Document text
Youth Corps studies 'real life' Photo by Bob Pennell Nehemias Palomares, a 10th-grade student at Eagle Point High School, trims back shrubs in front of Medford City Hall, clearing room for rose bushes set to be planted today. Alternative high school course builds projects, self-esteem By VICKI GUARINO Today, a rose garden for City Hall. Next week, a wetlands project for the U.S. Forest Service. The work of an Upper Rogue regional alternative high school is popping up all over the county. Students enrolled in the Natural Resources Youth Corps gain work experience and high school credits. A service of Upper Rogue Area Training & Education, based at the Veterans Domiciliary in White City, the corps is an alternative school for students at Eagle Point and Prospect high schools. URATE is a non-profit dedicated to developing educational opportunities to youth and adults in northeastern Jackson County. "The typical high school program," says program coordinator Ryan Munn, "doesn't serve those who learn best by doing.""That's what we're trying to do." So this week the crew of about a half-dozen has been out in front of Medford City Hall, pruning back overgrown bushes and planting a rose garden for the parks department. "This is real life," says Eagle Point ninth-grader Jorge Sanchez. "We're doing it right here instead of being told about it in a classroom." Corps member Nehemias Palomares, an Eagle Point 10th-grader, likewise prefers the field work to class work. "It's actually interesting," Nehemias says. He adds the grades he's earning on the corps projects are helping him raise his grade-point average. The corps' work is earning high marks among its clients, government agencies that contract work through the Upper Rogue Educational Consortium. Last month, cedar benches for Ashland's new North Mountain amphitheater. "They were incredible," says Paige Prewett of the Ashland Parks Department. "They did an awesome job. "We had never worked with them before, but they were out there every day, rain or shine. They were really motivated and enthusiastic." The corps worked on Ashland's new North Mountain Avenue Park and Natural Area. Students built benches from the city's split cedar logs and installed them in the park's amphitheater. The outdoor theater, with seating for 60-70, will offer programs beginning this spring. Next on the corps' job list is a wetlands reconstruction project for the Forest Service at the Stone Tree Nursery near Jacksonville. "And there are quite a few more jobs on the plate," says Munn. Munn worked in recreation planning and construction for the U.S. Forest Service for six years. He says he uses his network of friends and associates from that work to develop projects for the youth corps. He has a degree in biology and is planning on returning to college to obtain his teaching license. Besides organizing the work sites, Munn has developed a curriculum to match the hand work. Students present reports on projects to earn English credits from their high schools. They complete projects and studies for science credit. Also, the work experience counts as an elective class. Students attend regular class in their high schools in the morning, and spend the afternoons working with Munn. The program is funded largely by a grant from the Oregon Youth Conservation Corps, the parent organization for several programs similar to the local youth corps and summer projects around the state. In addition, school districts contribute a share of state funding for the students they enroll. Students receive a small stipend for their work, but job sites get work done for free. Only a few agencies pay the alternative school, but they all provide materials and tools. The Forest Service has provided a van for the program. The youth corps first organized several years ago in the Prospect School District. It moved to White City last year to better serve the larger Eagle Point district and to be closer to a variety of projects. Demand for work is starting to expand the school, with a second youth corps focusing on Bear Creek projects. Today's Edition : News | Sports | Business | Weather | Tempo | Classifieds Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA