The Boys & Girls Club Story

How Boys & Girls Clubs “STEM” the Tide of Summer Learning Loss

As a kid, there’s no sweeter sound than the last bell on the last day of school before summer break. But for a lot of low-income parents, that’s the sound of uncertainty as the essential resources provided by schools — supervision, safety, nutrition and learning opportunities — are suddenly lost for months.

For students of low socio-economic status, the loss of learning over summer break can be staggering.  As Review of Educational Research notes, most youth lose about two months of grade-level equivalency in mathematical computation skills over the summer months. Low-income youth also lose more than two months in reading achievement, while their middle class peers make slight gains. 

This learning loss can stack up from year to year, creating a chasm many low-income students struggle to cross. For kids already at a disadvantage due to lack of resources or opportunities, summer learning loss can prevent them from graduating from high school on time or at all.

That’s when Boys & Girls Clubs open their doors — because if time outside of school is the problem, out-of-school time programming is the solution. In fact, a 2015 study conducted by Metis Associates found that Boys & Girls Club programs like Summer Brain Gain not only halt summer learning loss but also lead to gains in math and reading for many young people! And on top of the academic boost, Clubs ignite new passions for youth.

Take STEM for example. Summer is the perfect time for the “STEM smoothie” that is computer science — an enticing blend of science, technology, engineering and math. Why hit the computer lab instead of the beach (besides the dramatically reduced risk of sunburn)? For one, learning computer science at a Boys & Girls Club is a blast, and it has only gotten more popular with kids. According to our 2017 Annual Report, a total of 915 Clubs (22 percent) reported they are implementing computer science programming with a total of 79,110 youth — a 225 percent increase in youth over since 2015.

Whether your student is building their own app or coding a game in JavaScript, they’re putting their imagination and problem-solving to the test, creating projects they can use and share. Plus, at Boys & Girls Clubs, kids of all different backgrounds get the opportunity to build their STEM skills — this critical exposure can reshape the future of STEM, especially since girls and people of color are historically underrepresented in STEM fields.

We already know that when you give kids a chance to experience STEM, they start to see a future in the field! In fact, our 2017 National Youth Outcomes Initiative reports:

• More than twice as many 12th-grade Club members express interest in a STEM career as 12th graders nationally.
• Moreover, the percentage of Club girls who express interest in a STEM career (51 percent) is more than three times greater than that of their same-aged female peers nationally (14 percent).

Besides all the fun to be had, another reason to hit up the computer lab this summer is that learning STEM not only gets students ahead of the next school year — it prepares them for college and career. And careers in STEM are as hot as ever; between 2017 and 2027, Change the Equation projects that the number of STEM jobs will grow 13 percent while non-STEM jobs will only grow 9 percent. 

Plus, technology skills are essential for today’s workforce, whether you’re coding in an office or taking inventory on the factory floor. Studying computer science provides young people a better understanding of computational thinking and equips them with critical thinking and problem-solving skills that are useful across all careers.

Who would’ve thought computer science could do all that? For one, Boys & Girls Clubs of America and Microsoft. As part of a multi-year partnership funded by a $4.5 million grant, we have teamed up to develop a Computer Science Pathway that sparks the imaginations of kids and teens, builds their programming skills and instills a spirit of leadership and innovation. Because the skills build on each other, members at all levels of proficiency can learn, and with the digital platform MyFuture, any young person can practice on any computer they can find.

For Club members beating the heat this summer in their computer lab, we know they’re not only building academic skills to ace the school year, but they’re also forming interests that could shape their futures, as well as the future of the STEM industry. Summer learning loss, you don’t stand a chance.

How Clubs Are Igniting Interest in STEM Among Girls

“I learned that computers only do what you tell them to do. I thought computers were smart, but it is the people that are smart.” — Alsyiana G., Boys & Girls Clubs of Fort Wayne, Indiana

I love that quote. So often, modern technology seems like it has all the answers. But for every question asked of a search engine, every task completed by a smart home device, every calculator computation seemingly pulling numbers from thin air — the answer originates from one smart human being and the many others who put technology into action. At Boys & Girls Clubs of America, we’re proud to partner with Microsoft to inspire young people across the nation, especially young women like Alsyiana, to realize their potential as big thinkers, coders, explorers, engineers and problem-solvers. They’re the faces of STEM's future and we need them.

