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| Community Budget Issue Requests - Tracking Id #1430 |
| The Milagro Center |
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| Requester: |
Marlo Belkin |
Organization: |
The Milagro Center |
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| Project Title: |
The Milagro Center |
Date Submitted |
1/11/2006 11:13:05 AM |
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| Sponsors: |
Atwater |
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| Statewide Interest: |
| The Milagro Center is a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization which provides after school and summer programming to economically disadvantaged children in Delray Beach. The Center's three main programs -- STARS, Mentor, and Outreach provide these indigent, underserved with homework and FCAT assistance as well as art classes daily. This program could be piloted anywhere in the State and has proven results in increasing the school success rate of its immigrant, indigent participants. Tangible community support is indicated by grants from Palm Beach County's Children's Services Council, Cultural Council, Parks & Recreation Department and many local individuals, foundations and corporations. The program is also endorsed by Rep. Adam Hasner, Rep. Anne Gannon and city and county officials. |
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| Recipient: |
The Milagro Center |
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Contact: |
Debbie Simon |
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340 SW 6th Avenue |
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Contact Phone: |
(561) 279-2970 |
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Delray Beach 33444 |
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Contact email: |
debbiemilagro@bellsouth.net |
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| Counties: |
Palm Beach |
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| Gov't Entity: |
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Private Organization (Profit/Not for Profit): |
Yes |
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| Project Description: |
| The Milagro Center provides superior arts education to the children of Palm Beach County's most disadvantaged populations. Milagro, which means "miracle" in Spanish, creates a unique community context within which students, families, and schools cooperate to achieve mutual success. The Center's three goals are to:
1. Ensure academic success.
2. Teach inclusion, embrace diversity, and promote the arts.
3. Create strong individuals who positively impact their communities.
STARS Program: Standing Together Achieving Recognition and Success. The Milagro Center's award-winning STARS Program is open to Palm Beach's most indigent children year-round. Operating on a trimester cycle, children participate in an after-school program parallel to the school district calendar and continue into an intensive Summer Arts Camp. There is no charge for the children to participate in either program.
During the school year, the Milagro Center offers homework assistance to participating children teaching study skills that are essential for school readiness. Palm Beach County Certified teachers and reading specialists instruct participants in specialized areas of literature, mathematics, science, and technology. The teachers encourage open minded approaches to reading while developing higher order thinking skills. These creative hands-on activities, shared in a safe, nurturing and non-threatening environment, increase academic participation and success. The highlight of the day begins when the artists arrive. Professional working artists from our community share their trades with our children. During the fall and spring terms, children are immersed in six art classes weekly. Finally, STARS participants' work is exhibited each trimester in a visual and performing arts showcase.
The accelerated Summer Term provides children with 6 one-hour long art classes per day for 8 weeks as well as literacy and academic review daily. The Center contracts experienced artists according to student interest, course diversity needs, and desired outcomes.
Mentoring Program: The main objective of the Mentoring Program is to provide each STARS participant with a quality, multi-generational relationship.
The Milagro Mentoring Program provides site-based mentoring for individuals in the STARS Program. The Mentoring Program connects youth with positive role models, a unique feature of the Milagro Center. Mentors are trained to address the educational and/or emotional deficits of students; they present solutions and encourage growth in these areas. Mentors vary in age, gender, and profession and work with students from 5-10 hours per month; minimum commitment for Mentors is 6 months.
Mentors:
1. Help students with homework during the academic enrichment portion of the program.
2. Participate in classes during the art component of the program.
Our Mentors foster nurturing, supportive, and inter-generational relationships that are essential for building self-esteem in children. A Mentoring relationship enhances all aspects of a child's life and touches both Mentor and Mentee for a lifetime. Currently all Milagro STARS have Mentors.
Community Outreach Program: The Milagro Center uses the existing infrastructure of the STARS Program to extend arts education to disadvantaged children in Delray Beach. Current partners include Delray Beach Parks & Recreation, Delray Beach Boys & Girls Club, Carver Estates Youth Program (recently relocated), and EPOCH. These after-school programs integrate classes on Drawing and Folk Arts into their curricula using Milagro Center artists. The Milagro Center does not charge the other after school programs for our services as it is our belief that all at-risk children deserve the opportunity to be exposed to the arts. |
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| Is this a project related to a federal or state declared disaster? |
No |
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| Measurable Outcome Anticipated: |
| We anticipate that the STARS Program and the Mentoring Program at the Milagro Center impacts children on three dimensions. We believe that our program activites:
1. Increase participant self-esteem.
2. Positively impact STARS participants' academic scores, school attendance, and overall school achievement.
3. Result in increased social cooperation among participants.
The Milagro Center is absolutely unique in its programming. Of the 50+ after-school programs and day care facilities in the city of Delray Beach, the Milagro Center is the only to offer intensive arts education taught by full-time professional artists. Children experience folk, traditional and modern art daily. Lesson plans foster multicultural understanding and encourage the investigation of cultural identity. STARS also stands apart from other programs because it provides services to Delray Beach's most needy families free of charge. Further, the STARS Program boasts a 98 percent success rate of grade level advancement.
The Milagro Center has produced an innovative approach to after-school programming that strongly evidences artistic, academic, and social success among its participants. The small organization effectively delivers individual attention to each student; the student-teacher ratio is never more than 12:1. Even more, the Milagro Center's exceptional staff is college educated and has over 25 years of combined experience in the field of education between them.
A high level of community involvement also distinguishes the Milagro Center from other art programs. In sum, the Milagro Center blends arts and education in an unparalleled, successful model.
Youth arts programs are powerful crime prevention tools. They offer safe, engaging, and constructive environments for young people who lack adult supervision during non-school hours. According to researcher with the U.S. Department of Justice, participants in youth art programs exhibit:
1. Increased ability to express anger appropriately, communicate effectively, and cooperate with others.
2. Increased ability to work on tasks from start to finish.
3. More likely to report decreased frequency of delinquent behavior that their non-participating peers.
4. More likely to show improvements in their attitudes toward school, self-esteem, and self-efficacy that their non-participating peers. |
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| Amount requested from the State for this project this year: |
$25,000 |
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| Total cost of the project: |
$363,000 |
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| Request has been made to fund: |
Operations |
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| What type of match exists for this project? |
Private |
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Cash Amount |
$25,000 |
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| Was this project previously funded by the state? |
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No |
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| Is future-year funding likely to be requested? |
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Yes |
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Amount: |
$25,000 |
To Fund: |
Operations |
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| Was this project included in an Agency's Budget Request? |
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No |
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| Was this project included in the Governor's Recommended Budget? |
No |
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| Is there a documented need for this project? |
No |
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| Was this project request heard before a publicly noticed meeting of a body of elected officials (municipal, county, or state)? |
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No |
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| Is this a water project as described in Section 403.885, Laws of Florida? |
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No |
