Humanities Amped

THE MISSION OF HUMANITIES AMPED IS TO AMPLIFY YOUTH VOICE, CIVIC ENGAGEMENT, AND HUMAN CONNECTION IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS.

AMPED ACADEMY IS AN AFTER SCHOOL PROGRAM THAT IS CONNECTED TO HUMANITIES AMPED. THIS PROGRAM SEEKS TO BUILD FACILITATION AND LEADERSHIP SKILLS AMONG HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS WHILE PROVIDING THEM WITH SUBSTANTIVE ACADEMIC AND COLLEGE/CAREER READINESS SUPPORTS. THE PROGRAM'S CORE ACTIVITIES INCLUDE TUTORING/ACADEMIC SUPPORT, YOUTH LEADERSHIP AND PROJECT-BASED ENRICHMENT CLUBS, AND COLLEGE/CAREER READINESS WORKSHOPS. STUDENT FACILITATION AND LEADERSHIP ARE INTEGRAL TO THIS PROGRAM. IN THE FALL OF 2020, 33 EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH SCHOOL STUDENTS WERE INVOLVED IN AMPED ACADEMY, RENAMED AMPED STUDIO. THESE 33 STUDENTS ELECTED TO PARTICIPATE IN THE FOLLOWING PROGRAM OPTIONS: ? TUTORING SUPPORT IN ACADEMIC SUBJECTS ON TUESDAYS ? DREAMKEEPERS A GROUP THAT MEETS ON WEDNESDAYS FOR YOUTH WHO WANT SUPPORT PLANNING FOR THE LIFE THEY DESIRE AFTER HIGH SCHOOL ? WORDCREW A POETRY WORKSHOP THAT MEETS ON WEDNESDAY EVENINGS FOR CREATIVE WRITING AND SELF-EXPRESSION ? SOUL CYPHER- HEALING AND PEER MENTORSHIP WITH A HIP HOP LENS ? EDUCATORS RISING/PEER SUPPORT TRAINING- COURSES FOR YOUTH TO GAIN BADGES AS PEER FACILITATORS AND PEER COUNSELING SUPPORTS AND BECOME ELIGIBLE FOR JOBS AS AMPED YOUTH LEADERS AS A RESULT OF AMPED ACADEMY/AMPED STUDIO, 89 OF STUDENTS INVOLVED IN THE PROGRAM REPORTED AN INCREASE IN THEIR ABILITY TO RECOGNIZE AND IDENTIFY CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE, TRAUMA-INFORMED CLASSROOM PRACTICES. ADDITIONALLY, 89 OF STUDENTS INVOLVED REPORTED HAVING A SIGNIFICANT, POSITIVE EXPERIENCE WITH CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE, TRAUMA-INFORMED CLASSROOM PRACTICES IN THE AMPED STUDIO AFTER SCHOOL PROGRAM. THROUGHOUT THE SPRING AND FALL SEMESTERS, 50+ YOUNG PEOPLE AND COMMUNITY MEMBERS ATTENDED AND OVER 20 YOUNG PEOPLE FROM 8 SCHOOLS SHARED THEIR WORK IN THE VIRTUAL OPEN MIC. WITH 2 STAND ALONE OPEN MICS AND 1 COLLABORATIVE OPEN MIC, DOZENS OF YOUNG WRITERS SHARED THEIR ORIGINAL WRITING EXPLORING TOPICS LIKE MENTAL HEALTH, FAMILY, RACIAL INJUSTICES, POLITICS, GENDER-BASED INJUSTICES, LGBTQIA+ IDENTITY, RELATIONSHIPS, SCHOOL, HOBBIES, SCI-FI, AND SO MUCH MORE.