The next generation of STEM professionals will be the innovators who find cures, solve problems, invent products and generate ideas that transform life as we know it. It’s a booming sector with no end in sight. In fact, between 2014 and 2024, STEM jobs such as computing, engineering and advanced manufacturing are projected to grow by 17 percent, compared to a 12 percent growth rate for non-STEM jobs. Yet our workforce is not rising correspondingly. Too few elementary, middle and high school students are interested in or adequately prepared to pursue careers in science, technology, engineerng and math, a fact that is especially true for youth of color and girls. According to the National Girls Collaborative Project, women make up half of the total U.S. college-educated workforce, but only 29 percent of the science and engineering workforce.

How do we get girls excited about STEM? In its simplest form, the answer is like a science experiment itself: we give them access and watch what happens. What happens when you empower underserved youth to tinker with block-based codes, design and develop original apps, and simulate computational reasoning with the support of passionate mentors and professionals? What happens when you meet kids in their world: building skills, earning digital badges and publishing their digital creations? I can tell you because I’ve seen it myself — their eyes light up and so do their imaginations. Once young women realize they can create, explore and experiment on their own terms, they can begin to see the possibility of a STEM career. In fact, thanks to Club programming, 50 percent of female Club members in the 2016 graduating class expressed an interest in STEM careers, compared to just 16 percent of their peers nationally. Now those are results a scientist - or just about anyone - likes to see!

At BGCA and Microsoft, we understand that STEM education is critical to the future success of America and our young people. That's why we’ve teamed up to prepare the next generation of science, technology, engineering and math leaders by helping more young people — and especially girls, minority youth and those from low-income communities — to learn skills such as critical thinking, problem-solving and coding through computer science education. We’re bringing this programming to kids who might not have access to it otherwise — ensuring whole new generations are introduced to the possibilities that STEM holds for a fulfilling future.

Through our Great Futures 2025 strategic plan, BGCA is dedicated to a sole purpose: to inspire and empower Club youth to achieve success and champion opportunities for all young people . We have eight years to get there and are proud to work alongside partners like Microsoft. Together, we are creating opportunities for America’s youth to achieve great futures.

But today, on International Women’s Day, we pause to celebrate the accomplishments we see right now. Girls logging onto computers, delving into problems and bringing ideas to life as they learn they can be creators in the click of a button. So let’s celebrate all the girls who enter their local Boys & Girls Club and run straight for the tech center. I can’t wait to see what their futures hold, and how their ideas, inventions and achievements will one day shape our world.

Posted by Elizabeth Fowlkes, Senior Vice President of Youth Development for BGCA.

Greater Milwaukee Clubs SPARK Academic Achievement

Earlier this fall, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee concluded a five year-research study examining the positive effects of the Spheres of Proud Achievement in Reading for Kids program, or SPARK, on early literacy skills.

Funded by a 2010 Investing in Innovation grant awarded by the Department of Education, SPARK is a multi-faceted program designed to improve reading and literacy skills for Club members in grades K-3. Combining in-school tutoring, after-school support and family engagement, this implementation of SPARK serves as a shining example of the Boys & Girls Club approach to supporting academic achievement for the kids who need us most.

In the evaluation, conducted by the Office of Socially Responsible Evaluation in Education at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, SPARK participants demonstrated significant growth in reading achievement, literacy and regular school attendance. Specifically, the evaluation found:

• 62 percent of SPARK participants who started below grade level met literacy standards at the end of the two-year intervention - compared to only 10 percent of nonparticipants. SPARK had the most positive impact for students who began the program with the greatest need for literacy instruction.
• SPARK students had significantly higher levels of school attendance and were 27 percent less likely to be chronically absent from school compared to students who did not participate in SPARK.

These positive findings add SPARK to the growing list of research-based programs offered in Clubs, such as Summer Brain Gain and Money Matters, which are proven to support positive outcomes for the young people who need us most.

This project also exemplifies how Clubs can lead community efforts and deliver effective solutions to improve academic outcomes for young people. In this instance, the Greater Milwaukee Club worked in close partnership with Milwaukee Public Schools. Schools often struggle to find the time and resources to provide additional support for their lowest performing students, so Club employees worked one-on-one with students at school, during the school day. Incorporating after-school tutoring and family engagement efforts, this wrap-around strategy effectively supported early literacy growth.

Most recognized reading interventions rely on certified teachers. This implementation model is an innovative twist and reinforces the critical role Boys & Girls Clubs can play as bridges between school, home and the community.

Dr. Damon A. Williams is Senior Vice President of Program, Training & Youth Development for BGCA.

