Cluster Coordinator Best Practices
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This page will be constantly under construction to be a place for Cluster Coordinators to list their best practices -- plans or ideas that they have come up with to help in their duties of Cluster Coordinator.
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Monthly list of Student Accomplishments and Successes
Submitted by Kathleen Zamboni, Northwest California Team YES Cluster Coordinator 2006-09
At the beginning of each month I send an informal e-mail request to the six YES students in our Cluster requesting that they send me a list of their Accomplishments and Successes for the previous month. At the end of the year I compile each student’s list and send it back to them with a congratulatory note.
This brief resume serves several purposes:
- Provides an opportunity for the student to reflect on their achievements;
- Provides Cluster Coordinator with a list of achievements that is useful to refer to when completing the Sponsored Programs Quarterly Report;
- Offers an insight into the individual student, their adjustment, and any support issues;
- Provides an general overview of possible support issues that develop each month;
- Results in an impressive list of achievements for each student that can be referred to at the end of the year when looking back on how they have changed and developed.
The students seem to enjoy this excuse to write me and are developing a sense of pride in their accomplishments as their lists get longer.
Sample email to students:
- My Dear YES Students
- It’s March 3rd and time to send me your list of accomplishments and successes for the month of February.
- I know that you are all busy with school, church, and family activities and responsibilities—if any of those represent accomplishments (something new that you have mastered or learned) you can include those too. Also list any awards or special acknowledgements that you received last month and any “firsts” — something that you did/experienced for the first time.
- I am so proud that you are attending the Youth Summit—I think that it will be a great day (t-shirt and lunch included) ! You can plan to share a little about your experience at our March 19 Cluster meeting.
- Best wishes,
- Kathleen
Involving Host Parents in Cluster Activities
Submitted by Various Coordinators
Cluster activity brainstorming, planning, scheduling, and execution can be a hefty task for a lone Cluster Coordinator to accomplish. When approaching a new cycle, inform host families about the upcoming year and the enrichment requirements of CB/FLEX/YES students, provide a few examples of previous activities, and ask for host parent input.
Aside from being warm, wonderful human beings, host parents often live vibrant, full lives -- Which can be helpful when seeking new activities for upcoming cluster years. In addition to having a different perspective, some host parents jump at the chance to lead an activity and teach students. Others may offer in-roads to new, exciting activities -- For instance, a volunteer firefighter host parent can organize an activity at their firehouse and teach students about how they are organized -- or be open to volunteering as chaperones. A little guidance from cluster coordinator, and a host parent can become an honorary CC for a day!
Pre-Arrival Orientation Specific to YES Host Families and Liaisons
Submitted by Kathleen Zamboni, Northwest California Team YES Cluster Coordinator 2006-09
We have found that the standard AFS Host Family Pre-Arrival Orientation is not sufficient to prepare our YES families and liaisons for their school-year of hosting a YES student. There are many additional topics that need to be explained and this seems best done before the student arrives. The YES Pre-Arrival Orientation also offers the opportunity for families and liaisons and Cluster volunteers to get to know each other in an informal atmosphere with the goal of working cooperatively during the year. We schedule a two-hour meeting on a weeknight the first week of August in the multipurpose room of a school. Email invitations/Save-the-Date announcements are sent out ahead of time in which host families and liaisons are requested to bring their AFS Host Family Handbook, their YES Host Family Handbook, their Culture Handbook and the “Culturegram” for their student.
Refreshments are served at the Orientation.
The following agenda (with preparation notes) has worked well for us.
SUMMARY:
- Welcome
- Agenda Review
- Introductions
- Importance of Culture and Cultural Sensitivity
- Host Parent Presentations
- Role of Liaison
- Activity
- Money Matters
- Details
- Wrap-up.
