Goals

• To provide a safe educational program
• To promote and enhance self-esteem.
• To promote and encourage wise and safe decision-making.
• To expose the students to a wide variety of positive learning, recreational, and social activities.

Activities

• Group discussions, which are about 15 minutes, promote self-esteem and wise decision-making skills.
• Field trips. A sample list: Corning Community College and their planetarium, Harris Hill Park, Strong Museum in Rochester, Buffalo Bills training camp, Curtiss Museum in Hammondsport,
• Corning Museum of Glass, Watkins Glen State Park, Science Museum on Ithaca, Stonybrook State Park, Rochester, Redwings, Monterey Shock Camp, Keuka Lake, NY State fish hatchery, Cowanesque State Park, and Rushford Lake.
• Group activities.
• Journal writing, which also promotes self-esteem and wise decision making skills.
• Home visitations. All students receive a home visitation upon acceptance into the program. There the staff evaluates the needs of the student and the family, conducts a self esteem pretest, introduces and explains the program, coordinates transportation, discuss issues relating to paperwork and releases, free lunch forms signed, and answers questions.
• Community service activities, such as: building picnic benches, litter pick up, painting and renovating community buildings, and visiting and helping a variety of need community individuals. The purpose is to illustrate the needs of the community, and ownership, membership and responsibilities of being part of a community.
• Fishing, swimming, picnics and other recreational activities.
• The students have several opportunity times to learn how to kayak, which are provided by the program and run by a staff member who is a certified lifeguard.

Sites

• Three sites each with a coordinator, a bus driver, at least one certified teacher or master's level psychologist, and three supportive personnel.
• All staff receives first aid and CPR training from the Red Cross.
• Sites are typically located at the Hornell Wildwood BOCES campus, Bath Central School, and the Coopers Plains BOCES campus.
• The Hornell Wildwood BOCES campus site services the Hornell, Alfred-Almond, Arkport, Canisteo, Greenwood, and Wayland-Cohocton school districts.
• The Bath Central School site services the Avoca, Bath, Hammondsport, and Prattsburgh school districts.
• The Coopers Plains BOCES campus site services the Coming-Painted Post, Addison, Campbell-Savona, and the Jasper-Troupsburg school districts.
  

Eligibility

• The program is provided for at-risk youth between the ages eight and sixteen.
• Selected youth demonstrate evidence of either some kind of high risk taking behaviors, low self-esteem, neglect, or some kind of social or learning disability.
• Due to these reasons, the child is at risk of failing school or becoming a dependent of the community/state.
• Students must be residents of Steuben County.