Staples Makes Good Reads Happen

Knowing 43 million kids (3 out of 4) lose access to academic opportunities each summer, thus exposing them to learning loss, Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s Summer Brain Gain: READ! team and Staples partnered to raise the bar of success through “Staples Makes Good Reads Happen” programming.

Focusing on reading and 21st century skill development, the Summer Brain Gain: READ! 2015 curricula encouraged Club members to engage with peers and community, express themselves, evaluate projects and exhibit what they learned.

As one of BGCA’s responses to summer learning loss, Summer Brain Gain: READ! achieved new heights with Club members and youth development facilitators in 2015 by using stakeholder feedback and evaluation results to make program enhancements. Most notable was ensuring that all curricula adopted:

• A thematic approach coupled with Common Core performance standards
• High-yield performance strategies
• Creativity and fun!

Summer Brain Gain: READ!’s thematic units, which provide coherent subject matter aligned with Common Core performance standards focused on main topics or processes, typically last a few days to a week. The 2015 overarching theme of “Free to be Me” allowed Club members to participate in engaging projects and group activities to confidently highlight their unique likeness.

While access to academic enrichment during summer remains BGCA’s primary focus, the greater charge is mitigating potentially life-long inequalities. Staples and BGCA continuously seek to ensure low-income youth are able to keep pace with their middle-class peers, become college- and career-minded citizens, and develop into global leaders. We also want to ensure these tools are consistently brought to life in each Boys & Girls Club.

Our solution: provide even more fun through “Staples Makes Good Reads Happen” contest. In addition to maintaining or growing reading skills from year to year, the contest inspires Club members in elementary school, middle school and high school to bring a favorite book to life to freely engage with literary text and have fun! Learn more about the projects our contestants created and the books that inspired them right here!

Jami Pettway is BGCA's Senior Director of Summer Learning in Program, Training & Youth Development Services.

Inspiring Tomorrow's Innovators:DIY STEM Takes National Awards

This month, BGCA’s Do-It-Yourself (DIY) STEM program, created in partnership with Time Warner Cable (TWC), was recognized with two national awards: the Cynopsis Social Good Award and the PR News CSR Award in the “Nonprofit/Corporate Partnership” category! This competitive recognition underscores tremendous work being done in Clubs to inspire youth in STEM fields, a focus area that is critical to prepare young people for great futures.

U.S. STEM jobs expected to grow nearly twice as fast as other fields by 2018. Unfortunately, there is a shortage of both interested and adequately prepared K-12 students in STEM subjects, especially among young women and minority youth.

In 2014, BGCA and TWC partnered to address America’s declining STEM proficiency with the launch of the DIY STEM program for Clubs around the country. Research shows that out-of-school programs, like those offered at Boys & Girls Clubs, are an effective way to stimulate interest in STEM-related careers.

DIY STEM engages youth ages 10 to 18 in the “science of every day.” Initially, it included three thematic units: energy and electricity, engineering design, and food chemistry. This year, the program -now called DIY STEM 2.0- expanded to include two new units: introductory aeronautics and introductory robotics. The program culminates with DIY Family Night, providing family members, Club staff and community stakeholders the opportunity to view Club members’ DIY STEM projects.

Eddie and Jayda with Bill Nye The Science Guy at the White House Science Fair.

DIY Science participants Eddie and Jayda are from the Boys & Girls Clubs of Paterson, N.J., and The Children’s Aid Society Boys & Girls Club in New York City, respectively. Both participated in the White House Science Fair and got to meet President Obama at the White House! The middle-schoolers were inspired by hands-on activities their Clubs offered, part of the program’s discovery-driven approach that celebrates curiosity and makes learning fun.

By participating in the White House Science Fair, Eddie and Jayda saw first-hand how hard work in STEM can pay off. Eddie now has plans to attend college and further his science education, while Jayda plans to become a pediatrician.

Kimberly Boyd is BGCA's Nat'l. V.P. of Program, Training & Youth Development Services.

Eddie and Jayda are just two success stories out of thousands of kids who benefit from DIY STEM and our other STEM programs. Since 2008, over 850,000 kids have engaged in STEM activities at Boys & Girls Clubs across the country. To learn more and download our award-winning DIY STEM curriculum, visit GreatFutures.org.