AGENDA FOR HOST FAMILY/LIAISON PRE-ARRIVAL ORIENTATION TUESDAY, AUGUST 5, 2008 7 PM JACOBY CREEK SCHOOL ACTIVITY ROOM (in the back) - REFRESHMENTS: Siv/cluster volunteer - SUPPLIES: Name tags, felt pens Posters: a. Agenda poster; b. Vocabulary (poster) : Arrival Family, Welcome Family, YES, Arrival Orientation Leader, Incidentals Allowance, Monthly Stipend; c. List of YES students/names/countries/religion/ who are coming and have not yet been placed (see example below); d. Role of Cluster Team (see example below); e. YES students’ names/countries; f. Poster listing foods that foreigners find strange; e. Poster of Individualism Index
Handouts (one set for each host family and liaison) a. Roster of YES Cluster Team Leadership with contact information b. Roster of IEW Team (3 volunteers who coordinate the students’ presentations during November (determining sites, transportation, and preparation of students) c. Roster of Students with all contact and placement information; d. Monthly meeting schedule e. Handout re Muslim Holy Days f. Incidental Reimbursement form (with address in DC) g. Backpack Trip Information h. Event registration form with emergency contact numbers (to be completed by host family and returned to Cluster Coordinator). i. Culture Tips (email) j. (A binder or folder to which additional information could be added to during the year would be useful too) f. Copy of “Host Family Questionnaire” found in AFS Host Family Handbook (or ask people to read from their Handbook)
- Directional signs for finding meeting room
- Sign-in sheet for attendance (ask one volunteer to be in-charge of requesting everyone to sign-in.
- sign-up sheet for Liaisons to help with an Enrichment Activity
- Sign up sheet for Liaisons to help their student to moderate one of the monthly Cluster meetings.
- Display board of photographs of previous YES students
Implement: “Each one teach one”—ask for a volunteer to report to the absent host family or liaison and to give them the set of handouts
1. WELCOME
"Good evening and welcome to our YES Pre-Arrival Orientation for YES Host Families and Liaisons. First of all I would like to acknowledge that we are a roomful of highly experienced AFS volunteers. Most all of us here tonight have been involved with AFS before, most of us for many many years and in several different roles.However, not everyone has been involved with the YES component of AFS."
And that brings us to the purpose of tonight’s orientation—there are several objectives: (could also be a poster) 1- Know get to know each other face-to-face since we will be working closely together for the year; 2- To ensure that we are all starting with the same foundation of information—you have each received lots of bits and pieces, I hope that tonight pulls all of the topics together into a cohesive picture; 3- To learn a little more about the culture of Islamic countries—education is built into everything we do in YES; 4- and finally, To give you the knowledge that you need to be able to go out and explain YES to anyone who will listen, including your neighbors, your student’s principal and teachers, your church group, AND to be able to orient the host families and liaisons that we still do not have. Everything that we cover tonight needs to be passed on to them so that they will be “up to speed” quickly and will be able to focus their attentions on their student rather than on ??”What is an incidental allowance?” or “Why is |my student’s liaison calling ME?”
2. AGENDA REVIEW: Here is our Agenda for tonight (7-9 pm) we will move along quickly because it is our intention for you to have time to talk with each other too.”
1. What is YES? After 9/11 our US government created some Public Policy Initiatives with the goal of building bridges between the United States and the Muslim world. One of these public policy initiatives created a “Sponsored Programs” component within the high school exchange community. Within the Sponsored Programs of our Dept. of State there are exchange programs specifically for Germany (Congress Bundestag/CB, another specifically for eastern bloc countries (FLEX), the Visiting Teachers Program (currently on hold), and finally the YES program specifically for students from countries with significant Muslim populations. YES stands for YOUTH Exchange and Study. AFS was asked by the Dept. of State to coordinate the Sponsored Programs unit and AFS accepted this offer because it fit so well into what we were already doing—promoting a more just and peaceful world by providing international and intercultural learning experiences…..”
There are several other exchange programs, in addition to AFS, within Sponsored Programs and YES which means that when you are on the plaza or in Safeway or at the post office or the high school you might meet a student from a country with a significant Muslim population who in not part of AFS. (name other exchange programs within the consortium).
(Locally we have the Visiting Teachers program (this year two teachers/Thailand and China) and the YES Program.)
All of our student participants in the YES program have completed a highly competitive application and selection process as well as many orientations to prepare them. Those teens that are chosen are awarded full scholarships—everything is paid for by the US Dept. of State including their monthly stipend. In return for accepting the scholarship and becoming cultural ambassadors the student agrees to fulfill certain obligations of the YES program: - 2-day briefing in Washington DC - 3-day end of stay debriefing in Washington DC—visit to congressperson’s office, also obligation to continue with AFS-YES after their return home. - Participate in a minimum of six enrichment activities o (3 required themes: cultural diversity/native peoples o Volunteerism/community service o Government - and finally they are required to give a minimum of three presentations during IEW week (the week before Thanksgiving) and the month of November.
