New Issue Area: Teenage Development
Yesterday, JLCR held a community dialog at the Cedar Rapids Chamber of Commerce to announce the new issue area we are taking on.
That issue is Teenage Development.
This defined issue allows us to make a greater impact in the community by zeroing in on a particular area that affects women and children in our community. It will be our defined issue area for several years to come.
In order to establish this issue area, JLCR’s project research committee spent countless hours researching topics of need in the community. They assessed area demographics, economics and trends to identify community needs. Some resources used in their research included the United Way Community Condition Report, key leaders in the community, and multiple websites including government and Iowa education websites such as the Iowa Youth Survey. Ultimately, the membership was asked vote on the top area of interest based on the statistics.
In their research, the team found that a surprising amount of teenagers report having:
- Poor Self Confidence
- 35 percent of 11th grade females reported they have poor self confidence
- 37 percent of 8th -11th grade teens report they have poor self confidence
- 30 percent of students report bullying others, being the target of bullies, or both” according to a recent national survey of 15,000 6th – 10 graders at both public and private schools
- Poor Values (ie: honesty, sex, drug use and/or abuse, using violence to solve problems, bullying)
- 63 percent of 11th grade females report they have poor values
- 68 percent of 8th – 11th grade teens report they have poor values
- Lack of Support
- 54 percent of Cedar Rapids students reported lack of neighborhood and community support.
- 55 percent of Cedar Rapids students reported lack of school/school staff support.
(Source: Source: Iowa Youth Survey, Iowa Department of Education and other state agencies, 2005
According to Patricia McDougall, Tracy Vaillancourt, PhD, and Shelley Hymel in their report What Happens Over Time To Those Who Bully And Those Who Are Victimized?:
“To achieve permanent changes in how students interact it is recommended to teach positive behavior through modeling, coaching, prompting, praise, and other forms of reinforcement.”
Next steps involved the project research committee creating proposals for two to four projects related to this new issue area. These proposals will be presented this coming January and will be voted on by the membership in February.
We invite you to share your thoughts by contacting us via email at CommunityCouncil@juniorleaguecr.org or 319.364.7892.
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ASAC is very excited that Junior League will be addressing teen development. We would be very interested in meeting with the project research committee to talk about project ideas.
Thanks Laurel – we’re excited too! I let them know about your interest but you are also welcome to contact the committee via CommunityCouncil@juniorleaguecr.org.