YAKIMA COUNTY'S 
AWARD-WINNING SUMMER 
EDUCATION PROGRAM 
WINS NATIONAL HONORS

Yakima County's Best SELF (Summer Education & Learning Fun) program is now recognized as one of the top county-sponsored programs in the nation. In fact, it won two of 26 awards given by the National Association of Counties in April.

Each summer it helps hundreds of elementary school-age children achieve higher academic and social skills.

Program officials traveled to Washington, D.C., to receive the Acts of Caring Award and the new Youth Literacy Mentoring Award, presented to the program that best addresses a community need for young people to achieve traditional or technological literacy. County representatives were also congratulated in Congressman Doc Hasting's and Sen. Maria Cantwell's offices. 

Best SELF is provided in eight different host schools in six communities: Yakima, Toppenish, Zillah, Sunnyside, Mabton and Grandview. The program will host 33 classes this summer with over 1,800 students.

The program runs from mid-June to mid-August, 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., with two four-week sessions. Students may register for one or both sessions.

The program has numerous important partners who are vital to the program's success. Included is the state's Migrant Education Program (MEP), which pays for 250 migrant students to attend each session.

In addition, MEP provides nearly $3,000 worth of printing, and the Migrant Student Records System (MSRS) staff provides support in recruiting and enrolling students.

The Best SELF program has three areas of emphasis.

ACADEMIC ENRICHMENT with a reading focus. All six locations last year showed an average of 10 percent gain in reading grade levels.

Students also show great social development. Nearly 75 percent of the students felt they had gained social skills that will empower them to be successful students.

"We do fun hands-on lessons and use weekly themes. Some of the learning takes place out of the classroom in the community," explains program Director Judy Jacobson.

RECREATION: Daily recreation includes games, skills and "good old-fashion fun," such as songs, crafts, games, relays etc. Weekly field trips are the highlight of the recreation activities. Kids get to go places where they have never been. Field trips have included Moses Lake Aquatic Center; Camp Roganunda up Chinook Pass; White Pass Ski Area for a chair lift ride, hike and huckleberry picking; SafeCo Field; Yakima Bears; Yakima Airport; and Domino's Pizza.

  COMMUNITY SERVICE: Students give back to the community during their weekly service projects. Projects have included making placemats for a hospital, reading books to seniors at a nursing home, a car wash to give funds to the fallen firefighters of 30-mile forest fire, trimming roses at the community rose garden, and packaging food at the Northwest Food Bank Center.

"The children gain a sense of self-esteem and develop a keen sense of pride for their communities. This also gives the community the opportunity to show children they are valued, and a connection is made between business and children," says Ms. Jacobson.

Children love the Best SELF program. One migrant student said, "This is the best day of my life," cites Ms. Jacobson.

Parents also love the program "My child is up and ready to go to Best SELF faster than the normal year. They love it," said one. Another said, "I feel so good about going to work, knowing my child will learn and have fun while being cared for by five adults."

Yakima County serves as the fiscal and operations manager of the program, which operates in six communities throughout the county. A staff of 186 is assisted by hundreds of volunteers who provide 14,462 hours of work, with an estimated value of $144,620.

Some of the volunteers are at-risk youth. The program provides them with valuable employment training and volunteerism experiences.

The program started after the community assessment in 1997 identified areas of need.

"We replicated the Skagit County program to fit our needs," says Ms. Jacobson. The Yakima County version launched in 1997 with three towns.

The program faced numerous challenges, including "the vastness of the county, getting the word out to all populations, establishing community connections to assist families of poverty, and financial support."

The program now has a $731,000 budget to cover supplies and staff expenditures.

"The initial investment by the county has grown eight-fold through user fees, community contributions, grants, partnerships, individual donations, and huge in-kind support by the numerous school districts, which really makes this program fly," the director says.

Challenges for the program now involve sustaining the current funding sources and increasing funding to offer the program to other school districts that want to participate, says Ms. Jacobson.

"I would like to see every child in Yakima County have the opportunity to participate in Best SELF," she adds. "We can assist schools in preparing students with a solid summer enrichment program like no other."

Ms. Jacobson says other communities should also consider establishing a Best SELF program. To do so, she says they should "build partnerships with those who share the common vision to build successful children through experiences in learning and social development. We can all accomplish more together than individually. Make the promise to pull together and care about children."

Registrations are now being accepted for the summer. Seats are beginning to fill, so families are encouraged to go to the Yakima County Courthouse, 128 N. 2nd Street, Room 102, to be part of this award-winning program.

The regular fee to participate is $310 for a four-week session. MEP funds 250 migrant student scholarships per session. Other low-income families may qualify for child-care subsidy and have the fee paid by DSHS.