming trend. The ultimate goal of the plan is to reduce the incidence of childhood obesity from the current 32 percent to a rate of 5 percent within one generation (for more information, visit letsmove.gov)

The Y of Central Maryland will continue to provide a wide variety of ways to help children and their families enjoy the benefits of a healthy active lifestyle: from parent/child programs to specially designed youth fitness classes; from swim lessons and sports programming to fun, traditional camping activities. Visit our website or ask one of staff for more detail on the dozens of opportunities to help Central Maryland accomplish the First Lady’s goals—Today!

Posted by Bob Brosmer, Chief Operating Officer, Y of Central Maryland

Enriching Children’s Lives

In today’s blog, I’d like to reflect upon issues impacting children and youth in our community, and what role the Y is playing. As the father of a 14 year old son and twin daughters who are all of nine weeks old, these issues hit home to me – as I’m sure they do for most of you.

Sadly, a significant and growing percentage of Maryland children of working families lack the kind of supervised, active and enriching forms of out of school time (after school and summer) that are critical to supplementing their in-school activities. According to the Afterschool Alliance, of Maryland children of working families:

· More than 25% are unsupervised in the afternoons
· Only 11% are in afterschool programs
· An alarming 28% are “latchkey children” with no adult supervision in the afternoon

Research tells us that children who do not participate in afterschool activities are:

· At greater risk of being victims of crime
· More likely to participate in anti-social behaviors.
· 49 percent more likely to use drugs
· 37 percent more likely to become teen parents than those participating in after-school activities

A recent survey of high school students, for example, revealed that students in after-school programs had greater expectations for the future and were more interested in school than their peers. Juveniles are at the highest risk of being a victim of violence between 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. The peak hour for juvenile crime is from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m., the first hour that most students are dismissed from school.

Although Maryland’s public schools are rated #1 in the country, about 27,000 Maryland students in 2007 failed to graduate from high school. The state's overall graduation rate is about 76% percent, but urban graduation rates are well below 50 %. The divide between urban and suburban graduation rates in Maryland is the highest in the nation. In 2007, Baltimore City school's graduation rate was only 35%, compared to 81.5% in Baltimore's suburbs. Among the nation's 100 largest school districts, Baltimore has the 98th lowest graduation rate. Baltimore City School’s relatively new CEO, Dr. Andres Alonso, has done a phenomenal job focusing on student achievement and gives us all hope that these measurements are heading in the right direction. However, there is much work to do and many issues inherent in such data.

The literature tells us that the critical time for youth in forming long-term patterns is during the middle school years, when the behaviors and academic habits are formed that ultimately determine whether one stays in school, gets to high school and eventually graduates.

In a Baltimore Sun article a few years ago, Maryland’s State schools Superintendent Nancy S. Grasmick, stated that "dropping out is a process that does not begin in high school, it begins very early on.” Teachers as early as elementary school could predict that a student will struggle later, she said. "We have a responsibility to intervene early and provide services at the very beginning of a student's academic career." According to the Baltimore Sun, “Grasmick pointed to the primary indicators of problems by the end of sixth grade: poor attendance and behavior, and failing math and English. Students showing those signs have a 10 percent chance of graduating on time and a 20 percent chance of graduating a year later, she said - and those who repeat middle school are 11 times more likely to drop out.”

What you may not know is that the Y is the largest provider of services for children and youth in Maryland, including traditional full and partial day pre-school, Head Start, after-school (largely school-based), summer camp programs, youth sports, Youth in Government and a wide range of other unique programs. We operate in over 80 sites doing this work. Other than the public school systems, no organization in Central Maryland plays such a fundamental role in working with families to prepare children for success in school and life. Over one-third of the approximately 17,000 children and youth we serve are on some form of subsidy.

The Y’s continuum of programming for children and youth seeks to provide the appropriate level of support, encouragement, enrichment, responsibility and developmental assets as children make their journey from early childhood, through their youth and teens and into adulthood. That’s why our Youth Asset Development strategy operates under the sub-brand called Y Journeys for Children and Youth. Our continuum of programming guides children through their individual journeys to achieve a happy, productive and balanced life. We provide the tools and expertise to equip children to successfully manage and enjoy life’s journey throughout every stage of their development.

