Blog

Mentors are BUSY during this distance learning time! They have been working with foster parents to make sure they have internet access. They are speaking with their students several times a week to make sure there are no barriers to their participating in class assignments. They are writing court reports, working with caseworkers, providing instruction and support to foster parents in accessing resources to help their kids, and helping in every way needed to ensure that our awesome, but at-risk students, are being successful. They have dropped off care packages at kids’ homes (on the doorstep) and helped them get any equipment or supplies they may need while they are away from school.

They are working with teachers to get assignments and have been coordinating all the services for our mentoring students. Currently we are serving about 170 kiddos, so the mentors are definitely keeping very busy!

In addition to all of this, they are participating in weekly group trainings. Our latest training was presented by Ceciley Hallman, a former Choose Gang Free Advocate who now works as a mentor in the Eisenhower area. We learned much from her about how to help our students that are gang involved and to better serve them in a positive way.

They are also able to work on many other trainings that will help them in doing their jobs.

A huge shout out to the mentors that continuously go above and beyond in serving our students!

Students from Salt Lake County Youth Services with Mrs. Horgan, teacher, were provided the opportunity to attend the Tumbleweeds Film Festival for Kids. The event was held at the Salt Lake City Public Library downtown. The festival includes film showings, some produced by and some for kids, workshops, and other events.

Representatives consisting of YIC Directors, educators, and consultants reviewed numerous testing platform to determine one that could address needs throughout the state. As a result, TABE is now being phased out and has been replaced by Renaissance Star 360, a computer-adaptive assessment that measures student achievement on reading and math skills.

YIC in Granite, YESS, chose to start it at Decker Lake Youth Center. Students are tested in reading and math the first week of every month beginning in December. We are now expanding it to other sites with students who are more long term. Teachers, counselors, mentors, and instructional assistants are receiving training so that we are able to test throughout YESS.

In Granite School District several days in the school calendar are set aside for professional development (PD). YESS, sSTEP, and GAPP teachers recently participated in a PD discussion regarding the ability to design instruction that challenges, motivates, and interests our students. As educators we continue to refine our teaching skills in order to provide the best education for our students.

Every year for Valentine’s Day, Cindy, Health teacher at DT, orders special human heart shaped chocolates for the students as they discuss the heart, its function and etc. Yum!

In conjunction with Cindy’s Health lessons on the heart, Cathleen, Art teacher, has the students draw and design a human heart, including in the drawings different aspects of what touches one’s “heart”.

Teachers in YESS make themselves available to meet with parents, foster parents, caseworkers, advocates, staff, and any others that work on behalf of the students they teach.

YESS is privileged to have an awesome and dedicated group of mentors (Juvenile Justice Advocates) who work with youth in care throughout the schools in Granite and with students in some of the facilities.

A group of UK researchers has suggested introducing an inverted version of the periodic table, with heavy elements at the top and the lightest at the bottom.  They argue that displaying the table upside down makes sense in many ways. The lighter, more fundamental elements are at the base of the table, and properties such as reactivity, atomic number and atomic mass increase from bottom to top.

By David N, Science teacher, Salt Lake Valley Youth Center

Steve Kaelin, who has worked at the State Board of Education for the past 6 years, and with us in YESS for 14 years before that, is hanging up his hat and venturing into retirement. Well…he’s retiring from one aspect of life, but setting off onto other paths of service.

As counselor, placement coordinator, school-based coordinator and fulfilling a plethora of other responsibilities, Steve was an integral part of YESS. We have appreciated the continued association as he has served youth in care in for USBE. Our students have benefited from his outreach with programs and a wide variety of opportunities. It is with deep gratitude that we thank Steve for his years of service, association and friendship and wish him the very best in the days ahead.

Students at DSI/Gemstone at the Salt Lake Valley Youth Center participated in the first of the Mission STEMCAP programming with a focus on the Grand Challenge topic of extinction. The program continued starting today with students at UNI GTC and will explore the topic of biodiversity loss.

Here is some information regarding STEMCAp from Dr. Nalini Nadkarni:

“I am a Professor in the Biology Department at the University of Utah, and the Director of the STEM Community Alliance Program (STEMCAP). This is a collaboration among the University of Utah, the Utah State Board of Education, the Utah Juvenile Justice Service, and a number of community educational and cultural organizations. STEMCAP programming is designed to inspire and fuel creativity and to communicate STEM concepts to youth who have complex and diverse backgrounds. Our approach brings experts in science, the arts, and culture to increase awareness of, interest in, and the capacity to achieve in STEM topics; to enhance educational self-discovery, and provide a constructive creative outlet for youth participants.

One aspect of our programming is ‘Mission STEMCAP’. At each of the five youth in care facilities in which we work, we offer a set of presentations and hands-on workshops to frame a single environmental challenge, provide up to date scientific research on the issue, help students create art/writing interpretations, and help students articulate their ‘responses’ by making a news report style podcast and writing letters to those concerned. Our emphasis is on positive aspects of challenges by pointing out policies, careers, and individuals who are addressing these. In November, 2019, we implemented our first set of presentations in the DSI/Gemstone programs on the topic of extinction. Next, we will be presenting our second session, at the Girls Transition Center, on the topic of biodiversity loss.”

YESS feels fortunate to have our students participate in this outstanding program!