Our team worked with teenagers aged 13-17 at the New Community After School program to discuss important health and social issues. We focused on nutrition, drugs, relationships, and preparing for college. For nutrition, we incorporated healthy cooking lessons and discussed the consequences of poor diets. When discussing drugs, we aimed to clarify misconceptions about marijuana and encourage candid discussion. We also addressed alcohol use through interactive games to provide facts while relating to the teens' experiences. To prepare for college, we highlighted the financial benefits and dispelled common myths, then reviewed the application process. Throughout, we strived to engage the teens through flexible discussions and activities tailored to their backgrounds.

1. [ Log In ] [ CNDLS Poster Tool Home ] [ Poster Listing]
2004-2005 | New Community After School and Advocacy Program
New Community After School and Advocacy Program
New Community After School & Advocacy Program (NC-ASAP)
Faculty Leader: Mary Beth Levin, MPH
Victor M. Duarte, Nicholas Furiasse, Abby Karth, Nick Liu, Jamilah Shakir, Sam Waller, Mike Ybarra
Project Summary
Group Location: New Community After School, 614 S. Street, Washington, DC 20001
Background: Most of the kids at NC-ASAP come from low-income homes where parents work long hours; so
for many, this after-school program is like an extra set of parents
Goal: Discuss and address the importance of health & nutrition with youths in a TEEN PROGRAM at New
Community
Summary:
Our 8-membered team worked with several adolescents, ages 13-17, educating and discussing with them many of
the issues that face them in school and society today. On our first visit, we asked the teenagers which topics were
of interest to them. Based on their responses and the experiences of our Team Leader, Mary Beth Levin, and the
SL team members, we chose to focus on the following topics: college topics, drugs, personal relationships, and
nutrition/lifestyle issues. Taking into account our audience, African-American males and females coming from
low-income homes, we adapted and modified our discussions with the teens, catering to their backgrounds in a
way that would leave a lasting impression.
We quickly noticed their curiosity and intelligence within the class with their teacher/mentor and with their
classmates and knew we were not dealing with typical 15 year-olds. Based on those observations and the fact that
our team was committed to becoming excellent role models for them, we divided important issues and tasks
amongst the 7 teammates and split the TEEN PROGRAM members into smaller groups to better faciliate
interactive sessions. Our team presented guidelines to a healthier diet, while stressing the importance of daily

2. exercise, using movie-clips and healthy cooking recipes as examples. Our team leaders also went into detail about
the college application process, and divulged the truths and myths of college and answered their questions.
Alcohol, smoking/drugs, and relationships/"safer" dating were also addressed using posterboard and fun group-
games.
The entire team has greatly benefited from working in the TEEN PROGRAM, and has undoubteably made all of
us appreciate and value what we have, even more. While working on our weekly group
presentations regarding better and healthier lifestyles, we discovered some things that we had neglected
beforehand, that all of us will now incorporate into our lives. But what truly made the experience worthwhile was
being able to impact and support the teens at the community in a positive way and setting a good example for
them!
Drugs
Marijuana Prevention
Challenges
• Getting the students to talk candidly about their experiences or others experiences with marajuana
• Since marijuana usage is prelavent in the students' surrounding environment, we had a difficult time
conveying the message that smoking marijuana is harmful to the body.
• Most of the students held the belief that marijuana usage is acceptable for recreational use
• While the majority of the students were able to associate long-term cigarettes smoking with lung diseases,
when asked about marijuana, they thought marijuana would not cause any serious health problems besides
addicition. Therefore, they believe that using marijuana is acutally less harmful than cigarettes

3. • Most of the challenges we faced during this particular session was to clarify general misconceptions the
students had about marijuana
Approach
• Small group discussion format between the faciliators and the students
• A quiz was presensted at the end of each session to clarify misconceptions about smoking marijuana
Successes
• The teenagers opened up and began to talk more candidly after the SL group members shared their
experiences in this area. This was an excellent way to break the ice and make the teenagers more
comfortable talking about marajuana.
Lessons Learned
• Be flexible.
• Having a general outline for the session and allowing the students guide the conversation (even if it cause
deviation from the original plan) appeared to be the most interactive and most effective way of relaying
the information to the teenagers.
• Sharing our past experiences with marijuana or smoking in general was helpful in encouraging the
students to open up and talk about the subject
• Facts and statistics from a variety of educational resources proved to be tremedously helpful in getting the
students to recognize the harmful effects of using marijuana

4. Alcohol Education
ALCOHOL EDUCATION
Impetus
• During the first meeting with the teens, they expressed their interest to learn about the social and
physiological aspects of alcohol.
• Alcohol is a commonly used and abused drug by this age group and so we decided that alcohol education
was essential.
Approach
• To avoid simply lecturing, we decided to address the topic of alcohol in a game format which was
taylored to stimulate group discussion.
• First, we passsed out a series of alcohol advertisements from magazines and asked the teens to describe
the message the advertisements were trying to portray about alcohol.
• To teach the physiological and social facts about alcohol we then began a game which was a fusion of

