By Kathleen Acuff

Teens maneuver a teammate through a web of rope in CLC’s Youth Leadership and Community Service program. Eric Arons, left, volunteers his time to facilitate YLCS groups.

All teenagers are at risk, because they “have to make difficult decisions armed only with the experiences of a child,” says Emily Johnson, executive director of Challenge Learning Center.

CLC’s work with teens is increasing the odds that those decisions will be the right ones. The non-profit recruits both mainstream and at-risk students from Palo Alto, Menlo-Atherton, Woodside, East Palo Alto, Mid-Peninsula and Alta Vista high schools, from Castilleja, Menlo and other schools, and from Caravan House, a group home in Palo Alto for teenage girls.

Students learn from each other as they gain skill in strategic thinking and cooperation. The point is to give them a safe place where they can be themselves, Johnson said, then to help them build the confidence with which to make good decisions.

They learn by doing. As they build muscle memory of successful actions, and as their successful behavior establishes neural pathways, “Their bodies learn what it’s like to be successful,” Johnson said. “They can feel it. They know what it takes to be safe. They learn to anticipate danger and do something about it.” Equally important, “They know that it’s their responsibility to do something about it.”

Johnson pointed out that “kids are looking for things to do.” They want to experiment and take risks, she said. CLC gives them ample opportunity for both. In its popular high- and low-ropes courses, students learn how to solve problems together while taking individual risks.

Sometimes, Johnson said, teens from rival gangs are on the same team and on the same rope, 20 feet off the ground, depending on each other for their safety. A ropes course, like CLC’s other team-building exercises, lets these kids see each other in a new, noncompetitive way and can change antagonism to trust. As part of its community-building program, CLC runs two ropes courses in the Santa Cruz Mountains near Felton, one course at Hidden Villa and one in Huddart Park in Woodside.

Community building is one of three tiers in CLC’s experiential learning program. It is a one-day program for preteens to adults that emphasizes decision-making, risk taking, teamwork, communication and trust.

The second tier is the two-day peer-to-peer program in the schools. The extra day is for training upperclassmen who volunteer to lead other students in team-building activities. Johnson describes this program as good for the teens and good for their school - the students become positive role models, and their school becomes a safer place.

“Every school should have it because it’s a way to energize students and sets a really nice tone for the rest of the year. And it can serve the most number of students for the least amount of money,” Johnson said.

At Alta Vista High School, CLC trains the leadership class, which then takes the whole school through community-building exercises. At Mountain View High School, freshman orientation is enhanced by a group of upperclassmen chosen to help the ninth-graders make the transition to high school. This experience gives the older students a chance to make the school environment safer, and it creates opportunities for students to get to know their classmates and develop relationships.

“Studies show that most kids experience a significant dip in self-esteem between eighth and ninth grades, and some never recover,” Johnson said. “Intervention is necessary to correct the consequences. If a kid can make a single relationship, they’re more likely to be engaged in the school community and perform better academically and less likely to behave aggressively. Transition programs help break the barrier.”

The third tier is the Youth Leadership and Community Service program, a year of weekly training sessions for groups of 20 to 25 students. As they learn advanced leadership, public speaking and facilitation skills, they develop into a supportive group. Johnson said that these students “practice their skills by performing community service - leading community-building programs, speaking to service groups and serving on CLC’s board.”

However, CLC reaches only 3 percent of its target population, Johnson said. She and CLC’s board of directors are therefore working with educators to develop a plan for getting the peer-to-peer program into every school in California in the next five to ten years. The first step will be to expand the local scope by adding five high schools to those the center already works with. CLC plans to gather essential data - dropout rates, attendance, levels of school violence - to replace the anecdotal data it has had to depend on to date.

CLC reaches out to Santa Clara and San Mateo counties from its offices in Mountain View. Since 1991, the center has served 20,000 Bay Area young people and adults from diverse backgrounds. This year alone, CLC served 5,000 students on a budget of less than $200,000. The center stretches the money by training facilitators and hiring per-diem help. It has also developed a large pool of “phenomenal” volunteers - “We couldn’t do the work without them,” Johnson said. “I’m really proud that we have such an efficient organization but there’s so much more to do.”