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.
Lexington-Fayette Urban County, Kentucky
By Christopher Epps
This beautiful county, renowned for its distinctive bluegrass pastureland and rolling horse farms, has good schools, low crime rates, and so many cultural offerings that it was once dubbed the “Athens of the West.” A great place for the family, Mayfest, an annual free outdoor festival during Mother’s Day weekend, features children and adult activities, live entertainment, food and up to 100 art and craft booths.
Ensuring that its children are as well cared for as the sleek, expensive thoroughbreds for which it is known is a prime concern for the people of Lexington-Fayette. A host of programs and collaborations have been established to make certain that the youth are nurtured by the adults of the community.
Preparing young people for a productive adult life requires that their basic needs be met. Relatively low high school graduation rates made the county realize that in order to improve things, academic achievement and dropout rates had to be an early priority. As a result, truancy and out-of-school suspension for elementary and middle school students were targeted, and $300,000 was allocated annually to increase student attendance, study reasons behind truancy rates and define solutions to correct them.
In addition to providing youth with positive experiences through opportunities during after-school and weekend hours, and Safe Places to play and learn, Lexington agencies work together to encourage the physical and mental well-being of all its youth, while increasing social and teambuilding skills.
One facility that provides services to youth and their caregivers is the Family Care Center (FCC). FCC services include high school diploma and GED classes, and special education, life skills and parenting courses. The center affords young mothers the opportunity to receive comprehensive services and an education while providing childcare for their children aged six weeks to five years. The FCC, operating as a result of the combination of local, state, and federal government funds and private donations, has a pediatric health and dental clinic and also offers psychotherapy, speech and language therapy and physical and occupational therapy.
Other initiatives that led this great community to earn recognition twice as a 100 Best include:
Keep it Real Campaign
, a partnership between the Mayors Alliance on Substance Abuse and the Fayette County Agency for Substance Abuse Policy, uses youth-created messages to focus on the dangers of underage drinking. The campaign includes a high school video contest, a middle school poster contest, and a parent education program. All entries are posted on www.keep-it-real.us, allowing community members to vote for the “people’s choice.” Winning videos air on MTV, Comedy Central and ESPN during Super Bowl week and winning posters are distributed throughout the community.
Mayors Youth Council
(MYC) is an established mechanism to cultivate and support youth leadership and to give youth a voice in policy decisions. MYC provides high school-aged youth an active role in addressing youth issues while affording opportunities for youth in leadership, service and advocacy. The council’s members build leadership skills through decision-making, advocacy, public relations, service opportunities and community involvement. MYC’s signature event is the annual Lexington Youth Speak Out, a forum bringing together youth and community leaders to voice views, ideas, and concerns about the community. Members of the council have been key in establishing a teen center in downtown Lexington and implementing a smoking policy in public schools and parks and recreation areas.
The STARS (Students That Attend Reach Success) Program
, introduced as a pilot project in a Lexington middle school for at-risk youth, is a small-group partnership comprising judges, schools and the county. The program is a mock truancy court presided over by a judge and held monthly at 10 of the county’s 11 middle schools. At initial STARS sessions, the STARS team develops a plan with the family to enable the child to attend school. In proceeding sessions, academic and behavior needs of the young person are addressed. Since the program’s inception, nearly 80 percent of youth and their families have successfully completed the program, resulting in higher school attendance as well as improved academic outcomes.