BAM – Sports Edition Mid-Term Report
By Paul Slomski, WSC Contributor
In 2008/09, the University of Chicago Crime Lab launched a Chicago Youth Gun Violence Initiative and asked city organizations, both public and private, for ideas to reduce youth gun violence and promote positive youth outcomes, they received more than thirty submissions. The goal was to select a winning project that, if funds were secured could be implemented and rigorously evaluated. They knew the Becoming A Man (BAM) – Sports Edition proposal submitted by Youth Guidance and World Sport Chicago (WSC) showed tremendous potential. BAM – Sports Edition stood out among more than 30 submissions because of each organization’s reputation and track record. “We knew Youth Guidance and World Sport Chicago would implement the program like they said they would and get it done because they have proven they can conduct these types of programs in the past,” said U of C Crime Lab Co-Director Harold Pollack.
BAM —Sports Edition is now being implemented and rigorously evaluated at 14 Chicago Public Schools over the course of the 2009/2010 school year, thanks to the generous $1 million in contributions provided by local foundations, corporations and the federal government. The program includes both a Control and Treatment group. More than 700 young men (7th thru 10th graders) selected for the Treatment group are considered at-risk, struggling academically and behaviorally and in need of mentoring. The students in the Control group take no special classes and go about their usual day/semester. Their administrative data (attendance, grades, test scores, detentions, suspensions) is collected and compared to the Treatment Group throughout the project.
Youth Guidance is a not-for-profit that creates and implements school-based programs that enable at-risk children to overcome obstacles, focus on their education and, ultimately, to succeed in school and in life. They provide the BAM participants with one hour of cognitive behavioral therapy a week and one-on-one counseling when needed, while WSC and its partners expose the young men to non-traditional sports, like archery, boxing and judo two to three days a week, after school, all in an effort to help at-risk boys find constructive ways to channel their energy and to develop the self-esteem and confidence needed to face the challenges and pressures that come their way. BAM creator (1999) and Youth Guidance BAM Program Manager, Tony Divittorio says BAM is a “character education program,” and works to instill five core values within the kids, integrity, accountability, self-determination, positive anger expression, and visionary goal setting.
The non-traditional sports that WSC offers as a part of the program is considered a plus and was one of the reasons the BAM proposal stood out. Sports like archery and judo level the playing field for all participants, they are all starting off as beginners and are not as intimidated to try and stick with it. The main goal of the sports component is not to develop an elite athlete but to instill the soft skills that naturally come out of learning, practicing and competing. Skills such as discipline, short and long term goal setting, non-violent conflict resolution, and channeling energy properly the by-product of this portion of the program.
The soft skills the program teaches are hard to measure and quantify, how the kids relate to others, resolve conflict, motivate themselves. “These behavioral shifts are just as important as the improved administrative data like grades, test scores,” states Pollack. Long term success will mean anecdotal data from teachers inside the school buildings and parents that actually see a difference in these young men, “then they become an ally for the program.” Teacher reports are showing improvement one student at a time. One 7th grader specifically has shown tremendous strides. DiVittorio recants a recent episode with great pride “This individual, “Jonathan” came to our program failing academically, was highly at-risk and struggled to maintain focus. After ten weeks of martial arts and ten weeks of wrestling, he began excelling in a number of areas, and consistently receiving great teacher reports. At one point, the BAM participants conducted a “group mission” where a U.S. Marine Drill Instructor ran the boys through a series of exercises and calisthenics on a hot day. “He was pushing them hard,” says DiVittorio and they all had to pass to earn a field trip. The instructor was emphasizing some of the things they had learned like positive self-talk and during a push-up session a lot of the boys were struggling and giving up. But Jonathan was working through it, incorporating his “kihai” shout he learned during his martial arts lessons. “This is what BAM is all about,” exclaims DiVittorio, “Jonathan obviously had this resiliency in him all along, but it wasn’t brought out until he had an opportunity to participate in this program.”
Pollack stresses the programs is relatively cost effective, at an estimated cost of $1,000 per student, which means if positive results are found, it can easily be replicated and implemented in other schools within CPS and even nationwide. “BAM will be a success when it can reach a point where it is no longer a research project but an organic program within a school, accepting anyone who wants to participate and moving away from a controlled program to a more accessible, open program.” Feedback from everyone involved has been positive but a rigorous evaluation will take place this summer. “BAM is logistically challenging to implement and deliver, each school and set of participants provides its own unique challenges, but both organizations, Youth Guidance and WSC are doing a tremendous job meeting those challenges and conducting a quality program,” says Pollack, “hundreds of kids have gotten services they wouldn’t have gotten a year ago.”