In order to prepare and process these activities our YES students meet monthly. (you have a schedule in your packet)—generally (the third Thursday of the month).
Plus of course all of the AFS activities that the core students are doing including monthly chapter meetings, orientations during the year and the social events like backpacking, skiing, hiking, rowing, etc.
The purpose of the enrichment activities, the IEW presentations and the monthly meetings is for our students to develop leadership skills and to learn more about how a democratic society works at the interpersonal, family, school, community, state and country level.
In order to accomplish these six required enrichment activities and to receive the support that a Muslim teen in America might need, our Sponsored Program students are placed in “clusters”—a group of at least three students.
So you can see that what YES students are expected to accomplish is based on the focus and requirements of the YES program.
This year locally we are hosting a cluster of six students (photos and poster):
3. INTRODUCTIONS: Let’s move on to introductions and a brief description of the roles of each group: Will the YES Cluster Leadership Team please come forward—introduce yourself, say something about your AFS volunteer experience, tell us one skill that you bring to the group, and one task that is difficult for you or you don’t like to do—maybe it is on-line reporting, or making copies at Kinko’s or giving kids rides to their chapter meetings . 1. YES Cluster Team - Role of Cluster Team— (poster) 1. Support 2. Required Activities 3. IEW 4. social Cluster Monthly meeting Supports students’ adjustment: Family School Community Religious well-being We can also make on-line reports (support); -report any perceived adjustment issues to Cluster Coordinator and Chapter Chair/Support person Develop leadership Increase knowledge of how a “democracy” functions Educate AFS volunteers and our communities=promote world peace
In order to provide the structure needed for our students to meet their requirements the YES Cluster Leadership Team:
Hosts monthly meetings to plan and process and practice;
Organizes the minimum of six enrichment activities;
Provide opportunities to make presentations in the communities and in the schools, especially during IEW;
And because they are dedicated and enthusiastic there may also be some purely social activities in addition to dinner time at the monthly meeting;
Some of you have assumed specific jobs within the Cluster Team
Joyce: meeting scheduler, go-between with IEW team
Sandi: driver
Activity Leaders (come back to)
Let’s jump for a minute back to our students and our goals here tonight:
“Each one teach one”
Who is willing to commit to providing this orientation??? We need people to sign-up to give this orientation to those who are not here tonight. We still need host families/welcome families/liaisons Help is available from all of us here:
YES Student Host family Liaison Welcome Family Tantiana: First semester: NEEDED Second semester: Fred/Mary Jamison Siv B Abby P Deniz: NEEDED NEEDED NEEDED Dawut: NEEDED Joyce T NEEDED
2. Me: third year as YES coordinator—I see myself establishing a strong YES program locally utilizing other AFS volunteers as Activity Leaders. My greatest strength is planning and organizing; the thing that I hate to do the most is to initiate telephone calls.
I am also the Arrival Trainer—I met with our Arrival Team (Arrival Families and Arrival Orientation Leaders) to prepare them for meeting our students at the airport, taking them home for two nights, teaching them a little about an American home and family, and providing their first orientation. You should have been contacted by your student’s Arrival Family?? There may be last minute changes. All of the YES students arrive on Wednesday, Aug. 13 (from Washington DC.
3. IEW Team—will you please come forward and introduce yourselves and say a little bit about how you will work with us; (Role of IEW team);
4. YES Host families : role—to help student get to his activities and to be well-prepared, to budget, to plan, to problem-solve;
5. YES Student-Family liaisons—Joyce will talk about what we see as the role of the YES Student-Family Liaison.
4. THE IMPORTANCE OF CULTURE AND CULTURAL SENSITIVITY Let’s hear from some of our Cluster Team members now:
Lauren—Lauren attended the Sponsored Programs Workshop in Washington DC this spring and part of the criteria for being selected was to make a commitment to participate in the YES Cluster Team—she will share with us cultural considerations/four different countries represented this year.
