Growing Green

Dear 4-H Educators -

Growing Green – is a theme we have coined for giving attention to the excellence of the 4-H Youth Development Program in New York State.  Being effective as individuals and organizations is no longer merely an option – survival in today’s world requires that we are innovative and provide a product that is of top quality delivered by highly competent staff.  The “staff side” of the state web site is designed to be used by educators as they go about the daily task of maintaining, managing, supporting, and growing highly effective 4-H Green programs.

Quality Programs

The Guiding Principles document developed in 2007 provides the framework that supports what we do, what we value, and what we hope to accomplish in the New York State 4-H Youth Development program. It is a document to be used internally by 4-H educators as they work locally to design programs that will meet the needs of youth and adults in their programs.  How we approach 4-H Youth Development work in today’s environment must feature programs that reflect a balanced integration of subject matter, youth development essential elements, and life skill mastery.  All 4-H Educators should be using this document as the basis for county 4-H program development.

Competent Staff

Just as 4-H'ers strive to make the best better, 4-H professionals strive to give them our best. The six core themes of the 4-H Professional Research, Knowledge, and Competency Model

(4-H PRKC) focus on the most comprehensive research and knowledge representing the filed of 4-H Youth Development. The document, with its self-assessment tool, was designed to help youth development educators assess their skills in conducting 4-H work. Its purpose is for people to become familiar with the 4-H Professional Research Knowledge and Competencies and identify specific areas in which they want to focus for learning and professional growth. Each new educator will be introduced to the PRKC model and will be asked to complete the self-assessment as part of new staff orientation. 

The six core themes of PRKC serve as our web site outline to assist you in accessing program resources. They are: Youth Development, Program Development, Volunteerism, Equity, Access and Opportunity, Partnerships, and Organizational Systems. 

Connecting to Cornell

Central to our organization is our connection to Cornell University.  In these times where funding is tight, and impact is often questioned it is crucial that we know who we are and what makes us unique.   Connecting to Cornell certainly is more than taking trips to the university; it is extending the resources and connecting to partners at our land grant.  Our connection to the University lends credibility to our organization and our system aids the University in its outreach mission. 

As always, be in touch with the State 4-H Office Staff if we can be of help to you.

Regards,

Barb Schirmer

State Program Leader, 4-H Youth Development

State 4-H Office

• State 4-H Office Staff
• e 4-H Connect (Blog)

Of Interest

• 4-H National Science Day
• Club Chartering (password protected)
• Club Management & tax info
• New 4-H Staff Resources

• GUIDING PRINCIPLES - full doc

• GUIDING PRINCIPLES - one pager

Professional Development Essentials

• NAE4-HA 2009 - Conference
• New York State Association of Cornell Cooperative Extension  4-H Educators (NYSACCE4-HE)
• National 4-H Headquarters (PRKC Self Assessment & Plan)
• PRKC on-line coursework (organized by PRKC domains)

Youth Educators List-Serve

 

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