Urban Boatbuilders at the Minnesota State Fair

After you exit the long standing Minnesota DNR building, you see two upside down canoe frames.

“Learn to lash”

“Live Boatbuilding”

Small groups of builders are huddled around each canoe frame, the groups deep in discussion about the next process.  These boats are two boats being created by Urban Boatbuilders.  They maybe the two most viewed boats but each boat is unique.

The boats may be the most visible creation coming from Urban Boatbuilders but their real creation is within each of their youth.  Along with teaching the many skills and techniques it takes to build a canoe, they are also teaching the many skills and techniques it takes to build a fine human being.

Check out Urban Boatbuilders and the many things they offer to our youth and our community.

Neighborhood Network Team Meetings

North End and Friends

Sept 10, 9:30 - 11:00 am at St. Paul Urban Tennis

East Side Network Cafe

Sept. 14, 10 - 11:30 am at
Arlington Hills Community Center

Leap Forward Collaborative for Youth

Sept 15, 10 am - 12 noon at Liberty Plaza

Neighborhood Learning Community

Sept 24, 12:00 - 1:00 pm at Riverview Library

Learn more about Neighborhood Network Teams, and let us know if you'd like to be on the listserv for one or more of these groups.

From SPPS!

Johnson Senior High School is gearing up for some big changes this school year. 

Students will now start school an hour later at 8:30 a.m. and end at 3:30 p.m. -- with the additional benefit of using Metro Transit to get to and from school.

The Student Pass will be active seven days a week, providing students access to Metro Transit for jobs, internships, tutoring and after-school
and college prep programs.

This pilot program is a direct result of feedback received during the
Rethinking School Start Times initiative in 2014. 

Johnson High School was selected because the school is in a good location to use Metro Transit's current bus routes. The pilot will help SPPS understand how a Metro Transit partnership will work in Saint Paul.

Read all about SPPS Start-Times Initiative at Johnson

Every Hour Counts

With the generous support of The Wallace Foundation, Every Hour Counts is kicking off a three-city developmental evaluation project this fall in partnership with the RAND Corporation. The Providence After School Alliance, Boston After School & Beyond, and Sprockets and Youthprise in St. Paul were selected to test the implementation of our Measurement Framework, a blueprint to help communities better collect and use data to improve system-building, program quality, and ultimately youth outcomes.

Through this two-year project, we’ll learn how city intermediaries are using data to inform improvement and provide implementation lessons to the expanded learning field.

Nastaaja on Professional Development 

182 people went to our Professional Development trainings with 98.2% saying they learned new concepts they'll take back to their program.  Stay tuned for the fall Professional Development line up!

Nastaaja Johnson is the Youth Development Coordinator for YWCA St. Paul's Youth Achiever's Program.  Nastaaja went to the most Sprockets Professional Development trainings last year.  

What was your favorite training and why? 
"The Building Community training was my favorite because youth programs have high turnover rates for youth as well as staff, so it is important to know how to build community and to have a varied arsenal of techniques to do so"

How are trainings beneficial to you?
"It is an accessible way to grow, challenge and learn, which is something you are always sort of expecting of your young people"

Anything else you’d like to add about Sprockets Professional Development trainings?
"Almost all of my trainings were led by Jocelyn and she has a way of allowing us to share but still keep us moving through an agenda. They were always engaging on some level. I also liked trainings with catered meals from Panera."

Thank you Nastaaja for your dedication to our community!

Sprockets Program Finder Updates

The fall is here! Log in to our website and add your programs to the Program Finder. With over 30,000 visits to our website it's the premier place to have your program information!  For more information contact Tom Lancaster