Bien dans mes baskets

1) Category:
General program

2) Issues Behind the Program:

Dropping out is a reality that every secondary school faces. In 2008, nearly 29% of secondary-school students in the pu lic system !uit school "ithout graduating. #he failure rate for oys is even more "orrisome, "ith over $%% dropping out. #he situation is even "orse in underprivileged neigh orhoods. &or e'ample, in (estmount, only )% of young people drop out, ut in districts such as *ointe-+aint-,harles or *arc--'tension in .ontr/al, the figure e'ceeds 00% 1Le Devoir, &e ruary 9, 20092. 3u/ ec remains among the provinces "ith the highest drop-out rate in ,anada. &or dropouts the conse!uences are severe4greater li5elihood of physical and psychological pro lems and difficulties fitting into society, and economic disadvantage 1e.g. trou le finding a 6o , ad "or5ing conditions, lo" pay, etc.2.

3) Objectives:
&oster the a ility to remain in school and the development of prosocial ehaviors. 7urture the healthy psychosocial development of young people in school. -na le teenagers to set goals for themselves that "ill spur the motivation needed for them to stay in school. 8elp students to develop healthy living ha its and adapted their personal life. &oster a feeling of community. ehavior at school and in

elonging in school and get young people involved in their

-mpo"er students "ith academic difficulties to e'perience success in school.

4)

nvironment:
9cole secondaire :eanne-.ance 1.ontr/al2

!) "arget #rou$:
+tudents from ;2 to ;8 years old

#his factsheet "as ta5en from the follo"ing "e site< """.coeureaction.!c.ca.

*age ; of )

%) &ey 'ords:
=ien dans mes as5ets, c>ur/action, school-family-community partnership, general program, academic perseverance, motivation, as5et all, sports, e'tracurricular activity, healthy living ha its, prosocial ehaviors, disadvantaged communities, social "or5er, ,+++

() )escri$tion:
Bien dans mes baskets is a prevention and psychosocial development program that uses e'tracurricular as5et all as an intervention tool "ith secondary-level students. #hrough as5et all, the young people are given the motivation needed for them to stay in school. Bien dans mes baskets "as developed in response to the needs of the community and hinges on young people?s attraction to as5et all. In 200;, .artin Dusseault, a ,entre de sant/ et de services sociau' 1,+++2 :eanne-.ance "or5er, launched the program at 9cole secondaire :eanne-.ance. +ince its de ut and given the impact of the actions underta5en, Bien dans mes baskets has en6oyed considera le development in terms of the psychosocial intervention activities it includes and the num er of participants. In 20;0, the Dragons has seven teams, t"o of them "omen?s, "ith some 90 players.

*) +te$s:
I. II. III. I@. @. Identification of a need. *resentation of the program to the school?s psychosocial intervention team and the principal. -sta lishment of e'tracurricular activities< promotion, hiring of "or5ers and coaches, registration. *lanning of the intervention process and selection of the student participants. Action underta5en< o Group formationB o .eeting "ith a significant adult and ond formed "ith the childB o +tudy of the ris5 factors and colla oration "ith the parents and the schoolB o Cpportunities for use of the various s5ills to e developed during program activitiesB o +upport for the student?s drive to regain control of hisDher academic tra6ectoryB o Involvement of the students in community pro6ectsB o ,lose monitoring of the student?s academic and psychosocial 6ourney.

,) -ctivities.-ctions:
*rogram activities can e grouped into three road categories< o *sychosocial intervention activities "ith the student athlete and the student?s family or some other significant person in hisDher lifeB

#his factsheet "as ta5en from the follo"ing "e site< """.coeureaction.!c.ca.

