Since 2007, the Navajo County Drug Project Junior Leadership Academy (JLA) has served at-risk youth through its two-week summer educational experience to help them develop the skills needed to safeguard against destructive decisions.
The program has proven successful in preventing delinquent activities among community youth during the summer months, a time when many aged 10 to 14 have fallen into dangerous behaviors.
For the past two years, the JLA has received recognition from the Arizona Center for Afterschool Excellence (AzCASE) as being among the top three programs in the state. Two-week programs were conducted in 2007 and 2008 under a grant from the Arizona Supreme Court Juvenile Crime Reduction program, and in 2009 through 2011 with a grant from the Navajo County Major Crimes Apprehension Team and numerous other donors. JLA staff members volunteer 50 percent of their services for the academy and raise money to fund the remainder of the academy’s expenses. Blue Ridge, Show Low, Whiteriver, Holbrook and Snowflake school districts have previously participated.
AzCASE once again bestowed the JLA with its Outstanding Out-of-School Time Program Award of Excellence for this year.
In presenting the award to the Navajo County Board of Supervisors and Juvenile Services staff, Mary Jane Navarro of AzCASE commended the county for its efforts. “These programs need to be home-grown and they are fairly expensive. My belief is that the professional educators who service these youth for a good 10 hours a day for two weeks deserve some reimbursement,” she acknowledged.
According to Navarro, the JLA “has grown and is very significant, not only in the eyes of the State of Arizona, but also the youth. Within eight days of the program, we recorded significant statistical reduction in confrontational behaviors, which I think is almost unheard of in statistical analyses in the short term.”
Navarro also pointed out that parents of at-risk youth who participated in the JLA program reported improved communication skills in their children and a more optimistic future outlook, including decreased school absences and a desire to succeed in and finish high school.
AzCASE notes that through intensive, active, developmental experiences, participants learn:
* Self-awareness, through social skill and learning style development.
* Life skills.
* Choices, decision-making and problem solving.
* Team-building, collaboration and networking.
* Goal-setting, life skills and career exposure.
* Drug abuse prevention and awareness, including a parent education component.
* Community service, integrating career and life tasks.
* Leadership options focusing on personal initiative, responsibility, dependability and follow-through for character development.
* Opportunities for peer mentors–student leaders or prior participants–to act as aides, developing self-confidence, volunteer service and accepting responsibility.
In addition to its dedicated, instructional staff, the JLA team says its success relies heavily on strong community collaboration through buy-in and partnerships from schools, businesses, faith-based partners, law enforcement and other mentors, along with charitable donations.
Donations to the JLA program are accepted at Friends of the Navajo County Anti-Drug Coalition, Inc., P.O. Box 1596, Pinetop, Ariz. 85935, EIN 26-046-8100. Donations are federally tax deductible and charitable contributions by the working poor ($200 per person/$400 couples) may be deducted by Arizona residents from annual state tax returns. For more information, go online to www.navajocountydrugproject.com.