By providing high quality programming that is built around the Search Institute’s Developmental Assets model, our clear focus along that journey is to intentionally increase and enrich the developmental assets present in children and youth’s lives with strong emphasis on reinforcing the Y’s core values and promoting healthier, more active lifestyles.

In all of our programming, we structure our curriculum and activities around the Search Institute’s model and focus on measureable outcomes to ensure that our strategies are working. Those measurements include:

· Increased school attendance
· Increased school promotion rates
· Increased graduation rates
· Reduced obesity rates
· Reduced teenage pregnancy rates
· Increased number of youth assets (as defined by the Search Institute’s Asset Development model)

It’s our fundamental belief that all children and youth are at-risk if families and the larger community don’t pay attention to providing an asset-rich environment. Please join us as we work to make our community better for all of our children and youth.

Posted by John K. Hoey, President & CEO, Y of Central Maryland

Tis the Season!

Yes, it’s camp season again and we at the Y are going full throttle to get our 20 camp sites ready for our over 3,500 campers and families! As our website totes, summer at the Y means a summer of fun! It's a time for children to grow, make new friends and learn lessons that last a lifetime!

The Y is the leader in summertime fun because we literally invented summer camp! At the Y, children get to bask in the sheer joys that define a child's summer at its best: getting wet, playing hard, being silly, making new friends, tackling new and challenging skills, learning and growing all along the way.

We pride ourselves in making Y camp the summer fun adventure it should be for all our children, but we also take pride in knowing that we are serving an even greater purpose…

Did you know that?

· Research spanning over 100 years shows most children score lower on standardized tests at the end of summer vacation than at the end of the school year, according to Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Summer Learning.
· A University of Missouri study shows that the average child loses one month’s worth of instruction in reading and math during summer vacation. Math computation and spelling skills suffer most — at times the equivalent of more than two months of progress — resulting in an estimated four to six weeks of review in the fall, researchers say. This gap is further widened for low income students.
· Children lose more than academic knowledge over the summer. Most children – particularly children at risk of obesity - gain weight more rapidly when they are out of school on summer break (von Hippel et al. 2007)
· Parents consistently cite summer as the most difficult time to ensure their children have something productive to do. (Duffet et al. 2004)

Well, how does the Y’s “fun and the sun” camp plan address such chronic issues:

· Our camp curriculum is infused with daily literacy learning opportunities – from reading to journaling - with weekly themes such as “Wacky Science” and “Lights! Camera! Action!” Peg Smith, American Camp Association's chief executive officer, says the solution to summer learning is "not to confine children to classrooms for year-round school," but instead "the answer lies in much more natural, developmental settings that promote experiential learning, improve social skills and physical fitness, teach kids to take calculated risks in a safe environment, and expand the creative mind allowing for the possibility of innovation" (Smith 2009) – which is exactly what Y camp does. Further, Y camp is filled with opportunities to develop essential social skills. Our camp offers the opportunity for children to gain a wide exposure to different people in different walks of life. Our campers come from diverse socio-economic classes, different backgrounds and different family structures. Therefore, children quickly develop compassion and empathy for fellow human beings - and what a wonderful by-product this is.
· To address the physical fitness challenge – well, that’s not only what the Y does, but it is core to who we are. The children literally begin with physical fitness in the morning, have repeated games and “test of endurance” throughout the day, and end with a high-energy physically- charged closing rally. Now, you see why they fall asleep before you make it off the parking lot!
· In terms of the parent’s concern, we pride ourselves in being a safe place for kids. Our camp day runs from 7 AM to 6 PM (including before and after care hours) allowing the working parent to go off to work worry free, knowing their children are not only in a safe place, but are actively engaged in fun-filled activities that support spirit, mind, and body for all.

All this clearly disguised as good ‘ole fashion fun! Who could ask for more?

Well, I guess I can! Join us for camp this year – and if you can – help send other children to camp. Donating is as easy as going to http://www.ymaryland.org/ and clicking on “Donate Now.” Your kids will have a great summer – and we can keep that “learning thing” between us…

Posted by Michelle Becote-Jackson, Senior Vice President, Y Journeys for Children & Youth, Y of Central Maryland