Staples Makes Good Reads Happen

By: Dr. Damon A. Williams, SR Vice President of Program, Training & Youth Development

There was a study conducted earlier this year by the U.S. Department of Education and the National Institute of Literacy with some alarming numbers: 32 million adults in the United States cannot read and 21 percent of adults living in the United States read below a fifth grade reading level. At Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA), the very essence of our mission is to enable all young people, especially those who need us most, to reach their full potential as productive, caring, responsible citizens. Reading is a fundamental skill to ensuring that we make this a reality for the youth that we serve.

From the eye-opening numbers above, you can see what an uphill battle schools and organizations like BGCA face in the literacy fight. Part of the challenge for educators and parents is making reading enjoyable for kids, so that it becomes part of a routine. Getting kids to read can be particularly daunting during the summer, when the days are longer, temperatures are warmer and outdoor activities are plentiful.

However, the challenge of summer reading loss is real and pervasive.

• Each summer, approximately 43 million (3 in 4) children in the United States miss out on expanded learning opportunities that could prevent them from falling behind before the next school year begins (Afterschool Alliance).
• Low-income youth lose more than two months of reading skills, while their middle-class peers make slight gains during the summer (Review of Educational Research).
• By the end of fifth grade, disadvantaged youth are nearly three grade level equivalents behind their more affluent peers in reading (American Sociological Review).

To help combat this challenge, BGCA and Staples introduced Summer Brain Gain: READ! this year, which is a 12-week reading program designed to improve and reinforce literacy skills for America's youth. Boys & Girls Club members are presented with age-specific books each week, along with supporting activities. In addition to participating in two 30-minute reading sessions during the week, members complete fun activities to bring the book to life. The Summer Brain Gain: READ! program helps prepare children for their upcoming school year, but it also reinforces the importance and joys of reading.

The "Make Good Reads Happen" contest, is an extension of the Summer Brain Gain: READ! program. Boys & Girls Club members were divided into two age groups: elementary school (first to fifth grade) and middle and high school (sixth to 12th grade). Kids were challenged to use their creativity and imagination to talk about their favorite books. Elementary school members had the option to dress up as their favorite character or design a movie poster from their selected Summer Brain Gain: READ! book list. Middle and high school Club members could host a talk show, creating a list of thought-provoking questions to ask the subjects of the book or rewrite the ending to their favorite book.

Right now you can see the creativity and inspiration in all six "Make Good Reads Happen" finalist entries by visiting BGCA.org/MakeGoodReadsHappen and voting. You may vote once per hour until voting concludes on Friday, October 24, 2014. Two deserving Club members (one elementary, one middle/high school) will win an eReader and some other great Staples prizes, and their Club will also win an eReader along with a reading celebration party.

Dr. Damon A. Williams is the SR Vice President of Program, Training & Youth Development.

While the contest has traditionally been a tremendous success, the power to create change in youth through literacy is the ultimate victory in this program.

 

 

5 Tips to Stop Summer Learning Loss

Remember when summertime meant sleeping late, relaxing by the pool and generally lazing the day away? Well, those “hazy, lazy days of summer,” as the song goes, are long gone.

Happy Summer Brain Gain participant at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Columbus in Ohio.

As we know now, summer is just as important to children’s academic success as the school year. In fact, more than half of the achievement gap between lower- and higher-income youth can be explained by unequal access to summer learning opportunities.

That’s why Boys & Girls Clubs of America created Summer Brain Gain, a summer learning loss prevention program running at more than 1,000 Clubs. Youth of all ages take part in a process of learning through discovery, creative expression, group work and a final project. As a result, kids develop higher-order thinking skills and stay on track for the coming school year.

With a few weeks of summer to go, here are five tips to keep young minds active and full of knowledge to help kids stay on track for the coming school year:

1. Read daily. Encourage your kids read every day. Keep a variety of age-appropriate books and magazines around your home. And visit the library to learn more about its summer reading program. Remember, parents, you need to set the example, so get reading yourself!
2. Take a field trip. Visit a nearby park, historic site or museum. Most institutions offer free admission at least once a month, so get out there and explore your community!
3. Do good deeds. Encourage your child to perform community service. Whether doing yard work for an elderly neighbor or volunteering at a food bank or animal shelter, their assistance is much needed and will teach how them how good it feels to help others.

Erica S. Stevens is BGCA's senior director of Education and the Arts.
4. Play games and learn online. Have a family game night with Scrabble, Monopoly, chess and similar games that make learning fun. Be sure to check out free online resources, too, such as FunBrain.com.
5. Have a routine. Summer should be more relaxed, but young people still need structure to guide their days and keep them sleeping well and eating right.