HSUniversity Workshop-mini-course on Islam; Bathroom accommodations in host homes; School accommodations; Foods (marshmallows/gelatin); (Accommodations during post Arrival Orientation (Ramadan will be over) Culturegrams website;
Did you all receive your Cultural Handbook?
- Foods poster
- Individualism Index
- Backpack/Ramadan handout—asking families to pay a large part of the Backpack Activity Fee since it will be used to provide food for the days that they are gone.
- Culture Tips for Hosting Muslim Students handout.
- Ramadan info handout
www.yesprograms.org Pets
5. PRESENTATIONS BY FORMER HOST PARENTS Speaker/former host families: Ahmed/DeLusso, Cindy Savage/Zizo speak briefly about their family’s experiences observing Ramadan with their student.
6. ROLE/EXPECTATIONS FOR YES LIAISONS: (Sandi and) Joyce: Role/Expectations for YES Liaisons. Joyce has been both a host family and a liaison for core students and Sandi has been a liaison trainer and a liaison for YES studentS. They both feel strongly about the importance of the liaison and want to share their perspectives with you. a. All liaisons: monthly contact with student Monthly contact with host family Monthly on-line report (Monthly chapter meeting) General support/mediation Sandi wanted to say: “Host families please consider your liaison as a support for you too. You can ask for help from your liaison—he/she is an important part of the AFS support team. When thinking about the monthly on-line report put yourself in the postion of the natural parent—wouldn’t you want someone to see your student every month and to assure you about his adjustment in his host family?”
Adjustment is a dynamic process—and is covered more fully in the host family-liaison pre-arrival orientation and in the liaison training sessions during the year.
b. YES liaisons have additional responsibilities: extra support/enrichment, discussion of activities; help with transportation; Monthly YES meeting attendance; Moderate one monthly meeting—teach your student (leadership); IEW-prep student, transport assistance Assist with one enrichment activity; Liaisons do not “pay for things”; (Parents do not need to attend monthly meetings)
7. ACTIVITY: Host Family Questionnaire Ask Liaison and Host Family to pair up. Allow 15 min for Liaison to ask Host Family the questions, discuss, identify those area that have potential for “culture clash” Process briefly in large group.
8. MONEY MATTERS: Emily: Incidental allowance and Monthly stipend a. Monthly stipend $125/mo to be an American teen, not to save and take/send home. Check usually sent about the first week of the month—when I receive notification fromYES/NY I will let you all know.
Need to help your student learn how to cash/deposit the check and to get their money converted from check to cash. Apparently some US banks require a social security number in order to open an account. Obviously your student will not have a social security number so check around. Some students, especially YES students, will not be receiving money from their parents at home—in fact their monthly stipend may be greater than what their parents earn in a month! Teaching how to budget—some budget guides in your Host Family Handbook page X
This month students will receive their August check at their orientation in Washington, DC. This check be for only $75. because $50 has already been taken out and given to them in cash to pay the newly instituted baggage charges for airline travel. The students also receive a letter with instructions on how to sign this check over to their host parents in order to receive their stipend funds i.e. you give them cash and deposit the check in your account. This has been explained to the students but some may be still confused. (Jason Simmons, July 25, 2008) This is a one-time occurrence—beginning in September their check will be $125.
b. One-time Incidental Expense Allowance $300. Students will have available to them, administered via their host families, $300 (for full year student) as a discretionary incidental allowance. This allowance is meant to help students with expenses that will assist them in entering/integrating into school and community life and obtaining the necessary items that they unable to bring with them. The allowance may be used for items such as clothing, school activity fees (NPA trip), lab fees, yearbooks, school supplies etc. (Claim form handout) if you think that you will be requesting reimbursement more than once during the year, please make yourself copies.
Parent pays for the purchases on the student’s behalf and then requests reimbursement by submitting an Expense Report with the receipts to the National Service Center. Host families will receive a check by mail made out to them. Reimbursement typically takes about two-three weeks.
The purpose in involving the host parents is so that they might help their student to spend the money wisely. Host parents play an important role in helping students to understand all of the possible choices that they may have including budgeting the money to save for certain school activities that may come up later in the year, rather than spending the money all at once directly upon arrival. Most students are unfamiliar with making choices about money and thus often need a helping hand to learn about budgeting.
