The Campaign
Step Five: Community Mobilization
Using the models already successful by West Dallas Education Initiative, Heart of a Champion, and Project Turnaround we would enlist the community in these suggested models:
Emotional Intelligence / Character Program
Partnership with the The Heart of a Champion® character development program is a proven solution utilized by schools in 24 states to produce sustained behavioral and attitudinal change in students. (See appendix A for more information)
Mentoring Program / Career Development & Shadowing Experiences
Working with church and parachurch organization leaders, and lay leaders, a mentoring program would allow for one-on-one relationships to be built between students and adults. Mentors could be recruited from Justice Revival coalition members and other faith based organizations in the greater Dallas area, be trained and be deployed to schools in their geographic area.
As part of the Mentoring Program, a career element can be added. With this element, local students would have the opportunity to be paired with area business leaders who would provide job shadowing experiences. Students who have an interest in a specific career track would be allowed to shadow a professional in that track for 2-3 hours on one day to learn about the profession and receive a mentoring experience in the process. Professionals would be recruited from Justice Revival coalition members and other faith based organizations in the greater Dallas area, and be matched with students from their geographic area.
College Readiness Program
Students at participating schools could be presented with an option to participate in ACT / SAT test prep through a successful college prep organization. The Baylor Test Prep has offered a significantly reduced rate to Dallas students working through the Heart of a Champion program. The Baylor Test Prep program is an online resource that allows for unlimited training and preparation usage. The program is a proven to raises ACT scores by 2 points on average.
Role Models / Assembly Speakers
This element engages Dallas community leaders to serve as Role Models for area students. As Role Models, these leaders would be recruited to address large groups of students in school-wide assemblies for motivational purposes. Speakers would address students on character and life skills topics, as well as topics related to preparing for a successful future. Many of these speakers would also serve as mentors and hosts for career experiences.
One specific assembly could focus on a One Heart seminar, in which students hear a message on lives of purity and service to others. During this assembly, students would have the opportunity to receive a One Heart ring, in a commitment ceremony. This ring serves as a reminder to students that they are a part of something greater than themselves and will find greatest fulfillment in serving others.
Incentives / Scholarships Program
An element that has proven successful in past work with students is the inclusion of an incentive program. Unique rewards, such as merchant gift cards can be made available for students to receive as they continue to demonstrate growth in their character and academic progress. Students are rewarded by teachers, administrators and coaches on a monthly basis. The incentives serve not only as motivation, but also as reinforcement of good behaviors and positive change.
On a higher level, college scholarships can be part of this incentives program. Students, as selected by their peers and teachers, would be eligible to receive college scholarships as rewards for their progress. Scholarships could be partial and provided for several students and would serve as motivation and incentives for all students.
Adult Education / Community Program
Heart of a Champion also provides an adult learning system that has application to corporations, nonprofits, small groups, or any type of culture that exists in an entity. This program trains adults in core character competencies and in personal and corporate ethics.
The adult learning system has produced significant measurable change at Fortune 500 companies, churches, and other organizations, resulting in cultural change, attitudinal change, behavioral change, and profound increases in personal, group, and corporate performance and bottom-line productivity at companies like Lockheed-Martin, Caremark, and Multi-Chem.
The program can be deployed at companies, or in small groups hosted by churches for any type of adult group – businessmen, working women, parents, etc. Church leaders and lay leaders could be trained to deploy the program to any type of adult population.
Pre & Post Assessment / Data Report
As will all programs, with any of these elements deployed with schools in DISD, it is prudent to assess the effect of such elements and the change that occurs as a result. A third party behavioral measurement specialist organization, could conduct customized pre- and post-assessments to measure the efficacy of any/all programs, and then deliver a comprehensive data report. In addition, working collaboratively with an area university on a detailed study of the impact of the Justice Revival efforts on students and the Dallas community would also be beneficial.