HomeMy WebLinkAbout2009-02-24Dryden Youth Commission
February 24, 2009
Present: JoUllen 13 ail ey, 'Toni Fuchs, inShik Lee, Justin DiMatteo, Cynthia Waterman, -Stephan de
McConnell, Kim Seheneck, iris Bennett, Sandy Sherwood (Dryden Central School District
superintendent) and husband Uuis Gotto
Torn called the ine,&iag to order at 6:35; introductir�ins were made: January DYE ininutcs were
approved.
Dryden Needs- Assessment Tom welcom ed Sandy Sherwood and asked for her tho*Ughts about
.Dryden youth needs. Sandy said there is good synergy between the school and community
abound youth. An emerging issue of concern is unsupervised after- school time. She would like
to see the community turn town parks into- appropriate hang out places; would like to see
opportunities for youth to %q'ork nn parks, giving them a stake in keeping parks safe. DYC � puny
suggestions on who could spearhead/coordinate, a local effort? SS — school couId offer middle
school service projects; would lead to kids Umlinng supported and gaining skills. DY lamented
the loss of the YGC; seems like this project could address this idea and need. Sandy reported
that another challenge is uncertain state funding and possible budget cats.
Kris shared data from several sources to DY (see handout). Data included updated youth
demographics, school enrollment, fi)eefrcduced lunch participation, school success., PINS. Youth
population in county is declining, overall population is increasing. , T. Dryden is home to app cox.
I'M af''amplcir,s youth, ages -7, Dryden student enrollment is lnaldung steady; racial
di�rcrsity is limited to roughly 5% minority. Student suspension rate has been below county rate
for last 2 years, High school drop out rate is comparable to country ate. Student performmmce on
standardized tests (4t]' 8`b grade) .is comparable to county performance. Fi)eelreduced lunch
participation has been creeping up in last 3 years, same as county trend. Rates vary greatly by
school with Freeviille's the highest_
Next she gave an overview to Dryden district results (80% participation rate) from the Oct. 2008
Mc w York State Youth Development Survey. Sandy Sherwood and Dryden principals have
received detailed reports. The survey was given to over 4900 Tompkins County students in
grades 6m 12. in 5 districts and included questions about attitudes and use of alcohol and other
drugs, other risk and protective behaviors, and out- of "Sch.00l life. limited data only are available
at this time, additional data will be available later_ Highlights.,
30 da }+ use considered to be current users) of substances by Dryden students and comparison
with national peers from Mon.itoriing the FuftLre Survey (MTF);
alcohoI.— below county and MTF rate for grades shown slid overall
cigarettes — overall above county rate; below for grades 6, 8 & 12
smokeless tobacco — above county and 1.1{1TF for grades shown and overall
marijuana — 61]' grade rate above county rate; rates for 8, 10 & 12 are below county rate
but grade 10 is above MT.F rate
other Dryden rate is typically lower than county & MTF (where available}
note 10 though — higher for cigarettes, chewing tobacco, OTC cough medicine
& prescription pain relievers
Binge Drinkuig - Dryden 6ti' & 12`h graders rates are higher than county rate
Access to alcohol — Few are buying from stores; most obtain from social networks. For those
who drank, most common sources are "Friends" and "Home with parents' permission ".
Antisocial behaviors —Dryden rates are higher than county's for drunk/high at school
Gambling — Dryden overall rates similar to rest of county, lower for cards & sports betting but
higher for lotto /scratch offs (1 in 3).
Students reporting risk behaviors by domains:
Dryden higher than county rate in all listed; note especially "high cominwiit_y disorganization'
and "Family history of anti- social behavior"
Students reporting protective factors by domains: Dryden rates comparable to county rates
(note: opportuliities for prosocial involvement & social skills in gr. 6 & 8 — includes DYC
ftulded programs)
Next steps for needs assessment Justin has made contact with MS counselors and HS social
worker. Will.follow up again to ask them to come on May 12. JoEllen will touch base again.
with Chief Margaret Ryan to ask her (or other law enforcement rep.) to attend June 9. Cynthia
offered to stop at Dryden Library to talk with the librarian about youth issues /needs.
Discussion on annual solicitation of funding applications & process Would like application to be
available electronically. DYC wants to wait witil after needs assessment is finished and more
budget info is available to determine "aggressiveness" of soliciting new applicat.imiis
Monitoring Assignments were distributed, all DYC members will visit and report on one
program.
Annual Report Kris will be creating the 2008 DYC annual report and asked- for input on format.
DYC agreed to maintain the same as 2007; Kris suggested adding photos from programs.
Other Cynthia was reappointed by Town to new 3 year term. Kris distributed Jen's and Dave's
CCE monthly reports.
Next meeting will be April 7 (no March meeting) when CCE staff will attend to both present
their annual reports and provide input for the needs assessment.
Meeting was adjourned at 8:00.
drydnyd/agndntins/2o09lfeb minutes