UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Three Pennsylvania High Schools Will Be Pilot Sites For A New High-tech Youth Development Project Offered By Penn State's College Of Agricultural Sciences.

Northern Potter High School in Ulyses, Pa., Galeton High School in Galeton, Pa., and Washington High School in Washington, Pa., will be the initial sites of the Youth Engaged in Technology (YET) program. The new program will use technology to engage at-risk young people in learning and civic responsibility, according to Daniel Perkins, associate professor of family and youth resiliency and policy in Penn State's department of agricultural and extension education.

"The purpose of the YET program is to enhance 400 young people's marketable academic skills -- especially those related to information sciences and technology," Perkins says. "At the same time, we're developing their social skills, and pro-social skills -- those skills that deal with contributing, volunteering and giving back to their community."

The program will sponsor an after-school or evening club that meets twice weekly at the high school during the school year. Meetings will focus on robotics, GPS/GIS, Web page development, nano-fabrication and other high-tech areas. Club members also will be involved in a community-service activity related to technology.

YET participants can increase their knowledge and use of technology and improve their math and science skills while increasing their sense of community standing and involvement, Perkins says.

"Ultimately, we'd like to enhance these communities' abilities to raise productive citizens who are technology-savvy," he says. "We're hoping to create a new kind of economic base for each community and to teach at-risk young people to see technology in different ways as they use it to build that economic base. Our other goal is to get them to think about using those skills to give back to their community and to see that as part of their civic responsibility."

The pilot programs will be conducted through Penn State Cooperative Extension offices in Potter and Washington counties. The schools were selected because of their demonstrated commitment to technology as a possible economic development factor. Also considered were risk indicators, such as low income and lack of engagement facing families in those communities. The project is funded by a five-year, $750,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture under its National Children, Youth, and Families At-Risk (CYFAR) program.

Phillip Hoy, 4-H youth program management coordinator, will administer the program with Paul Webster, youth development extension agent in Potter County, and Lee Young, county extension director for Washington County.

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EDITORS: Contact Daniel Perkins at 814-865-6988 or via e-mail at dfp102@psu.edu.

Contact:

Gary Abdullah gxa2@psu.edu 814-863-2708 814-863-9877 fax #206