Boys & Girls Club success more than pie in the sky

Warwick Beacon ·

The Warwick Boys and Girls Club is being tapped by the Boys and Girls Club of America to share some of its best practices following the results of its 2017 National Youth Outcomes Initiative survey, which asks members aged 9-18 various questions regarding their satisfaction level with the clubs and tracks the efficacy of each local program.

Out of 25 categories, the Warwick Boys and Girls Club scored at or above the national average in 23 of them – including a full 25 percentage points higher in “optimal overall club experience” (63 percent for Warwick, compared to the national average of 38 percent).

“The Boys & Girls Clubs of Warwick works hard to ensure programs and activities are interesting and fun, and also build academic skills, healthy habits, good character and a sense of well-being and self-esteem,” said Lara D’Antuono, executive director for the Warwick Boys and Girls Club. “We believe that is why our recent National Outcomes Survey results were so exceptional. Our entire staff is laser-focused on ensuring we deliver the best possible programming for our kids.”

Other areas where Warwick significantly out-performed the national average includes categories tracking the feeling of physical safety by the kids (82 percent in Warwick, 59 percent nationally); an overall feeling of having fun at the club (65 percent in Warwick, 49 percent nationally); and a feeling of making meaningful adult connections (72 percent in Warwick, 56 percent nationally).

The secret behind the impressive numbers, according to D’Antuono, lies squarely in what she mentioned in the above quote – the dedicated staff that work with the kids every day.

“The longer the staff spends with kids the stronger that relationship gets,” she said. “They have a sense that someone is having a bad day because they aren’t acting the way they normally do, so they can ask what's going on. I think that makes a big difference.”

D’Antuono said that the Warwick staff is encouraged to find fun ways to implement the core curriculum of the clubs. This approach boils down even to the monotonous taking of the National Outcome surveys – which every Boys and Girls Club in the country is required to administer to its appropriately-aged after-school members during the month of March.

Last Friday D’Antuono and Warwick community police officers Al Melucci and Geoff Waldman gathered at the club’s Norwood branch to reward the kids for taking the surveys. The kids placed their names in a hat, and the three names that were pulled were given the honor of delivering a shaving cream pie into one of their faces, much to the delight of the many kids gathered, who cheered in near hysterics watching their adult mentors get creamed.

There was originally only going to be two kids supplying the pies to the police officers alone, but after she was goaded by a group of around 50 kids chanting her name and “Do it!” in unison, she had little choice in the matter but to suit up in a trash bag of her own and endure the free shaving cream makeover as well. “The kids are my kryptonite,” an amused D’Antuono said in recollection of the event on Tuesday.

Despite her feigned annoyance with Melucci for roping her into a pie in the face, the event perfectly summed up the approach taken by the Warwick Boys and Girls Club. From the person at the very top of the organization and on down to every individual staff member, having fun isn’t an option – it’s a job requirement.

“We tell our staff all the time, if you're not having fun at your job the kids aren't going to have fun,” D’Antuono said. “I think all of those club experiences tie in. Once you create that environment within your work family and staff, it can't help but trickle down into the kids.”

Along with having fun, D’Antuono said it is important for staff to find creative ways to implement core educational curriculum. She gave the example of their healthy cooking class, which can take a less than exciting subject like math and simultaneously incorporate good eating habits, reading comprehension and problem solving skills – all while learning math and how to mix up ingredients for a recipe.

“Do we challenge our staff to break through the mold? Absolutely,” D’Antuono said. “We encourage them to throw out what you used to do and start new. Think about what would excite you when you were that age. Is your ultimate goal to teach them how to draw faces? Then let's step back and think about a fun way to do that. It might be through something like drawing a comic strip.”

At the end of the day, however, D’Antuono said the most crucial piece to helping kids excel is to have the right people in front of them directing their activities.

“I think that the reason our programs are so effective is the staff,” she said. “If the staff didn’t have the connections they have, then they wouldn’t get through the program. It doesn’t matter how fun the program is, it's who administers it.”

The Warwick Boys and Girls Club will hold a “Great Futures Gala” Saturday, April 7 at the Warwick Country Club, 394 Narragansett Bay Ave. Tickets can still be purchased for $100 at www.wbgclubs.org. A grand prize of $10,000 will be awarded to one raffle winner. Flo St. Jean, one of the first women directors of a Boys and Girls Club in the country, will be inducted into the Hall of Fame and honored at the event.

“It's a great way to come have some fun and help support the kids we serve every day,” D’Antuono said. “You will not be bored.” She added that they will be bringing over some technology from the club’s newest branch, the Club at Cooper (located on Sandy Lane), to show off their new offerings to middle school aged kids. That branch will feature a new grand opening event on May 2.