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Polk County Demonstration Site

Key Program Outcomes

Latino 4-H Camp. An evaluation of the regional Latino 4-H Camp, of which Polk County was a participant, included an end-of-camp feedback survey of the 77 campers (grades 6-9). The campers self-reported significant and positive changes in how they felt before and after their camping experience in terms of (a) feeling ok being away from home and family for more than one night, (b) feeling ok meeting new people and friends, (c) feeling ok doing skits and presentations in front of others, (d) deciding what to do in their spare time, (e) knowing a lot about nature and the outdoors, and (f) liking nature and the outdoors. These changes were statistically significant at the .05 level or higher (ranging from .00 to .04). (Paired-comparison t tests were used to examine pre-post responses of 1-4 along a continuum from "not true" to "very true".)

Campers also self-reported life skills learning by indicating on a 4-point scale (1 = None ---- 4 = Lots) how much camp helped them in eight life skill areas. "Feeling good about myself" and "cooperating with others" received the highest mean ratings (3.6 and 3.5). Closely following (at 3.4) were "working together as a team", "to be responsible", and "wanting to try new things" and (at 3.3) "talking to others more easily" and "learning new things I like to do". "Working through disagreements" yielded a mean rating of 3.1.

4-H Adventure Trips. Plans are underway for an evaluation of the 4-H Adventure Trips. Data will be collected as part of a reunion of those who participated in the Trips over the past three years. Older youth who served as counselors for the Trips will assist in the evaluation process.

Updated March 2006