APPROXIMATELY 450 STUDENTS WERE PART OF AMPLIFIED CLASSROOMS IN THE 2020-21 SCHOOL YEAR, INCLUDING 20 DISTINCT CLASS SECTIONS. ALL AMPED-SUPPORTED CLASSES RECEIVED: ? COACHING, GUIDED PLANNING, AND MODELING FROM A COACH WHO WORKS CLOSELY WITH INSTRUCTIONAL TEAMS. COACHES SPECIALIZE IN TRAUMA-INFORMED, CULTURALLY SUSTAINING, PROJECT-BASED LEARNING. ACTIVITIES IN AMPLIFIED CLASSROOMS ARE ALIGNED WITH THE AMPED 7 CORE ASSETS FRAMEWORK. ? CURRICULAR RESOURCES - SEE HTTP://WWW.HUMANITIESAMPED.COM ? EDUCATOR TRAINING THAT IS ALIGNED WITH THE FRAMEWORK THROUGH THE AMPED LEARNING COMMUNITY, TEACHERS AND ADMINISTRATORS EXPERIENCE GUIDED REFLECTION, STUDY, PRACTICE, AND PLANNING. SOME CLASSES ALSO PARTICIPATED IN/RECIEVED: ? AMPED COMMUNITY EDUCATORS CO-TEACH AND SUPPORT CLASSES MANY ARE PHD CANDIDATE IN RELATED FIELDS ? PAID INTERNSHIPS FOR AMPED YOUTH LEADERS TO ATTEND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT WITH EDUCATORS, CONTRIBUTE TO PLANNING, AND INCREASE LIFE AND CAREER SKILLS ? COLLECTIVE CARE REFERRALS TO FILL IN THE GAPS IN SCHOOL-BASED MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES AND GET YOUNG PEOPLE THE SERVICES THEY NEED ? TRAINED COMMUNITY VOLUNTEERS TO ASSIST WITH PROJECT-BASED CLASSROOM LEARNING ? PARTICIPATION IN COMMUNITY-WIDE FORUMS THAT BRING STUDENTS AND COMMUNITY TOGETHER TO AMPLIFY STUDENT VOICE AND CIVIC ENGAGEMENT AS PART OF THIS PROGRAM, 16 EBRPSS HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS PARTICIPATED AS YOUTH APPRENTICE LEADERS AND RECEIVED STIPENDS IN ADDITION TO PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT. OVER 90 OF STUDENTS INVOLVED IN AMPED PROGRAMS REPORTED THAT STUDENTS INVOLVED IN AN AMPED PROGRAM SUPPORTED ONE ANOTHER. ADDITIONALLY, OVER 85 OF STUDENTS INVOLVED IN AMPED PROGRAMS REPORTED THAT THEY WERE ABLE TO GAIN A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF THEIRS OR OTHERS DIVERSE IDENTITIES, CONNECT CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES TO THEIR REAL-LIFE CONCERNS AND INTERESTS, AND DEVELOP THEIR ACADEMIC AND INTERPERSONAL SKILLS THROUGH AMPED PROGRAMMING. 83 OF STUDENTS INVOLVED IN THE AMPED LEARNING COMMUNITY REPORTED AN INCREASE IN THEIR ABILITY TO RECOGNIZE AND IDENTIFY CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE, TRAUMA-INFORMED CLASSROOM PRACTICES IN THEIR AMPED CLASSROOM ENVIRONMENT AND OVER 50 OF STUDENTS INVOLVED IN THE AMPED LEARNING COMMUNITY REPORTED HAVING SIGNIFICANT, POSITIVE EXPERIENCES WITH CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE, TRAUMA-INFORMED CLASSROOM PRACTICES IN THEIR AMPED CLASSROOM ENVIRONMENT. 89 OF EDUCATORS INVOLVED IN THE AMPED LEARNING COMMUNITY REPORTED AN INCREASE IN THEIR ABILITY TO IMPLEMENT CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE, TRAUMA-INFORMED CLASSROOM PRACTICES AND THEIR ABILITY TO FOSTER CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE, TRAUMA-INFORMED LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS. TEACHERS REPORTED FEELING CONFIDENT IN THEIR ABILITY TO DEVELOP THE CORE ASSET OF SAFETY AND TRUST IN THEIR CLASSROOM BASED ON THE TRAINING THEY RECEIVED THROUGH HUMANITIES AMPED PROGRAMMING. THIS IS SIGNIFICANT GIVEN THE TEACHERS WORK IN BOTH VIRTUAL AND IN-PERSON CLASSROOMS OVER THE COURSE OF THE YEAR.

