HomeMy WebLinkAbout7.1, Proposed Teen Program Modifications •
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AGENDA STATEMENT
YOUTH ADVISORY COMMITTEE
MEETING DATE: DECEMBER 15, 2010
SUBJECT: - Proposed Teen Program Modifications
Report Prepared by Frank Luna, Recreation Supervisor
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ATTACHMENTS: None
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RECOMMENDATION: Receive report and recommend approval of the proposed teen
• program modifications as presented by Staff or provide alternative
recommendation.
FINANCIAL STATEMENT: None •
BACKGROUND: The Parks and Community Services Department offers a variety of
• programs and activities for teens. In the past five years there has been a decrease in participation in some
programs, most prominently teen events. Following is an overview of participation in teen programs over
the past five years, as well as modifications proposed by Staff.
STUDENT UNION PROGRAM• . .
Student Union is an after-school recreation program designed specifically for middle.school students. An
emphasis is placed on academic enrichment as•well as recreation/leisure enrichment. Student Union
programs are held in two eighteen-week sessions at Wells Middle School and Fallon Elementary School.
The program offers a variety of•fun activities for teens, including educational programs, sporting events,
arts and crafts, science projects and music events. This program allows teens,to participate in activities in
a supervised environment which reduces the chances of youths involving themselves in negative behavior.
The Student Union program has seen a slight increase in registration from fall 2006 (89 total participants)
to fall 2010 (97 total participants) which represents an increase of 9% over the past five years. There were
16 students on the waiting list for the program this fall. However due to classroom space constraints staff
• was unable to provide the capacity to accommodate the students. The 'following is a summary of
registration over the past five years. .
Wells Middle School 41 55 38 47 46
Fallon Middle School 56 58 55 42 33
Total Registration 97 113 ' 93 89 • 79
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Staff does not propose any changes to the Student Union Program, except to work with the-School .
District to increase capacity at Fallon Middle School next school year.
JUNIOR LEADER PROGRAM _
The Junior Leader Program provides teens ages 13 to 16 with an opportunity to learn valuable job skills
while volunteering for the Department's camps. In order to be qualified to volunteer, teens must first take•
a Leadership Class offered by the City. During the summer, then the Junior Leaders receive instruction in
resume writing, mastering the interview, searching for a job, leadership skills, self esteem, "what is a
volunteer", safety, and the value of teamwork. The Junior Leaders gain valuable work experience and
gain lifelong learning skills which they will use throughout their educational and professional
experiences. The program has had participation averaging 28 participants each summer in the last five
years,•with a high of 33 participants in the summer of 2009 to a low of 25 in 2006.
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Junior Leader Program Participation Comparison
- 2009,. ;^��:..: 200$< . . .. 2007 z.... _>.2006 .
,�Regisfra#ionType• _�i;1:-,5V51::-''5-'>-201i).: '. .,.
Resident 27 30 25 22 21
Non Resident 1 3 1 6. 4
Total Registration 28. 33 26 28 25
Total Volunteer Hours . 2,240 2,640 2,314 • 2;496 2,156
Staff recommends no changes to the Junior Leader Program at this time.
TEEN CIRCUIT SUMMER EVENT AND EXCURSION PROGRAM. •
The Dublin Teen Circuit was a new program offered during summer 2010. This is an events and
excursion program for middle and high school students. The program replaced the Total Rec Live (TRL)
Teen Summer Camp that was permanently cancelled due to a lack of enrollment in 2009. A total of 99
students had registered'during summer 2008. In summer 2007, the program had an all time high of 187
registrants. •The decrease in 2008 and 2009 may be due to the increase in the number of contracted
summer camps offered for teens in the areas of sports and recreational activities.
Since it appeared the teens' needs for camps were being met with other offerings, Staff created the Dublin
Teen Circuit and switched from a day-camp format to an event and excursion based program during the
evenings and weekends. Participants had an option to drop-in and pay for individual events or purchase a
pass for the summer. The program had a variety of event and excursion choices. Following is a summary
of participation in the Teen Circuit program.
. Dublin Teen Circuit .
Event or Excursion Name. ,_ '- 20 h0,
Swim Olympics at the Swim Center 3
Lucky's Pima Band night(2 events) 160
Kayaking in Sausalito-Trip - 0
Fear factor at Emerald Glen 8 -Teen swim & BBQ night at Swim Center I I • •
Capture the Creature at Shannon Park 3
Rafting,American River-Trip 0
Comedy Night at Tommy T's.(2 events)• 0 •
• • Laser Tag at Emerald Glen 19
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Club Ed Surfing School-Trip 0
Teen Dance/Swim Night 0
Water World-Trip (2 trips) : • 0 •
Shadow Cliffs BBQ . 12
TOTAL PARTICIPATION 216
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The excursions that were offered were cancelled due to lack of registration. The Band Nights at Lucky's
-Pizza were the most popular activity with an average of 80 participants at two events. The concerts and
-band nights are also popular during the school year. Besides the,Band Nights, the other events only
,,averaged seven participants per event.
Based on the lack of interest from the teen community regarding programming the past two summers,
staff recommends the elimination of the Dublin Teen Circuit program. There are numerous options for
camps, classes and other activities for teens.to participate in during the summer months. The Parks and
Community Services Department offered many full-day and half-day camps for teens in the summer. The
• camps offered included: Kids in the Kitchen Cooking, Creative Writing, Skateboarding, Young Riders
Day Camp, Tri-Valley Young Performers Academy, Improv Comedy, Summer Art, Basketball, Football,
Volleyball, Cheerleading, Swimming and Driver's Education. Dublin Police Services also offered a week
• long Law Enforcement Youth Academy Camp.
