District named one of ‘100 Best Communities for Young People’
Staff Reports
COrNCIL oOCh - The Council oock school community has been named one of the 100 Best Communities for voung People by America’s Promise Alliance.
The national award, presented by ING, honors communities for making extraordinary efforts to reduce dropout rates and provide outstanding services and support to their youth.
Council oock was chosen based on a grant application submitted by the Council oock Coalition for Healthy vouth (CoCHv) and includes a $2,500 grant to continue the district’s work in helping the youth of Council oock.
“The America’s Promise Alliance’s 100 Best Communities for vouth Award is a collaborative effort and acknowledgement of the many people - students, teachers, parents and volunteer organizations - in our Co community who contribute to the success of our students. We are honored to be part of this amazing award,” said Superintendent Mark hlein.
Council oock is one of three Pennsylvania school districts selected to receive the award. Also making the list are Abington and Indiana County.
America’s Promise Alliance singles out Council oock for creating more than 20 programs that address the academic and social needs of children in the community, including CoCHv, an organization that works to reduce risky behaviors.
For initiatives such as Project Sticker Shock, CoCHv students placed labels on beer cases at beer distributors to warn customers that it is unlawful to buy or serve minors. To deter drug abuse, CoCHv placed medication collection boxes in police stations; provided educational materials at local health fairs and expos; and collaborated with local colleges on separate campaigns on the dangers of smoking, gambling, and texting while driving.
“Being named one of America’s Promise Alliance’s 100 Best is significant and meaningful to the entire community. So many dedicated people and programs contributed to this win and it further reinforces our belief that a fo- cus on youth pays dividends to the entire community,” said Francine Block, president of the Council oock Coalition for Healthy vouth.
The honor also recognizes Council oock programs that give children a healthy start.
The Child, Home and Community (CHC) organization provides support to teen parents and their infants through prenatal care, education and career counseling. CHS’s goal is to ensure that 100 percent of the mothers who visit them receive prenatal care, and as a result just 3 percent of mothers in the program experienced premature births or low-weight babies. A team of representatives from the CoCHv and Council oock attended an awards ceremony on Sept. 12 in Washington, D.C. to accept the honor.
“The 100 Best winners showcase a wide range of successful multi-sector approaches to improving the lives of youth,” said John Gomperts, America’s Promise Alliance president and CEO. “oeading the applications, we saw powerful themes emerge from winning communities, such as youth leadership opportunities, career readying initiatives, safe and productive venues for out-of-school time, anti-bullying campaigns and mentoring programs to help increase high school graduation rates. Collectively, the winning communities surpassed the national graduation rate and have set an example for other communities to follow.”
Now in its sixth year, the competition experienced its greatest interest to-date, with nominations from more than 320 communities representing all 50 states, Washington, D.C., the r.S. sirgin Islands and Puerto oico. Nineteen communities are now six-time winners and 18 communities won for their first time.
America’s Promise Alliance is the nation’s largest partnership dedicated to improving the lives of children and youth. It brings together more than 400 national organizations representing nonprofits, businesses, communities, educators and policymakers.