Orlando Community & Youth Trust Inc

1. PROVIDE A BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE PROPOSED PROJECT, INCLUDING THE PROJECT GOALS(S) AS WELL AS AN OVERVIEW OF THE ACTIVITIES THE REQUESTED VISTAS AND LEADERS WILL PERFORM. PARRAMORE KIDZ ZONE (PKZ), A REPLICATION OF THE HARLEM CHILDREN'S ZONE NATIONAL MODEL, WAS LAUNCHED IN ORLANDO IN 2006 TO COMBAT THE EFFECTS OF POVERTY AND "MOVE THE NEEDLE" ON CHILD WELL-BEING IN ORLANDO'S HIGHEST POVERTY NEIGHBORHOOD, INCLUDING REDUCING JUVENILE CRIME RATES AND INCREASING HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION RATES. THE PKZ STRATEGY IS TO INVEST IN A CONTINUUM OF CRADLE-TO-CAREER EVIDENCE-BASED PROGRAMS IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD, INCLUDING PRE-KINDERGARTEN PROGRAMS, AFTER SCHOOL ACTIVITIES, PARENTING PROGRAMS, ACADEMIC SUPPORTS, HEALTH AND WELLNESS PROGRAMS, AND YOUTH EMPLOYMENT AND COLLEGE ACCESS PROGRAMS, AND TO CONNECT "A CRITICAL MASS" OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD'S CHILDREN TO THESE SERVICES. PKZ CELEBRATED 11 YEARS OF IMPLEMENTATION IN JULY 2017 HAVING MADE SIGNIFICANT PROGRESS IN BUILDING A STRONG COALITION OF PARTNERS; INVESTING FUNDING IN YOUTH PROGRAMS IN PARRAMORE; DEVELOPING BASIC DATA SYSTEMS THAT PERMIT TRACKING OF SERVICE DELIVERY AND OUTCOMES; BRANDING THE PROJECT AMONG NEIGHBORHOOD RESIDENTS; AND ENGAGING MORE THAN 4,400 CHILDREN IN "NEEDLE-MOVING" PROGRAMS SINCE 2006. ALTHOUGH WE HAVE MADE GAINS IN MANY AREAS, SUCH AS REDUCING THE NUMBER OF SPECIFIED JUVENILE ARRESTS AMONG PARRAMORE YOUTH BY 76.2%, THERE IS MORE TO BE DONE TO CLOSE THE GAP BETWEEN PARRAMORE YOUTH AND OTHER ORLANDO YOUTH WHEN IT COMES TO KEY MEASURES OF CHILD WELL-BEING. TO THIS END, PKZ VISTA'S GOAL WILL BE TO BUILD THE CAPACITY OF PKZ'S COALITION OF PARTNERS IN THE FOLLOWING AREAS: A) COMMUNICATIONS/OUTREACH ASSISTANCE. COMMUNICATION WITH YOUTH AND PARENTS AS WELL AS PARTNERS IS AN IMPORTANT COMPONENT IN THE RECRUITING AND RETAINING INVOLVEMENT IN PKZ PROGRAMMING. THIS PKZ VISTA WOULD DEVELOP TEMPLATES, SCHEDULES AND FORMATS FOR SOCIAL MEDIA AND PAPER MEDIA FOR GETTING INFORMATION OUT TO INTERESTED GROUPS AS WELL AS PROVIDING CONTENT FOR ONLINE EXPOSURE AND UPDATES TO YOUTH, PARENTS AND COMMUNITY PARTNERS. THIS PKZ VISTA WILL SERVE TO IMPROVE COALITION MEMBERS' ABILITY TO INFORM YOUTH AND OTHER PARTIES OF PROGRAMMING AND INVOLVEMENT EVENTS AND MEETINGS BY PREPARING MATERIALS FOR AND IMPLEMENTING INFORMATION STRATEGIES. COMMUNICATION WITH YOUTH AND PARENTS AS WELL AS PARTNERS IS AN IMPORTANT COMPONENT IN THE RECRUITING AND RETAINING INVOLVEMENT IN PKZ PROGRAMMING. B) YOUTH DEVELOPMENT/TRAINING AND DATA MANAGEMENT. YOUTH DEVELOPMENT AND TRAINING PROGRAMS ARE IMPORTANT TOOLS THAT RESULT IN SEVERAL POSITIVE OUTCOMES FOR YOUTH INVOLVED IN THESE ACTIVITIES. FOR EXAMPLE, YOUTH WILL BE INVOLVED IN POSITIVE ACTIVITIES UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF CARING ADULTS, INCREASE THEIR KNOWLEDGE AND AWARENESS OF SUBJECTS AND IMPROVE THEIR SELF CONFIDENCE AND SENSE OF WORTH WHEN COMPLETING PROJECTS AND TRAININGS. IN ADDITION, STEM (SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING, MATHEMATICS) EDUCATION IS BEING EMPHASIZED NATION-WIDE TO IMPROVE U.S. STATUS AMONG LEADING NATIONS AND MANY OF THE BEST-PAYING JOBS FALL INTO THESE FIELDS. EARLY AND CONTINUED EXPOSURE TO STEM CURRICULUM HELP TO READY INTERESTED YOUTH IN PURSUIT OF CAREERS IN THESE FIELDS. THE PKZ VISTA WILL RESEARCH AND DEVELOP STEM CURRICULUM, PROJECTS, COMPETITIONS, AND LEARNING MATERIALS FOR ELEMENTARY THROUGH HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS AND HELP TO TRAIN STAFF IN THEIR IMPLEMENTATION IN PKZ AFTER SCHOOL PROGRAMS AT CITY RECREATION CENTERS AND PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS. BOYS AND YOUNG MEN OF COLOR ARE PARTICULARLY PLAGUED BY LOW PERFORMANCE IN THE EDUCATION SYSTEM AND DISPROPORTIONATELY INVOLVED IN THE JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEM. BECAUSE OF THIS, PKZ AND PARTNERS WILL FOCUS RESOURCES AND STAFF TOWARDS EDUCATIONAL SUCCESS AND PROGRAMS TO ENGAGE BOYS AND YOUNG MEN OF COLOR IN POSITIVE ACTIVITIES. THE PKZ VISTA WILL ASSIST WITH DEVELOPING PROGRAMS AND RESOURCES AND ENGAGING PARTNERS IN IMPROVING THESE RESULTS. DATA/MEASUREMENT PLAYS A SIGNIFICANT ROLE