Sparking STEM Interest in Underserved Youth

Imaginative Programs + Caring Mentors = Sparking STEM Interest in Underserved Youth
By Edwin Link, Senior Director of Academic Success, Arts & Innovation at Boys & Girls Clubs of America

Ask a kindergarten class if they like science and all kids will raise their hands. Then, ask a sixth-grade class if they like science. The number of hands raised will decrease greatly—especially the girls’. Interestingly enough, ask the same sixth-grade class if they’d like to save the environment and the majority of girls will now raise their hands.

Why is the diminishing interest in science occurring in young women, yet the underlying interest in science-related activities remains? I hope that my incredibly curious 5-year-old daughter never loses interest in science as she gets older. Unfortunately, our society has perpetuated a culture in which minorities—particularly women—are underrepresented in STEM fields. How can we help reverse this trend and encourage the growth of a qualified, diverse workforce in STEM-related fields?

Societal Disconnect: STEM Job Growth and the Underprepared Workforce
Nearly all 30 of the fastest-growing occupations will require some STEM education, with projected growth of 1.2 million STEM-related jobs in the U.S. by 2018. However, when polled, only 14.5 percent of female students expressed an interest in STEM compared to 39.6 percent of male students. And since the graduating class of 2000, African-Americans interested in STEM majors/careers have dropped 30 percent. The stark reality is that Americans, particularly underrepresented minorities, will be largely unprepared to secure these positions, putting our nation at-risk of losing competitive ground in the global economy.

Out-of-School Programs Role in Igniting STEM Interest

This innovative pilot project at Boys & Girls Clubs of Venice uses underwater robots to teach STEM and prepare students for technical careers.

Research proves that out-of-school programs, like those offered at Boys & Girls Clubs, are most effective in stimulating interest in STEM-related careers. Today, more than 4,000 Boys & Girls Clubs serve nearly 4 million young people, particularly underserved youth, and enable them to achieve great futures. By partnering with technology leaders like Symantec, Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) is engaging underserved youth, including young women and minorities, in hands-on, project-based learning experiences that foster interest and exploration in STEM careers.

As the new school year begins, more youth will have the opportunity to learn about STEM during after-school hours thanks to the partnership between Symantec and BGCA. Through generous grants from Symantec Foundation*, 10 Boys & Girls Clubs will each receive a $7,500 grant to enhance STEM-related programming—from robotics to game design—and increase the number of youth engaged in STEM within their communities.

Boys & Girls Clubs of Venice members are introduced to engineering through a partnership with FIRST Robotics for the FIRST LEGO League (4-8 grades) and FIRST Robotics Competition (9-12 grades).

Success Story: SySTEMic Learning at Boys & Girls Clubs of Venice
One grant recipient, Boys & Girls Clubs of Venice in California, will be able to increase and enhance their high-quality STEM programming to 500 Club members—ages 6 to 17. Some of the inventive programs at Boys & Girls Clubs of Venice include:

• Cyber Security – CyberPatriot, the premier national high school cyber defense competition, gives hands-on exposure to the foundations of cyber security.
• Robotics – Club members are introduced to engineering through a partnership with FIRST Robotics for the FIRST Lego League and FIRST Robotics Challenge.
• Underwater Robotics – Yes, underwater robotics! This pilot project uses underwater robots to teach STEM and prepare students for technical careers.
• NASA’s B.E.S.T. Program – In partnership with NASA and the Los Angeles Unified School Districts Beyond The Bell program, this unique program brings engineering principles to younger audiences.
• Audio Engineering – Club members learn various elements of audio engineering, such as music production and vocal recording.

Hope for the Future
Thanks to the support of partners like Symantec, Venice and other innovative Clubs are able to lessen the STEM learning divide to deserving, yet underserved youth. It

Edwin Link, Senior Director of Academic Success, Arts & Innovation at Boys & Girls Clubs of America

takes imaginative programming and caring mentors to spark interest in STEM in young adults, especially underrepresented minorities. BGCA’s goal is to teach talented kids how to make technology—rather than just consume it—and prepare our members for successful 21st century careers. Maybe there’s hope for my daughter in STEM in the future.

*A Corporate Advised Fund of Silicon Valley Community Foundation

Enabling America’s Future STEM Leaders

In his State of the Union, President Obama emphasized the importance of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education, calling for 10,000 of America’s best science and math teachers to improve STEM efforts. Thanks to the immersion of technology in everyday life, STEM has been in the educational spotlight for many years now. According to the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economics and Statistics Administration, the growth in STEM jobs was three times greater than that of non-STEM jobs over the last 10 years. Moreover, STEM occupations are projected to grow by 17 percent over the next decade. Are our nation’s kids prepared for an increasingly high-tech workplace? 

