With a founding mission to help the people of the East Bronx build better lives, St. Raymond Community Outreach (SRCO) is distinguished, today, by its superlative arts and education programs for children, early adolescents and teenagers. SRCO is a non-sectarian, community based organization located in Community District 9, serving the East Bronx and the immediate neighborhood of Parkchester.

The SRCO model is a developmental one. SRCO’s appeal to young people is, in part, a function of a certain programmatic cachet that SRCO has established. The sustained involvement of young people, however, is a tribute to SRCO’s youth development approach. SRCO employs activity specialists and working artists who demonstrate technical skills in the arts as well as first-rate youth development skills. We know that when programs provide a strong developmental fit, students are engaged in compelling and powerful ways. SRCO has identified a developmental emphasis for each of its three program tiers, elementary, middle school and high school. Compelling developmental assets are emphasized at each stage:

• elementary programs emphasize literacy;

• middle school programs emphasize friendship, decision-making and leadership;

• high school activities emphasize careers, employment, life skills and education.

SRCO answers the challenges in our community with a set of organizational guideposts, ensuring that we will always offer:

1. A reliable, enriched and safe environment in which healthy development is nurtured;

2. Arts activities – aligned with New York State Learning Standards – that foster creativity, self-expression, communication and fun;

3. Caring adults who support student growth;

4. Connections to parents, teachers, community members and needed resources;

5. Academic and social supports that offer a sound developmental and cultural fit;

6. Guidance and concrete assistance for young people during life transitions and high risk developmental junctures;

7. High level experiences in the arts, music, drama, dance and academic domains; and

8. Leadership and decision-making roles for students and families.

Sustaining a Unique Developmental Institution

SRCO’s Blueprint for the Future envisions a Performing Arts and Recreation Center – a cultural hub -- that invites children and families from every corner of the East Bronx to participate joyfully in the performing arts, educational activities and social support services. SRCO program accomplishments lay the groundwork for such a broad leadership role in the community. In fewer than ten years, SRCO stakeholders have built an organization and designed a program that is distinctive for its excellence in three areas: the performing arts; youth development; and youth engagement. These domains are integrated seamlessly to create a unique developmental institution.

The performing arts lie at the heart of SRCO’s program activities. SRCO demonstrates a thriving community outreach model. Appealing to their passion for music, SRCO’s performing art programs – dance, DJing, music – attract scores of high school students. SRCO takes pride in its talent for recruiting older adolescents, and with good reason. The NYC Department of Youth and Community Development and The AfterSchool Corporation have cited effective recruitment and retention of middle and high school teens as a major obstacle facing youth organizations throughout the city. Studies of adolescent rates of OST participation show a strong positive correlation between persistence and positive outcomes.

SRCO’s appeal to young people is, in part, a function of a certain programmatic cachet that SRCO has established. The sustained involvement of young people, however, is a tribute to SRCO’s youth development approach. SRCO employs activity specialists and working artists who demonstrate technical skills in the arts as well as first-rate youth development skills. We know that when programs provide a strong developmental fit, students are engaged in compelling and powerful ways.

[1] Marsh, H.W., & Kleitman, S. (2002). Extracurricular school activities: The good, the bad, and the nonlinear. Harvard Educational Review, 72, 464-514.