April 2013 - Parks & Recreation - 41

which are reinforced individually and
in groups to solve problems, promote
appropriate communication, and express students' feelings, with the goal
of promoting academic achievement.
During the twice-weekly after-school
portion of CARE NOW, PRTS advocates provide a hot meal, an hour of
academic assistance, and intentional
recreation activities related to the resilience and character traits. The after-school activities include cooperative
team-building exercises that embrace
academics as part of the experience.
For example, when relationships and
commitment are the focus, advocates
may program an activity called Key
Punch. Key Punch is a challenge activity that prompts groups to have leaders and followers accomplish a task
within a given timeframe. The goal
is to touch a series of numbers/math
problems (in order, in the designated
space) as quickly as possible with minimal errors. Key Punch is a fun exercise
that allows students to creatively solve
math problems and become comfortable with numbers while promoting
planning and problem-solving within a
group. It requires students to listen to
one another and manage conflict.
The after-school component utilizes a
small-group problem-solving approach
by dividing students into yearlong cohorts. Within their groups, students
develop friendships through experiential education, challenge initiatives, and
academic support from one another.
To further emphasize the importance
of student leadership, former CARE
NOW students (current 7th graders)
assist in the after-school component of
CARE NOW as advocates in training.
These students provide peer support
to their younger schoolmates during
academic assistance and help lead the
cooperative team-building exercises in
which they were once participants.

Students participating in CARE
NOW have the opportunity to attend
a field trip to ODU once per semester. These trips allow maximum exposure to the admissions process and
college life, and aim to promote students' motivation to pursue positive
goals beyond K-12 schooling, which
will ultimately add to the sustainability of the local community.

qualitative data indicate a positive response to programming due to higher
levels of student focus on math, fewer
disruptions, less redirection, and less
stress on teachers. One teacher responded, " I cannot begin telling you the benefit of knowing that when a child is off
task, he/she spends five minutes with
an advocate and comes back happy and
ready to work. " When asked about the

Advocates and students gather to
work on team-building exercises.

In 2012, CARE NOW contributed
to ODU being named to the President
Obama's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll by the Corporation for National and Community
Service (CNCS) and the U.S. Department of Education. The Honor Roll
recognizes the nation's leading colleges and universities for their commitment to improving surrounding
communities through community service and service learning. ODU was
honored based on three programs,
one of which was CARE NOW.
When comparing data prior to
CARE NOW, students' percentage of
As in math have increased by seven percent, and their percentage of Es (failing
grades) have decreased by seven percent.
Additionally, Standards of Learning
(SOL) pass rates in math have increased
by approximately 20 percent. Teacher

most valuable thing gained from CARE
NOW, an advocate remarked, " We
made a difference....There was some
doubt about whether the kids were retaining what they had learned at CARE
NOW, but during the after-school debriefing session when we asked them to
share some of the traits, everyone had a
resiliency trait or a character trait they
could share with the group. Some of
the kids volunteered stories of how they
could use the traits they learned in various situations in school. "
Dr. Eddie Hill, CPRP, is an Assistant
Professor of Park, Recreation, and Tourism
Studies at Old Dominion University (ehill@
odu.edu). Dr. Tammi Milliken is an Associate
Professor of Human Services at ODU. Jenny
Goff, CPRP, is the CARE NOW Site Director.
Nicole Gregory is an Assistant Principal for
Norfolk (Virginia) Public Schools. Dr. Ed
Gómez is an Associate Professor of Park,
Recreation, and Tourism Studies at ODU.

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