Kalamazoo Youth Development Network: Bringing Together Resources for Youth

The following interview was conducted with Meg Blinkiewicz (Executive Director), Elizabeth Garcia (Out of School Time Program Development Coach), Stacy Jackson (Out of School Time Program Development Coach) and Jenna Van Sponsen (Network Director) of Kalamazoo Youth Development Network.

Maybe a good place to begin would be to briefly describe the mission and vision of the Kalamazoo Youth Development (KYD) Network?

The Kalamazoo Youth Development Network is an intermediary organization working in the out-of-school time (OST) sector, providing support and partnering with 60 youth-serving organizations in Kalamazoo and Calhoun Counties.

Vision: All youth in Kalamazoo County are college, career, and community ready by the age of 21.

Mission: to ensure that all Kalamazoo County youth have access to high quality, youth-driven, culturally-agile, and equitable out-of-school (OST) programs that are part of a well-coordinated system.

 

Meg Blinkiewicz

According to its organizational history, since 2000 the Kalamazoo Youth Development (KYD) Network has transitioned to an intermediary organization building a sustainable out-of-school time (OST) system in Kalamazoo County. Why is OST an important consideration in a child’s overall development?

EG - OST programs offer a unique opportunity for youth to connect with other youths and adults not focusing solely on academics. Dance, art, writing, self-expression and more. It is a very unique opportunity that grounds youth in their community and allows for self discovery.

SJ - OST programs provide space that allows youth and adults to connect through authentic engagements that provide growth in Social Emotional Learning (SEL). We’ve learned that SEL skills are a critical foundation in the ability to be successful in education.  OST is where SEL skills can be highlighted and practiced in various learning environments. 

MB - OST programs provide a physically and psychologically safe environment for youth to gain the skills and knowledge to be their authentic selves.  OST programs offer high quality learning environments for youth to gain social emotional skills such as optimistic thinking, goal directed behavior, and relationship skills.  Our programs are designed to allow youth to make mistakes and not feel judged.  Adults model this approach by sharing their experiences and how they are learning new skills, along with youth. 

 

KYD’s 2018-2019 Annual Report pointed out the large gap between actual children served and the potential number of kids needing out-of-school time connection. Mention was made of an OST scan to determine how resources could be coordinated and used.  Is there an update?

MB - We will be conducting our next sector scan during the 2020-21 program year and will share the results at our December 2021 State of the Sector meeting. 

 

The KYD’s 2018-2019 Annual Report also mentions the rapid increase of OST

Stacy Jackson

providers in Kalamazoo County, to its present level of 50. Could you talk a bit about the challenges and opportunities of such growth among OST providers?

JV - It is important to note that the increase indicated in the annual report is not OST providers in Kalamazoo County in general - but an increase in the number of OST providers that are engaging with KYD Network and provided assessments and supports (i.e.  the Youth Program Quality Intervention (YPQI) from the David P. Weikart Center for Youth Program Quality; the Devereux Student Strengths Assessment (DESSA) for social emotional learning; and more).

A challenge with this growth in engaged providers (whom we call “cohort members”) is that our capacity as an organization (staffing etc) did not grow at the same rate. This caused an increase in overall workload. Through this growth we saw an opportunity in 2019-2020 to return to our individualized coaching model to increase relationship building between coaches and organizations.

     

Jenna VanSpronsen

The same Annual Report speaks to the importance of social emotional learning. I’m wondering, from your view, what the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic have had upon this particular aspect of learning? Especially with the move to remote learning?

EG - Some youth are thriving with a more flexible time schedule, and fostering stronger relationships with their families and some youth are not. Both can co-exist and it is important that we meet the needs of the individual youth and not try to cookie cut our approaches when it comes to supporting the growth of SEL skills.

 

SJ - The SEL aspect of learning has been magnified during Covid-19 and the transition to remote learning.  We have been able to further encourage engagement in development of SEL skills in adults who work with youth. 

 

MB -  based on an assessment of 100 youth this summer, youth SEL skills have decreased since last year.  This is a very small sample size so we will be continuing to work with our cohort members to gain a better understanding of where youth are with respect to their SEL skills so that we can implement strategies to better support youth.   We are partnering with other communities to share best practices as it relates to building community virtually and staying connected with our youth and families.

 

What are two things that you wish more people would understand about KYD?

 

EG - That we exist to support youth programs. We are about breaking barriers and reflecting as a sector for what will be our next steps.

JV - KYD Network works toward our vision by working with adults. We know that we as adults must do our own work first...and that by improving the skills of adults we then improve the outcomes for youth.

 

SJ - That we are here to provide support to adults in order for them to support youth.  We believe that youth have the answers to the problems we face and we have to be able to facilitate those answers out of youth by having high expectations and providing appropriate support.

 

MB - KYD Network believes in the power of we and the power of youth. We have created a strong OST sector that better understands how to listen to and elevate youth and how to co-create a community where youth can be college, career, and community ready by 21.

 

Elizabeth Garcia

What do you think the future holds for KYD?

MB - we are beginning our journey as an anti-racist organization and sector and starting to move to critical youth development.  These two fundamental shifts are exciting, challenging, and motivating to KYD Network and the OST sector.

 

SJ - I see our work becoming a National model for implementation.  We focus on collaboration, making space and building bridges.  That is what is necessary to bring forth the change we want to be a part of.

Is there anything else you’d like to mention?

JV - Financially, readers can donate to KYD Network online via  https://kydnet.org/kydnet-donate/ or via Venmo @kydnetwork  or checks can be sent via mail to Kalamazoo Youth Development Network at PO Box #51221 Kalamazoo, MI 49005.

SJ - Readers can follow our Facebook page, engage in our affinity group meetings, attend Action Friday meetings!  We need board and committee members to push forward this work in our community.