B.R.I.C.K. - Cleveland Municipal School District

INFORMATION

The B.R.I.C.K. (Brotherhood, Respect, Intelligence, Conduct, and Knowledge) program was founded in 1996 by Mr. Tim Roberts at Martin Luther King Middle School in Cleveland, Ohio. There is no charge to particpants of the B.R.I.C.K. program.

The B.R.I.C.K. program provides community services through a variety of activities, projects, and events. The young men meet weekly to discuss important school issues, update projects they are working on, and contribute ideas and thoughts on new and productive ways to get involved within the community. At times, there are speakers who come to the school to address the young men on a variety of issues. B.R.I.C.K. youth are required to volunteer during the year at day care centers reading to small children, senior citizen centers and other non profit community agencies. They are expected to improve their grades during their involvement in the program, and they are given t-shirts to identify them as school leaders and mentors.

Activity	Description	Time and Frequency	Individual Attendance at Event/Process for Selection of B.R.I.C.K. Members
Weekly Meetings	B.R.I.C.K. members meet and follow a designated agenda that addresses issues such as: upcoming events, member successes, current event issues, and sign up for activities	Once a week / At the end of the school day	All students / Anyone interested
Volunteer Activities such as "Walk to Read" which is a highly successful program where youth read and interact with preschool children weekly	Day care centers, Community centers, Senior Citizen centers, and Neighborhood projects	Once a week / At the end of the school day	Five to all students (depends on event) / Identified by Instructor or by volunteer
Workshops	On issues that are important to the youth and are identified by the youth	4 times a year	All students / Anyone interested
Presentations at other places	About the B.R.I.C.K. program	As asked to do them	Special identified students
Conferences	On Youth Related Issues	Attend them when they are relevant	Special Identified students
Special Fun Activities	Trip to Washington D.C., Cedar Point, Six Flags	Several Times a Year	Students who are involved all year
Youth Forum	Youth Forum to be developed and presented to the community by B.R.I.C.K. members on important youth issues	1 Time	All students / Anyone interested

There are two types of contributions that the B.R.I.C.K. program makes to the community: tangible and intangible. The tangible contributions can be seen via better grades, increased attendance at school, better proficiency scores, decreased crime, decreased drop-out rates, increased graduation rates, increased college acceptance and attendance. Some of the intangibles that cannot be measured include increased self-confidence and the ability to deal with difficult family issues, the tools to become active, healthy fathers in the lives of these young men's future children, increased neighborhood commitment to change for the better as measured through the eyes of the youth involved in the program and improved perception of young men by younger, impressionable youth.

B.R.I.C.K. Goals:

- To design a system of social and academic support for at-risk-youth.

- Provide a base for young men to gain self esteem and self worth.

- To develop peer leadership as an intervention strategy.

- Provide young men with the opportunity to gain information on job training skills, educational opportunities and future career opportunities.