Turning kids at risk into kids at hope
Changing school curriculums can, at times, prove to be difficult for many students, leaving them feeling defeated and unsuccessful.
One initiative is looking to scrap those feelings and make sure each and every student inside a Yuma County classroom feels valued and important.
“We know people with hope do better in life than people who are hopeless,” Rick Miller, Founder and Chief Treasure Hunter of Kids at Hope, explained.
Children succeed when they are surrounded by caring adults who believe they can succeed.
He said it’s not kids at risk, it’s kids at hope. It’s a belief system that every child can succeed, no exceptions.
Kids at Hope is found in 18 states across the country, serving over 500,000 kids in schools, organizations, and communities. Miller said through significant research and evaluation, Kids at Hope created a strategy, principles, and practices.
It even includes “time travel.”
“Hope is the ability to visit your future, return to the present and prepare for the journey,” Miller added.
According to the Kids at Hope website, “children succeed when they can articulate their future in four domains rather than one: Home & Family, Education & Career, Community & Service and Hobbies & Recreation,”
It’s not just another program but a cultural shift in schools.
“They’re now practicing those principles every single day,” said Miller.
Salida del Sol Principal, Sheila Mendoza, said it’s something she and her students and staff practice every day since the school implemented Kids at Hope three years ago.
“It started great conversations with students and their families,” she added.
Every year, they add to it.
“We started the Kids at Hope report card, and so that’s where the teacher and the student sit down and they talk about how they time-traveled and what their goals are,” Mendoza said.
Each day, students recite the Kids at Hope pledge. Mendoza said she hopes years from now, students will pass along the values learned at Salida del Sol.
“I hope that they look back and know that there were people at Salida that cared and believed in them and then they can pay that forward,” she explained.
Kids at Hope can also be found in juvenile justice systems and recreation and community centers.
According to Kids at Hope, the Arizona Supreme Court has adopted the belief system as part of its evidence based practices model.
If you want more information or to learn more about training and services, visits Kids at Hope.