At the event, I was joined by Sydney, a member from Boys & Girls Clubs of Annapolis & Anne Arundel County, Md., who spoke to participants about STEM programs at her Club. She was fabulous!

I recently participated in an Executive Roundtable on the importance of enhancing STEM education in out-of-school time programs, which was hosted by 4-H and the Noyce Foundation. This event was a unique opportunity for six of the nation’s largest youth development organizations to exchange knowledge on current efforts and discuss future program possibilities for STEM workforce readiness. In fact, a Boys & Girls Club youth, Sydney, showcased our current STEM efforts during the Roundtable.

Supporting more than 20 million youth collectively, these six youth development organizations – 4-H, Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, Girls Inc., Girl Scouts, YMCA and, of course my organization, Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) – have the opportunity to dramatically change the STEM educational landscape. High-level outcomes from the Executive Roundtable discussion include:

• Securing CEO commitment from the nation’s largest out-of-school providers to explore collaborative efforts; 
• Developing a common set of youth impact metrics in STEM education; and 
• Building a national programmatic collaboration – backed by key partner organizations and corporate funders – that supports high-quality, hands-on STEM learning opportunities for our nation’s youth, particularly those who live in under-resourced communities.

Kimberly Boyd is BGCA's national vice president of Program, Training and Youth Development Services.

At BGCA, STEM is an integral component of our Academic Success outcome area, which includes robotics, computer programming, game design and more. To enable America’s future STEM leaders, our strategy focuses on developing multi-year partnerships with content providers, developers and evaluators to bring the best in evidence-based programs to our field. For instance, BGCA recently formed a strategic alliance with FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology), a not-for-profit organization founded by inventor Dean Kamen. We’re excited that this collaboration will lead to the formation of 3,000 robotics programs in Boys & Girls Clubs.

As we continue ramping up our STEM efforts, BGCA looks forward to continuing this discussion and collaborating with other youth development organizational leaders to reach talented, under-served youth. 

BTW, LOL @ UR VID. Gr8, ^5!

Does "BTW, LOL @ UR VID. Gr8, ^5!" make any sense to you? I know I’d be baffled by it if someone sent it to me. (Translation: By the way, laughing out loud at your video. Great  high 5!) I recently saw a commercial where the entire dialogue was in text lingo with the translation running at the bottom of the screen. And one of the points of the commercial, besides trying to sell me phone service, was that youth today get this new language and their parents don’t. It’s a new way of communicating and it changes daily, so how can we keep up? How do we ensure kids are making smart decisions when it comes to Internet and cell phone safety?

Today’s youth are at home with this language. They are growing up in a digital world and have made it their own. And just as the 50’s spawned the words “cool” and the 60’s “groovy,” youth now are creating their own lingo, partially with the expectation that their parents won’t be able to understand it. It’s part of any youth culture. But this one comes with a big difference, and it’s one that adults need to understand and help young people respond to. And that difference is a vast online world, which is providing youth with opportunities like never before; however it’s also a world in which kids and teens need adult guidance on how to use safely.

I was at a talk about the effects of the Internet and the speaker compared the Internet to an electric guitar. If you’re a good player (in other words, can use the guitar effectively and well) then the electric guitar can take good music and amplify it in a way that allows more people to hear it. However, if you’re a guitar player like me (which means you’re not a guitar player at all), well, let’s just say that it would be a painful experience on your ears and could possibly do some real damage.

The Internet, when young people use it well, can be a great source of learning, entertainment, communication and can open up a young person’s world in ways we never imagined before. However, when used improperly the Internet can cause real damage to others and to the young person themselves.

Dan Rauzi is BGCA's senior director of Technology Programs.

Boys & Girls Clubs takes Internet and media safety seriously. We provide tools and resources to help young people use the Internet to grow, expand opportunities and connect to today’s digital world. To highlight the importance of Internet safety, Boys & Girls Clubs across the country, with the support of our media safety partner Sprint, will be celebrating June Internet Safety Month, with special activities that will help Club members and their communities make good choices in using the Internet.

Kdz 2day nd net sfty. Clbr8 ISM! (Translation: Kids today need Internet safety. Celebrate Internet Safety Month!)