Host families pay for transportation to school, meals, xx Cluster Call Oct. 23, 2008: Vanessa Smith- what can the $300 incidental allowance be used for? Families want to know how to use it and if a student can use it towards the purchase of a laptop. The $300 is a one time incidental fee to be used for items such as school uniform, prom tickets, winter clothes and other items that will enhances students‘ experience while in the country. In pre-arrival orientation for host family in Missouri gateway the incidental is discussed and families are asked to monitor the students’ spending. The spending of the stipend as well can be monitored by the host family and Missouri Gateway tells host families to discuss with the student, when the first stipend check arrives in the mail, what expenses will come during the year to help them budget. (Homecoming, gifts, souvenirs, pictures, etc) Clarification on the $300 incidental: each student gets $300- it is not $300 per host family. The welcome letter sent to families does explain that. Holly Dowe- advice on limiting money hording. Some students prefer not to spend their stipend and will expect their host families, volunteers and friends to purchase everything for them. • The student’s liaison can speak to him/her and remind him/her that this is money to be spent while on program. • The Cluster Coordinator can also personally ask the student to show that he/she has money before going on a activity- otherwise the student stays home. • You can use the normal support channels to have the partner country talk to the natural parents so that the natural parents encourage the student to spend the money rather than save it to bring back home.
9. YES Cluster Activity Leaders/ Request sign-ups from Liaisons to assist: Activity Date Activity Leader (Cluster Team) Martin Luther King Day “Bowl of Beans” January, 2009 Joyce R Potawot Indian Health Center (UIHS) Spring 2009 Lauren S Government October, November Emily R Pastels on the Plaza Oct. 4, 2008 Joyce T Food For People May, 2009 Siv B Other:
10. DETAILS:
a. Confirm that host families and liaisons have received YES materials (AFS Host Family Handbook, their YES Host Family Handbook, their Culture Handbook and the “Culturegram” for their student). May wish to review contents briefly.
b. Students need to let Cluster Team member know if unable to attend monthly meeting. Regular attendance is expected. c. Host family must let YES cluster coordinators (in addition to making arrangements with Team Support for parenting coverage) know when/if they will be out of town. Students need extra support/reminders during this time. d. Also notify us of host family or liaison changes e. School - be sure that your student attends school’s Orientation for new students, - help them to connect with their counselor. (utilize questionnaire in Host Family Handbook). - Host family is responsible for making arrangements for a suitable place with school staff if their student needs to pray during school time. -Attendance at school—student needs to show up for at least an hour each day, better first hour in morning so that school gets ADA ($); - Write a note to the school when student will be absent explaining why—AFS activity, religious , explain that students are obligated to do presentations—principals will receive IEW letter also. f. Talk to your student about prejudice, any incidents g. Help your student to learn to use calendar—discuss making a commitment, schedule activities—our YES students are ambassadors with full scholarships and selected for their capacity to adapt and to participate and contribute –goal is for them to learn to become leaders. g. Teen drivers laws.
Reminder: Host family/liaison Orientation (for all AFS host families and Liaisons) Aug. 10-required, Paula Mushrush
First cluster meeting Aug. 28:
7 pm JCSchool, for all YES students, host families and YES Liaisons:
Speakers: Dr. Aziz and Mr. Essa—local Muslim religious leaders talk about local resources for information and religious services, as well as the holy days.
A Template for End-of-the-Year Award Certificate for YES Students
Submitted by Kathleen Zamboni, Northwest California Team YES Cluster Coordinator 2006-09 sunfish@tidepool.com
Providing each student with a certificate at the end of their AFS/YES year gives them a tangible reminder of their experience with us. The “Awards Ceremony” provides some closure for the student cluster that is about ready to say goodbye to their year in America and return to their natural families and communities.
1. The wording on the certificate could be personalized for each student to reflect their contributions or accomplishments or could be the same for all students reflecting their completion of their (six) Enrichment Activities.
2. The photo on the certificate can be the same for all students (showing the whole group posed or “in action”) or it could be a photo of the individual student participating in one of the Enrichment Activities.
A similar idea could be developed for local Cluster Volunteers.
I am unable to include a copy of certificate, but feel free to email me to request. Contains AFS and YES logos, border, signature of cluster coordinator, etc
