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Commentary by Jim Crowley, President of Community
Intervention
4-3-07 SUSTAINING YOUR STUDENT ASSISTANCE
PROGRAM
National and state funding for Student Assistance
Programs (SAPs) continues to be severely diminished each year,
causing a sustainability crisis. At the same time, children, parents
and the entire community continue to need the help of strong SAPs.To
ensure the survival of SAPs with adequate programming and staffing,
leaders must reach out to their own communities. Plans need to be
made to recruit local buy-in and funding¯the same way that SAPs were
funded in the early days before federal Drug Free Schools monies
became available. Almost all communities have money to give to
various causes, and every community cares about their children and
wants to help. Many are not familiar with SAPs, however, and are
unaware of the funding crisis and how crucial SAPS are to the
community.
The following are suggestions that SAP
professionals can do to help their program survive:
1. Form
an SAP Advisory Council with representation from each community
system and parents. The main task of this group is to understand and
promote SAPs within the SchoolBoard/Administration, parent
community, each member’s own system, and the community-at-large.
This group needs to receive training about SAPs, meet with parents
and their children who have been helped by SAPs, and be given
talking points, stories, and statistics to use when promoting the
program.
2. Become active in the local Community Coalition. This
group is often well-funded and has wide access to the community.
SAPs contribute to the Coalition’s goal of drug reduction, and the
Coalition can help promote SAPs to the community.
3. Develop a
marketing plan for their SAP using pro- bono services from the
community. This can include a program theme or slogan for example:
"Help is Down the Hall”; brochures, flyers, and other printed
material; or a video/DVD describing their SAP and the benefits for
the students, parents, school and community.
4. Create a
Speaker’s Bureau with presenters who promote the SAP and the
advantages for the entire community.
5. Appear on a local radio
“talk show” or television program to promote and educate the public
on your programs.
6. Recruit younger faculty and staff to become
active in SAPs. These people can be educated and prepared to replace
retiring members.
7. Ask for funding for specific things¯training
tuition for staff and volunteers, curriculum, media equipment, and
supplies¯rather than just undesignated money. Once the concept of
SAPs has been promoted, it is easier to seek funding from social
service/fraternal organizations, community foundations,
organizations such as the Junior League or Rotary, sportsman's
clubs, women's groups and the business community. It may be possible
to enlist “Sponsors” for the SAP or sources that provide in-kind
services or assign employees to become SAP volunteers. When there is
buy-in and support of the community, it is more difficult for those
in authority to cut programming. SAPs should start working
now¯before funding is gone. If action is not taken, SAPs will
eventually die, and a lot of children and parents will be the
losers. - Jim Crowley, President, Community Intervention,
Inc.
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