By the Numbers—A Bird’s Eye View of the Problem We Are Helping Solve

 

Major risks of adolescence include:

• Alienation from parents due to difficulties in renegotiating the child-parent relationship

• Getting involved in behaviors and circumstances that endanger their ability to make a successful transition to adulthood due to the influence of a peer group

• Lack of social connections to adults and institutions that will support their development

• Educational experiences that fail to provide the “hard” and “soft” skills adolescents need for successful future employment

• Lack of development of motivation or skills to get involved in the community

• Alienation from mainstream society due to experiences of racism, prejudice and cultural intolerance [1]

 

Learning in and through the arts:

• Contributes significantly to improved critical thinking, problem posing, problem solving and decision-making;

• Involves the communication, manipulation, interpretation and understanding of complex symbols, much as do language and mathematics;

• Fosters higher-order thinking skills of analysis, synthesis and evaluation;

• Regularly engages multiple skills and abilities; and

• Develops a person’s imagination and judgment [3].

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Population:

• Between 1990 and 2000, the number of Teens ages 12 to 19 soared to 32 million, an increase of nearly 4.5 million. Their 17 percent growth rate far outpaced the growth of the rest of the population.  The current Teen market represents the most multicultural population the United States has seen [2]. 

 

Mentorships:

• Students who participate in mentoring programs are 90% more likely to advance to the next grade and 75% more likely to graduate from high school [5].

 

Afterschool Programs:

• Children who participate in after-school programs generally attain higher academic achievement, behave better in class, handle conflict more effectively and cooperate more with authority figures and with their peers than their counterparts who are not in after-school programs [3]. 

 

In Colorado:

• 31% (251,728) of K-12 youth are responsible for taking care of themselves after school.

• Of all children not currently enrolled in afterschool, 40% (280,842) would be likely to participate if an afterschool program were available in their community. 

• 90% of parents are satisfied with the afterschool program their child attends [5].

 

Dropout Rates:

• Colorado, State: 3% of 7-12 grade students, totaling 126455 students

• Denver, Colorado: 6.4% dropout rate of 7-12 grade students. 51.8% of students graduate within 4 years [12].

• Chicago, Illinois: 8% 9-12 graders in 2011, totaling 9,217 students [13].

• Washington, State: 4.6%, representing 14,781 students in 2009-2010 school year [14].

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Funding Fallout:

• Last year, K-12 budgets were cut $1.8 billion nationwide. According to estimates by the National Association of State Budget Officers, cuts to K-12 for the new fiscal year may reach $2.5 billion.

• 22 states have scaled back K-12 funding and at least 24 have made cuts in higher education for fiscal year 2012 [10]. To cover such shortfalls school officials often reduce, or eliminate, personnel and programs vital to the most vulnerable populations.

• In California, many school districts cut spending for adult education, libraries, textbooks, arts and music, gifted students, tutoring for low-performing high school students and other programs, according to two major surveys, including one by the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office. Many districts shortened the 180-day school year by five days [7].

• In Florida, state funds for 15,000 children to attend a school-readiness program for low-income families have been cut, and college tuition was raised 15% for the fourth consecutive year. Texas eliminated funding for pre-kindergarten programs that serve about 100,000 at-risk children [7].

• Despite Gov. John Hickenlooper's proposing a $332 million net reduction next year in total spending for public schools — the largest-ever cut to districts in dollar terms — when it comes to deep cuts to K-12 spending, Colorado is not alone [9].

 

Media Facts:

• 22.4 percent of MTV music videos portrayed overt violence, and 25 percent of all music videos depicted weapon carrying. 

• More than half of 16 year olds see the majority of the most popular rated-r movies, they and other teens view an estimated ten thousand acts of violence each year. 

• The “family hour” contains more than eight sexual incidents per hour.  Each year, teens absorb nearly 5,000 sexual references, with less than 170 of them referring to abstinence, birth control, or sexually transmitted diseases.  

• An analysis showed that 70 percent of all prime-time programming depicted alcohol, tobacco, or illicit drug use. [16]

• “What you believe when you are 13 years old you will die believing.”  Research shows that spiritual maturity process should start at a young age, the Barna Corporation, Ltd.

• The average internet users spend three hours per day online and 1.7 hours watching television [17].

• National Center for Missing and Exploited Children found that one in five children aged 10-17, who regularly use the internet, HAS received a sexual solicitation while online.  One in four was unwillingly exposed to images of naked people or people having sex [18].

• Young people take in over 18,000 thousand hours of television by the time they graduate high school, which is over 5,000 more hours than they spend in the 12 years of classes.  This is based on research showing that they average 16-17 hours per week of television watching. Adding in video games and video movies we find that teenagers spend as many as 35-55 hours per week in front of a screen

• Avoid letting the world teach them to love what is evil or to envy the evildoer. [Prov 24:1]

• The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world; they have divine power to diminish strongholds. [2 Cor 10:4]

 

Popular Music: 

2004: (“Play it off”, Nelly) - I play it off ‘til it’s played out, I had her M-f--- a—on the couch kinda laid out, She hittin’ them – gettin’ ate out… 

2005: (“Don’t Cha”, Pussycat Dolls ft. Busta Rhymes) - Don't cha wish your girlfriend was hot like me? Don't cha wish your girlfriend was a freak like me? [#6 of Top 100, 2005]

2006: (“Check On It”, Beyonce ft. Slim Thug) – [Chorus] Ohh Boy you looking like you like what you see / Won't you come over check up on it, I'm gone let you work up on it / Ladies let em check up on it, watch it while he check up on it / Dip it, pop it, twork it, stop it, check on me tonight

2007: (“Buy U A Drank”, T-PAIN FEATURING YUNG JOC) - Imma buy you a drank Then imma take you home with me I got money in the bank / Shawty whachu think bout that Find me in the grey cadillac /We in the bed like Ooh ooh ohh, ooh ooh ..

2008: (“Lollipop”, Lil Wayne Feat. Static Major) - Shawty wanna thug Bottles in the club Shawty wanna hump And ooo I like to touch Ya lovely lady lumps

2010: (“Tik Tok” by Kesha) - Ain't got a care in world, but got plenty of beer Ain't got no money in my pocket, but I'm already here / And now, the dudes are lining up cause they hear we got swagger But we kick em to the curb unless they look like Mick Jagger

2011: (“Till The World Ends” by Britney Spears) This Kitten Got Your Tongue Tied In Knots I See, Spit It Out Cuz Im Dying For Company / I Notice That You Got It You Notice That I Want It You Know That I Can Take It To The Next Level Ba-by! / If You Want This Good Bitch Sicker Than The Remix Baby Let Me Blow Your Mind Tonight

2012: ("Pumped Up Kicks", by FOSTER THE PEOPLE) -  [Chant] All the other kids with the pumped up kicks you better run, better run, outrun my gun. All the other kids with the pumped up kicks you better run, better run, faster than my bullet.

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