*age 2 of )

o *reventive or remedial group activitiesB o Activities or actions "ith the community "here the program is carried out< Activities to promote and ac5no"ledge the student athletes in the school and the neigh orhoodB activities aimed at developing a sense of elongingB organiEation of tournaments at schoolB scholarship programs for program athletesB other ma6or pro6ects 1international aid, etc.2. #he program covers several aspects of youth development, including learning of prosocial s5ills, stress management, communication, self-esteem, sense of elonging to a group, healthy living ha its, and accounta ility, especially "ith regard to decisionma5ing 1e.g. "hether or not to 6oin a street gang2. In others "ords, the program covers the students? social, academic and personal development. #hrough the program, young people are taught ho" to ta5e responsi ility for their academic 6ourney. As the coordinator e'plains, in the Bien dans mes baskets program, success is not measured according to grades, ut in terms of the effort made. #he young people are e'pected to sho" that they are doing "hat they need to do to succeed, and the program helps them "ith this. Cptions could include things such as home"or5 assistance, tutoring, and concrete action for the students to solve their personal pro lems.

1/) 0esources 0e1uired:

8uman resources< o ,oordinator o +ocial "or5ers o +ocial "or5ersDcoaches o 8ome"or5 assistant o +ummer social "or5ers o Fecreation technician 1provided y the school2 &inancial resources< o #he &ondation du ,+++ :eanne-.ance provides support for fundraising. #he coordinator and the social "or5ers are paid y ,+++, and the coaches, home"or5 assistant and recreation technician, y the school. o All activities are evaluated case y case, meet a social need, and are related to the love of as5et all. #he funds for the material provided to the students and for the various activities are included in grant applications made y the &ondation du ,+++ :eanne.ance.

11) 0o2es o3 the +takeho2ders:

,oordinator< o leads a group of students athletesB o recruits the young people and ensures colla oration "ith the parentsB o sees to coach training and consistency "ith the program?s philosophyB

#his factsheet "as ta5en from the follo"ing "e site< """.coeureaction.!c.ca.

*age $ of )

o is responsi le for promoting the programB o supports the coaches in their dual role 1social and athletic2B o consolidates agreements "ith community partners and follo"s up on activitiesB o participates actively in fund prospectingB o manages the program?s financial assetsB o oversees student supervision and carrying out of the interventions. ,oaches< o create a meaningful ond "ith every playerB o lead and moderate the practice of as5et all and act to foster the players? psychosocial developmentB o ensure that the students are ta5ing action to succeedB o are involved in all the activities of the program. +ocial "or5er< o leads a group of student athletesB o carries out psychosocial follo"-up "ith the young people and their familiesB o liaises et"een the school, family and programB o esta lishes the various intervention activities, "hether individual, group or community.

12) +cienti3ic Basis or 4a2idity:

A recent literature revie" 1=ailey and coll., 20092 on the enefits of sports in school concludes that sports can have a positive impact on young people physically, socially, emotionally and cognitively. A fe" studies have sho"n that the feeling of elonging, com ined "ith social support and sports, may contri ute to academic perseverance 1.ac*hail and coll., 2000B (alseth, 200)2, sometimes to a large e'tent 1&aircloth and coll., 200%B 8offman and coll., 2002B .a, 200$2, nota ly y improving interpersonal s5ills and relations and y increasing the mutual assistance among students. #hese three studies suggest that participation in e'tracurricular activities enhances the feeling of eing part of a group "hich, in turn, contri utes to academic perseverance. 7e"man and coll. 1200G2 have found that students "ho feel they elong to a group have fe"er ehavioral pro lems. #he program?s popularity and positive impact led to a four-year 120;0-20;$2 action research pro6ect launched y ,+++ :eanne-.ance, a university-affiliated center. #he research team of +uEanne Ha erge 1Iniversit/ de .ontr/al2 sought to identify the different impacts of the program at 9cole :eanne-.ance and "ithin the community. *reliminary results indicate that< o #he interaction among the team mem ers, the social support offered y peers and family mem ers, and the coach?s contri ution are significant factors in the athlete?s development of social s5ills. 7ota ly, the young people display a greater sense of elonging and more sustained academic perseverance. &urthermore, they seem to have a sense of etter control of their life in situations of vulnera ility 1negative e'ternal influences2. #he result is more responsi le choices in their daily lives. After an eight-year history, Bien dans mes baskets has ena led doEens of potential dropouts to find ne" meaning in school. In 2009, 8 out of ;; as5et all team players

#his factsheet "as ta5en from the follo"ing "e site< """.coeureaction.!c.ca.

