Greetings from South Florida!

I have the honor of providing program coordination and supervising child associates for Primary Project in South Florida. Our program is a bit different from most programs, as Boys Town South Florida is an outside agency that is contracted through the Palm Beach County School District. Our funder, Children Services Council of Palm Beach County, allows Primary Project to be offered in 12 local elementary schools. Having established strong partnerships with both the school district and Children’s Services Council, programs have remained stable and consistent for over 20 years.  

Our team uses several strategies to maintain a successful program. For example, sharing data for each participating student is very important, especially as we are non-school district employees who use an outside funding source. As program supervisors, both myself and Liz Lopez, examine the data and prepare reports to share with both our funder and each school where Primary Project is implemented.  

Another essential element of successful programming is building community support, raising awareness about the program, and informing others of our goals. One way we promote the program is by creating the “Halls of Hope.” Located in the halls of our Boys Town offices, Halls of Hope highlight specific Boys Town programs in South Florida for community partners to learn more about each program. Our Primary Project wall highlights the outcome data from the Teacher Child Rating Scale (T-CRS), a success story, and what parents and school staff have to say about the program. As a result of sharing outcomes, I often hear words like “this should be in every school”.  

As a program coordinator and supervisor, I encourage ALL programs to take the time to dive into the reports in COMET. It draws attention to the child associates hard work and provides proof that the intervention works for young learners. This isn’t just “play time,” rather an opportunity to support the whole child so they continue to grow and learn both academically and socially. Even if the data doesn’t turn out how you expected or shows little or no improvement, the data can be used to support students in receiving additional support they may need. It can also help teams identify where program improvements can be made.

If you are a child associate, thank you for changing the lives of students one play session at a time. If you are a supervisor of the program, thank you for supporting the uniqueness of child associate’s work in schools.  Working together, we help to support young students to build confidence, express their feelings and voice their needs.

—Charlotte Ussery, LMHC

Director of Primary Project at Boys Town South Florida