THE INAUGURAL HUMANITIES AMPED LEARNING COMMUNITY SUMMER INSTITUTE, ATTENDED BY 45 PARTICIPANTS REPRESENTING 16 EBRPSS EDUCATORS FROM FIVE SCHOOLS, 9 AMPED COMMUNITY EDUCATORS, AND 20 HIGH SCHOOL AND MIDDLE SCHOOL YOUTH APPRENTICE LEADERS, RAN ONLINE FROM JUNE 9-25TH. DESPITE THE INHERENT CHALLENGES OF DISTANCE LEARNING, OUR LEARNING NETWORK MEMBERS ENGAGED IN COMMUNITY BUILDING, WORKSHOPS, AND READING AND REFLECTION FOCUSING ON CULTURALLY SUSTAINING PEDAGOGIES, RESTORATIVE JUSTICE PRACTICES, MIND-BODY WELLNESS, AND ARTS INTEGRATION. SESSIONS LEADERS INCLUDED ERIC BUTLER FROM TALKING PIECE, TONI BANKSTON FROM THE BATON ROUGE CHILDREN'S ADVOCACY CENTER, LORENA GERM?N FROM THE MULTICULTURAL CLASSROOM, AND FORWARD ARTS TEACHING ARTISTS DESIRE? DALLAGIACOMO AND DONNEY ROSE, AMONG OTHERS. THROUGHOUT THE INSTITUTE, PLANNING TEAMS OF EDUCATORS AND YOUTH HAVE SOUGHT TO ADDRESS THE FOLLOWING DRIVING QUESTIONS: WHAT ARE THE CONDITIONS OF STUDENT AND EDUCATOR WELL-BEING, CONNECTEDNESS, AND ENGAGEMENT AS CIVIC-MINDED PROBLEM-SOLVERS? HOW DO WE CENTER THESE PRIORITIES IN ONLINE/HYBRID LEARNING? THE TEAMS WORKED COLLABORATIVELY TO DEVELOP CONCRETE ACTION PLANS FOR THE COMING SCHOOL YEAR. WE CELEBRATED THE CLOSE OF THIS INSTITUTE WITH AN ONLINE FORUM ATTENDED BY 72 PEOPLE AND HIGHLIGHTING THE WORK OF FOUR OF THE NINE TEAMS. WE WERE JOINED BY SPECIAL GUEST DR. DAVID STOVALL, WHO PROVIDED FRAMING FOR THIS WORK AS WELL AS A RESPONSE TO EACH PRESENTATION. A VIDEO OF THE FORUM IS POSTED ON OUR WEBSITE WWW.HUMANITIESAMPED.COM AS WELL AS ALL NINE OF THE PROPOSED PLANS FOR THE 2020-21 SCHOOL YEAR MADE BY TEAMS, WHICH ARE NOW POSTED ON THE SUMMER INSTITUTE WEBPAGE. BELOW ARE SOME OF THE HIGHLIGHTS OF THE PARTICIPANT EVALUATION: 97.2 OF PARTICIPANTS VIEWED THE AMPED COMMUNITY LEARNING NETWORK SUMMER INSTITUTE 2020 AS SUCCESSFUL. USING THE SAMSA INDICATORS OF TRAUMA-INFORMED PRACTICE, PARTICIPANTS REPORTED: SAFETY 97.3 OF PARTICIPANTS RESPONDED THAT EMOTIONAL AND PHYSICAL SAFETY WAS PRIORITIZED IN AMPED ACTIVITIES 80.6 VERY TRUE, 16.7 TRUE, 2.8 NEUTRAL, 0 NOT TRUE. TRUSTWORTHINESS & TRANSPARENCY 94.5 OF PARTICIPANTS RESPONDED THAT OPENNESS, HONESTY, AND TRANSPARENCY ARE PRIORITIZED AMONG HUMANITIES AMPED LEADERSHIP TO BUILD TRUST. 88.9 VERY TRUE, 5.6 TURE, 5.6 NEUTRAL, 0 NOT TRUE. PEER SUPPORT 100 OF PARTICIPANTS RESPONDED THAT PEOPLE ARE SUPPORTIVE OF ONE ANOTHER IN THE AMPED COMMUNITY. 88.9 VERY TRUE, 11.1 TRUE, 0 NEUTRAL, 0 NOT TRUE. 94.5 OF PARTICIPANTS RESPONDED THAT THEY WERE ABLE TO SHARE THEIR EXPERIENCES AND LEARN FROM OTHERS' EXPERIENCES WITHIN THE AMPED COMMUNITY 77.8 VERY TRUE, 16.7 TRUE, 5.6 NEUTRAL, 0 NOT TRUE. COLLABORATION & MUTUALITY 91.7 OF PARTICIPANTS RESPONDED THAT POWER IS SHARED AMONG AMPED COMMUNITY MEMBERS 77.8 VERY TRUE, 13.9 TRUE, 8.3 NEUTRAL, 0 NOT TRUE. 100 OF PARTICIPANTS FELT THAT RELATIONSHIPS ARE PRIORITIZED IN THE AMPED COMMUNITY. 66.7 VERY TRUE, 33.3 TRUE, 0 NEUTRAL, 0 NOT TRUE 100 BELIEVED THAT THEY WERE VALUED MEMBERS OF THE AMPED COMMUNITY WHO WERE ABLE TO CONTRIBUTE AND COLLABORATE WITH OTHER MEMBERS. 83.3 VERY TRUE, 16.7 TRUE, 0 NEUTRAL, 0 NOT TRUE EMPOWERMENT, VOICE, & CHOICE 97.2 OF RESPONDENTS BELIEVED THAT INDIVIDUALS' STRENGTHS AND EXPERIENCES WERE RECOGNIZED AND BUILT UPON IN THE AMPED COMMUNITY. 83.3 VERY TRUE, 13.9 TRUE, 2.8 NEUTRALLY, 0 NOT TRUE. 100 OF PARTICIPANTS RESPONDED THAT THE AMPED COMMUNITY BELIEVES IN THE ABILITY OF YOUNG PEOPLE AND EDUCATORS TO MAKE CHOICES, SET GOALS AND TAKE ACTION 97.2 VERY TRUE, 2.8 TRUE, 0 NEUTRAL, 0 NOT TRUE. CULTURALLY SUSTAINING 94.4 OF PARTICIPANTS RESPONDED THAT THE AMPED COMMUNITY ACTIVELY CHALLENGES CULTURAL STEREOTYPES AND VALUES DIVERSE PERSPECTIVES 2.8 DID NOT AGREE. 83.3 VERY TRUE, 11.1 TRUE, 2.8 NEUTRAL, 2.8 NOT TRUE, 0 NOT TRUE AT ALL. 94.4 OF PARTICIPANTS RESPONDED THAT THE AMPED COMMUNITY HONORS AND UPLIFTS PARTICIPANTS? DIVERSE IDENTITIES. 83.3 VERY TRUE, 11.1 TRUE, 5.6 NEUTRAL, 0 NOT TR