The Dublin private sector also offers a variety of destinations for teens throughout the year. Popular
venues for teens include: Hacienda Crossings-Movie Theatres, Dublin Bowl, Dublin Iceland and
Stoneridge Mall (Pleasanton). Transportation to out-of-town venues such as San Francisco landmarks
and professional sporting and theatre events are accessible by utilizing the bus system or the BART train
system.
TEEN EVENTS
The City conducts 11 teen events throughout the year for middle and high school students. Despite getting
input from the Youth Advisory Committee and Dublin teens on the types of events to offer and diligently
promoting the events; attendance has not been adequate at most events and many have to be cancelled.
Therefore Staff is recommending reducing the number of teen events offered.
Staff prepared a detailed analysis of attendance at the teen events offered from 2006 to 2010. Attachment_
1 is the detailed attendance report. During the past five years teen events sponsored by the City have been
attended by over 7,100 teens, which is an average of 1,400 per year and 143 per event. The following is a
summary of attendance by event category.
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3 EVENT CATEGORY y r,• :,'55-YEAR TOTAL; ,;AVG PER EVENT
Teen Job Fair Total Attendance* ._• 3;900 -rr 780 ,"
Annual YAC Event(Dub Town Jam) = _;.7.95 59= z �g
Concerts _632 - `1,0,5- w -
Middle School Dances 7.01•. - 88 _'
Sports Events < `646 ? 65 izie t
Capture the Flag Events
Comedy Performances
Themed Park Events 39 '` 13=}_ 71
Swim Center Events
It would appear that with an average attendance of over 1,400 participants each year Teen Events seem
successful. •However the annual Tri-Valley Teen Job Fair made up an average of 55%of the attendance
each year. In 2010, the Teen Job Fair and the Concerts made.up 86% of the total attendance. Therefore
Staff believes it will be more effective to focus efforts on the larger successful events, and utilize the staff
time that would have been spent on the smaller events to expand marketing efforts and contractual teen
classes and activities. _
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The Teen Events that have been the most popular throughout the years have been the Job Fair,,.Capture
the Caldron and Concerts. The Job Fair is a great opportunity for Tri-Valley youth to not only search for •
jobs but also for students to partake in resume writing classes, how to dress for success classes and
"mock" interviews. This event is a collaborative effort between the cities of San Ramon, Pleasanton and
Dublin, as well as the Dublin/San Ramon Women's Club. The Capture the Caldron events are popular
amongst teens, specifically middle school youth. The participants love the adventure of this night event.
The concerts are popular with teens and give the•local "Garage Bands" an opportunity tb exhibit their
talents. With the consistent popularity of the Concerts, Capture the Caldron and Job Fair, Staff
recommends continuing to schedule these types of activities in the future. For concerts, Staff
-recommends offering one Youth Music Showcase / Battle of the Bands per year. Also offering one
Capture the Caldron event annually.
In addition to the Job Fair, Capture the Caldron and concert, Staff recommends scheduling two more
events per year, for a total of five teen events annually. These two additional events would be planned by
the Youth Advisory Committee. For one of. the events, Staff recommends focusing on an inter-
generational theme and partnering with the Senior Center Advisory Committee to plan and implement the
event. This endeavor has been well received and embraced by the Advisory Committees this year which
are planning an inter-generational Car Show and Ice Cream Social for April 2011. The youth and seniors
hope this event can "build a bridge"between the two generations.
For the last event, Staff proposes exploring a partnership with the Leadership Class at Dublin High School
to plan and implement an event. This model has been successful in the past with the teen program
participating in existing activities planned at Dublin High School such as the Homecoming Carnival.
This partnership would leverage the City's existing resources and Staff time to enhance an on-campus
event and better serve Dublin teens. -
CONCLUSION • . .
Staff believes this is an opportune time to modify the teen programs, specifically the teen events area.
The past five years, Staff has been diligent about utilizing the Youth Advisory. Committee and other teens
as a resource for information on teen programming and promotions. Staff has utilized many marketing
and advertising techniques throughout the years to ."get the word out" on teen activities. Media outlets •
utilized has included: .
a Flyers, posters . . . .
® Teen Website, City of Dublin Website •
• Quarterly Activity Guides .
® E-mail notification •
a Lunch time activities at local schools promoting activities •
• a School announcements (morning announcements) •
® Video bulletins at Dublin High School - .
® Dublin Shield School Newspaper. .
o Shannon Community Center Marquee -
Staff presentations at Dublin High Leadership class .
a E-mail Newsletters .
• "Word of mouth"by Youth Advisory Committee Members
Despite these efforts most of the events offered do not gamer enough attendance. •
It has always been tough to determine what exactly will resonate with teenagers. The ongoing effort to
identify exactly what is "cool" is an incredible challenge. According to North Castle, an advertising
agency with expertise in marketing to teens,.there are "Basic Instincts" that resonate with this group.
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Staff plans to take into account the"positive instincts"that resonate in teens when planning future events,
--classes and activities. These instincts include:
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• Personal Expression- the ongoing desire to try on new versions of themselves and live in a world
where they can become anything. •
• Social Connection- the need to be accepted by and connected to people who share their same
interest and attitudes. •
• Accomplishment- a tangible demonstration of recognition for something unique about themselves.
• Belonging-being a part'of the identifying issues or traits of their generation which for this group is
technological savvy, leadership, diversity, and tolerance.
• • Freedom- the rules and regulations as well as the pressures,and expectations being placed upon
this age group makes freedom all that more important.
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The recommended teen events support many of these attributes. By focusing on the events with the most
community impact and cancelling the other events, the Department will be able to realign that staff time
to initiatives that will better support the Parks and Community Services Strategic•Plan.
RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends that the Youth Advisory Committee receive the •
report and recommend approval of the proposed teen program modifications as presented by Staff or -
provide alternative recommendation.
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