Exercise and Sport Science
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Overview
Project Effort is centered around it's elementary and middle school sports clubs. In addition, "veteran" high school participants become members of the Youth Leader Corps. We use physical activity as a basis to teach the goals of Don Hellison's Personal and Social Responsibility Model. We also emphasize transferring these goals to contexts "Outside the gym," such as school, home, and other community settings. To help accomplish this we also have a mentoring program. Graduate and undergraduate students work one-on-one with club members on goal setting at the schools. All mentors receive special training.
Project Effort also includes teacher and parent involvement. Workshops help the participating teachers become aware of the program and their student's involvement as well as become more involved in the mentoring process. Parent Nights are used to help inform families about the program and its goals. Several "career nights" are also provided for Youth Leader Corps members and their families. Community volunteers participate by providing information about various career paths (law, cosmetology, music production, teaching, youth work, day care, auto service, banking, computer technology). A Project Effort Newsletter is published quarterly during the year. A recent issue is provided on this website. Parents, kids, and staffs contribute.
The general goals of our program are for the students to demonstrate:
Personal Responsibility
try out things and persist when challenged set personal goals and be self-directed
Social Responsibility
show self control and respect for others care about and be responsive to others' needs be able to gain a sense of ownership in the club and it's values
Transfer
apply the goals and values of the club in other settings, particularly school