*age 0 of )

finished secondary school, a very high rate "hen the fact that most of them lived in the ,entre-+ud district, a highly underprivileged area, is ta5en into account.

13) Program 5ateria2:

7o specific material is re!uired.

14) -dditiona2 In3ormation:

#he information contained in this factsheet "as ta5en from intervie"s "ith researchers and "ith the people in charge of the program and also, in "hole or in part, from JIn &rench onlyK < o http<DD""".ledevoir.comDsocieteDeducationD2$2)$$Dstatisti!ue-canada-ledecrochage-scolaire-a-augmente-au-!ue ec-sous-les-li erau'B o http<DDrire.ctre!.!c.caDthemati!uesDperseverance-et-decrochageDB o http<DDselection.readersdigest.caDsanteDfamilleDechec-au-decrochage o http<DD""".leplateau.comD=as5et allD2009-;2-;;Darticle-99%;%$DFe ondir-grace-auas5etD;B o http<DD""".csss6eannemance.caDfileadminDcsssL6manceD.enuD@otre,+++DDocume ntationDHe:eanne.anceDH:.Lvol%DH:.Lvol%Lnum2.pdf #he lives of many young people have truly remar5a le testimonials< een ettered y the program. 8ere are a fe"

o .ic5ael +"eeney "as having trou le eing a teenager and school "as not a priority for him. Gradually, as5et all ecame his main motivation for studying. 8is goal4ma5e it on to the ,ollMge 9douard-.ontpetit AAA team. 8e did even etter than that. 8e ecame team captain. Hater, he enroled in the I3A. administration program to play "ith the ,itadins. #he 2;-year-old says that as5et all helped him to develop proper "or5 ha its and to set o 6ectives. 8e decided to return to school as a volunteer home"or5 assistant. o =randon Na engela, age ;G, had important decisions to ma5e in 2008. 8e hung out "ith street gangs and nearly "ent off the rails. =as5et all got him ac5 on trac5. #his pivotal decision ena led him to e'perience success for the first time y "inning the #op Athlete of the Oear a"ard at his school and a priEe for academic and athletic perseverance at the provincial level. 8e "as part of the 3u/ ec I;G team and of the "inning team at the +ummer ,anada Games in 20;0. o 9ric Cupoh had ma6or family difficulties that led to her adoption y a ,ham ly family. &rom a sha5y start 1three failed su 6ects in +ec. I2, he "ent on to to achieve a general average of );% in 200G-2008 and of G$% for his first three report cards in 2009-20;0. ,onsidered a student at high ris5 for dropping out ecause of his a senteeism and ehavior, 9ric got his act together, "inning the 20;0 &/d/ration !u/ /coise du sport /tudiant Gala of e'cellence a"ard for the athlete displaying academic and athletic perseverance. #he competition4;G,000 candidatesP

#his factsheet "as ta5en from the follo"ing "e site< """.coeureaction.!c.ca.

*age % of )

1!) Contacts:
.artin Dusseault, ,oordinator ,+++ :eanne-.ance ;%%, oulevard +aint-:oseph -st .ontr/al 13u/ ec2 82# ;80 #el.< %;0 28)-2)00, e'tension 0$$0 -mail< 6mance as5etQhotmail.com 9cole secondaire :eanne-.ance 0200, rue de =ordeau' .ontr/al 13u/ ec2 828 ;R% #el.< %;0 %9)-%8;%, e'tension 208G -mail< 6manceQcsdm.!c.ca

#his factsheet "as ta5en from the follo"ing "e site< """.coeureaction.!c.ca.

*age ) of )