Highlighting America’s 100 Best Communities for Young People
The 100 Best Communities for Young People competition honors outstanding efforts on behalf of young people by multiple sectors of communities. In cities, suburbs, small towns and counties across the country, this annual competition is leading communities to assess their efforts, work more effectively together for young people, and share best practices. Each week one of the 2007 100 Best Communities will be highlighted in the America’s Promise Bulletin and on our web site.
Kalamazoo, Michigan
By Christopher Epps
The “Mall City” as Kalamazoo is often called is the largest city in the southwest region of Michigan. Formerly the home to Native Americans of the Hopewell culture, Kalamazoo is a resource-rich community for young people. This 100 Best winner is resource-rich not only in terms of money spent on its youth but also in terms of the time and talent community members dedicate to its young people.
Adults of the community have stepped forward to ensure that support services from free shoes to mentoring to health care, are available to at-risk children in the district. In addition, many area agencies are redefining their mission and programs to align with the city’s overall goals related to young people. Kalamazoo is committed to empower youth and their unique contributions to the community.
Since November of 2005, this community has been home to the Kalamazoo Promise, an extraordinary, anonymous gift to the children of this city of a generous college scholarship to any public college or university in Michigan for every child who attends and graduates from Kalamazoo Public Schools. Based on a sliding scale, each recipient must maintain a “C” average or better to qualify for the scholarship. The Promise offers from 65-100 percent of tuition coverage which can be applied to all four years of education.
A key factor fueling the success of the Promise is Kalamazoo Communities In Schools, a coalition of volunteers from across the community who act as mentors, tutors, mental health service providers, health and dental care providers and career advisors to the public school students in this city. In Kalamazoo, both diversity and learning are virtues.
Members of the Kalamazoo community work hard to ensure all young people graduate from high school and are ready for college or the workforce. For the students, the school district offers dual enrollment between the high school and the community college or universities, and there is an extensive alternative high school for students uncomfortable in the traditional school setting. Working to keep African American males in school and actively learning, the Northside Ministerial Alliance has a strong and necessary presence in the high schools. The alliance develops personal one-on-one relationships with students that are so desperately needed for them to be successful.
In addition, ACT-NOW facilitates service learning with the community’s youth. The program teaches participants how to determine what issues to address and how to work as a team as they create change in their schools. Initiatives have included an anti-littering campaign, painting projects, and education on methods to address hunger.
Others initiatives that encourage Kalamazoo to exceed its goals for young people, and that led to it becoming a 100 Best community include:
Jeter’s Leaders
is a youth leadership program for high school students in Kalamazoo. The program focuses on keeping young people drug and alcohol free, as well as “academically excellent.” Throughout the year, Kalamazoo members of the Jeter's Leaders are involved in many projects that offer opportunities to learn more about themselves and their community. Each participant is expected to model positive behavior and deliver a message to their peers focused on school success, while remaining drug and alcohol free and working to improve their community.
Kalamazoo Youth Development Network
(KYDNet) grew from the need for direct service workers in both large and small agencies and programs to act from the basic principles of healthy youth development. KYDNet provides networking, training, program development and evaluation for youth-serving organizations. Monthly KYDNet meetings offer youth-serving agencies the opportunity to share ideas and resources, receive information about broad and specific needs of youth and grow in their capacity to meet the challenges of all youth with their diverse physical and emotional needs. All of KYDNet’s work is based on the Community Commitment to Youth, a series of eight statements that support positive youth development.
No Disposable Kids
, a program designed by Starr Commonwealth, is currently in six Kalamazoo schools. The programs train teachers and other adults in dealing more effectively with students who have significant emotional and behavioral needs. The grant received to fund this program has required the commitment of staff and administration and continuously seeks student, family and community involvement.