5. trivia questions and role playing. Questions ranged from basic facts about alcohol content in drinks to the
results of alcohol use and abuse on the brain, liver, GI track and heart. Meanwhile, the role playing put the
teen in the role of parent, friend or relative of an alcohol user.
• Infuse our own experiences to add a personal component to the topic.
Challenges
• To present the facts about alcohol in an alternative way so that the teens did not feel that they were being
lectured.
• Engaging the teens to discuss the alcohol issues that arose during the course of the game.
• Changing the format of the game to relate to the teens inner city experiences with alcohol.
• To create an experience so that the teens would remember what they learned and how to deal with
difficult situations where alcohol is involved.
• Create an approach discouraged alcohol use, but also stressed responsible decision making for those teens
that choose to use alcohol.
Successes
• The teens became more aware of the physiological affects of acohol which include heart, liver, GI
problems and also increased risk of depression/cancer.
• They developed skills through role playing to diffuse difficult situations that can occur with alcohol.
• Throught the trivia, they learned that a drink can mean a varying amount of alcohol depending on what is
served.
• They gained an insight to what it means to be a friend, relative or parent of an alcohol abuser.
• All of them gained an awareness to the prevelence of alcohol use and abuse that may await them as they
attend college.
Lessons Learned
• The teens were extremely astute to the tactics used in the alcohol advertisements--THEY WERE NOT
FOOLED!
• Those that used or planned to use alcohol all expressed their desire to make responsible choices.
• Trivia and role playing were great strategies to get the message across. However, it was not until we
talked about our personal experiences with alcohol that the teens began to feel comfortable.

6. Nutrition
Nutrition Curriculum
Impetus:
When we initially met with Ms. Lewis she expressed the need for the teens at New Community to learn about
nutrition. She was concerned about the eating habits of the teens.
Approach:
• We decided to incorporate a healthy eating and cooking portion to each service learning session.
• We used different websites such as the American Diabetes Association, and the FDA, to find convenient,
yet healthy snacks that the teens would be able to cook themselves.
• Examples of recipes included quesadillas, smoothies, and frozen yogurt with fruit.
• Each cooking class also incorporated a daily lesson, including learning about the food pyramid and
healthy exercise techniques.
• We also showed the documentary Super Size Me, in order to start a conversation about the consequences
of indulging too much in fast food.

7. Challenges:
• One challenge was getting the teens to understand the long term consequences of their eating habits.
• It was also a challenge to find a snack that would satisfy all of the teens and that they felt they would be
able to make at home.
Successes:
• The teens seemed to enjoy the cooking portion of the afternoons.
• The information about the food guide pyramid was novel and enlightening to many of the teens.
• The dramatic elements of the movie seemed to have an impact on the teens.
Lessons Learned:
• It would be helpful to have the teens come up with recipes they would like to learn how to cook in order
to get them more invested.
• More insight on the teens daily nutritional habits would help us tailor our curriculum more specifically

8. Preparing for College
Going To College
Impetus
• During our first meeting, the students showed an interest in learning more about the process of applying to
college.
• Preparing these students for college is a core goal of the NC-ASP.
Approach
• The session started with an activity. We asked the students to write down their dream jobs, desired salary,
favorite car, etc. See the document: Introductory Activity/Statistics
• The majority of students had normal aspirations for a teenager: lots of money, fancy cars, big house

9. • We followed this activity with salary statistics for college graduates versus high school drop-outs
• We utilized the college board website to prepare a top five list of myths that high school students site as
reasons not to go to college. See the document: Myths
• We reviewed the steps of the application using the Georgetown University undergraduate admissions
brochure as a guide.
• Finally, we presented the students with a detailed four year plan. See the document: Four Year Plan
Successes
• In some ways we were flying blind in that we were unsure how interested these students were in going to
college. We were pleansantly suprised that most students were open to our discussion, and excited about
the prospect of college.
• The top five list of myths that high school students site as reasons not to go to college we all listed by the
NC-ASP as a potential fear. We subsequently sought to dispell the myths, particularly the myth "I can't
afford it" and "College is too hard for me."
• We followed a successful outline and were able to present students with handouts and posters that they
can keep at the center.
Lessons Learned
• The students were very interested in learning about the experiences of SL team members in college. In the
future, leaving more time for Q&A would be a plus.
• Be prepared to deal with different levels of interest and adjust the lesson plan accordingly.

10. • We followed this activity with salary statistics for college graduates versus high school drop-outs
• We utilized the college board website to prepare a top five list of myths that high school students site as
reasons not to go to college. See the document: Myths
• We reviewed the steps of the application using the Georgetown University undergraduate admissions
brochure as a guide.
• Finally, we presented the students with a detailed four year plan. See the document: Four Year Plan
Successes
• In some ways we were flying blind in that we were unsure how interested these students were in going to
college. We were pleansantly suprised that most students were open to our discussion, and excited about
the prospect of college.
• The top five list of myths that high school students site as reasons not to go to college we all listed by the
NC-ASP as a potential fear. We subsequently sought to dispell the myths, particularly the myth "I can't
afford it" and "College is too hard for me."
• We followed a successful outline and were able to present students with handouts and posters that they
can keep at the center.
Lessons Learned
• The students were very interested in learning about the experiences of SL team members in college. In the
future, leaving more time for Q&A would be a plus.
• Be prepared to deal with different levels of interest and adjust the lesson plan accordingly.