County's new youth services chief is off, running, has goals set high

Aunisty Jenkins, 6, follows along while Merissa Cone, 8, reads aloud during a Pulaski County after-school program at the Audubon Arkansas headquarters in Little Rock. The county’s Youth Services Department is working to add more programs under its new director, Jamie Scott.
Aunisty Jenkins, 6, follows along while Merissa Cone, 8, reads aloud during a Pulaski County after-school program at the Audubon Arkansas headquarters in Little Rock. The county’s Youth Services Department is working to add more programs under its new director, Jamie Scott.

Pulaski County Youth Services Director Jamie Scott has planted herself at a cluttered table in the middle of the department, working alongside two of her employees all day on seeking grants and planning for new programs.

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Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Ashley Cone, 11, Jalyiah Aaron, 10, and Jakareya Colbert, 11, talk in the hallway during an after-school program at the Audubon Arkansas building on Springer Boulevard in Little Rock.

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Special to the Democrat-Gazette

Pulaski County Youth Services Director Jamie Scott

It's not an office, but papers strewn on the table and poster sheets with writing in black marker on the wall indicate that it's a busy work space. Scott and her employees have applied for more than 20 grants under her short leadership.

Since County Judge Barry Hyde appointed Scott to the job in February, the county has more than doubled the number of youth programs it oversees from three full-time programs to seven. The goal for 2015 is 15.

Scott, the former Upward Bound director at Arkansas Baptist College, describes herself as an overachiever devoted to her work, which has spilled over for her and her employees into the evenings, when they sometimes text one another ideas and Scripture to keep themselves motivated.

"The judge says I make him feel dizzy standing next to me," she said.

After the recent Quorum Court approval of Little Rock grant funds received by the county, the Youth Services Department will add an after-school program for elementary students and two Youth Intervention Programs. The latter is a more rigorous program targeting junior high and high school-age youths in the community who are at the greatest risk of getting involved with gangs.

One program will target boys and another will target girls; all three programs will target youths living west of John Barrow Road.

At a late April Quorum Court meeting, justices of the peace thanked Scott for what she's done already.

"Thank you for the way you hit the ground running," said Justice of the Peace Phil Stowers, R-Maumelle. "I have not seen this much enthusiasm ... in our Youth Services Department in a long time."

Scott was hired in February as a replacement for Charles Mobley, who retired.

Mobley served as department director for several years and earned $76,935.82 in 2014. He was set to make $83,391.88 in 2015 as a part of a reclassification of his job and that of the community services director that he, former Community Services Director Laverne Paige and former County Judge Buddy Villines pushed for in November. The Quorum Court approved the reclassifications without dissent.

Hyde asked the Quorum Court in January to lower the salaries for those positions -- which justices of the peace also approved without dissent -- and has since replaced both department directors.

Scott has said she will earn $64,000 this year.

Scott, with more honors and leadership roles in her 33 years of life than letters in her name, wants to go beyond after-school programs. She wants more ACT Prep classes and more programs targeting girls, children with disabilities and Hispanic students, as well as more programs in the county's unincorporated areas. She's applying for a grant right now for a retreat for at-risk boys.

About 80-85 children are served by the three after-school programs that existed when Scott arrived in the job.

Since then, Scott has overseen the start of a fourth program at Eighth Street Baptist Church in North Little Rock that is now up and running, serving 35-40 children.

Scott said the three new programs approved last month will add nearly 100 children, more than doubling the number served before she arrived.

Program and special events coordinator Susej Thompson said she wants eventually to reach out to girls and Hispanic youths with life-skills and arts programs. She hasn't applied for grants for either of those yet, but said, laughing, that she's already applied for what was previously a year's worth of grants in the past two months.

Grant specialist Melissa Pettus is in charge of finding the grants to apply for -- so far a couple of dozen -- and she helps with the applications, too, alongside Scott and Thompson.

"Our vision is so much bigger than after-school programs," Scott said.

Nonetheless, the county has expanded after-school programs and is setting new standards based on students' future school performance. She wants to be able to say 80 percent of the children in these programs are testing at grade level.

Scott pointed to a program in the College Station area at the Audubon Arkansas headquarters as an example of one that's working to help children get better grades.

At the Audubon building on Springer Boulevard, Whitney Dobbins, 28, is the program director for an after-school program involving about 30 elementary-school-age students for 3½ hours each day.

The program is free, and the city has helped provide "enhancements," such as visits by representatives of the Museum of Discovery or the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra. A group that helps the children handle conflict resolution visits regularly.

There are field trips sometimes to amusement parks or Playtime Pizza and service trips to play bingo with senior citizens.

On most days, children have books, a dozen computers and art supplies when they gather around six tables to eat, do homework and play. Dobbins said she tries to get all participants to do homework for at least an hour or more each day.

Dobbins said nearly all of the children made the honor roll this year, and Scott and her colleagues surprised them with pizza Friday afternoon to celebrate.

"I used to be in the classroom teaching," Dobbins said, adding that she taught 3-year-olds. But she was drawn to this program as a way to reach out to children and mentor them.

"It's forging a bond with all of them," she said.

Over in the coat room, Marq'ues Cone is shy, but his sister, Ashley, blurted out that his grades have gone up since he started attending the after-school program in August.

Marq'ues, 12, is in the fifth grade at College Station Elementary alongside his 11-year-old sister. His grades had been C's and D's not long before.

"I now have A's and B's," Marq'ues said softly, wiggling around, arms closed behind his back.

Jalyiah Aaron, 10, said her grades have gotten better every year and are now A's and B's. But the fifth-grader at College Station Elementary said the best part of the program is how many friends she's made.

"I did not have that many friends," she said.

"Yes, you do," Marq'ues said back to her. "One, two, three, four," he said before trailing off, while pointing to everyone in the room.

Jalyiah and her friends spoke quickly and excitedly about kickball, laser-tag trips, playing bingo at the nursing home, donating canned foods, all of the role-playing games they do and all of the nicknames they have for people.

"We call Miss Whitney our Momma," said Jakareya Colbert, an 11-year-old fifth-grader at College Station Elementary.

She inspires them, Ashley said -- even in the way she smells so good every day.

Scott said the Audubon site is an "excellent model" that she wouldn't change. Helping the children get good grades is just part of it, however, she said.

"I hope that we're able to -- by directly educating the kids -- to have an impact on crime," Scott said.

Hyde has set a priority to expand the Youth Services Department's presence into as many of the county's unincorporated communities as possible.

"We're not in all parts of the county yet, but we're working on it," Hyde said. The county currently operates only one site outside Little Rock -- in Higgins at a community center that's being revamped.

But Hyde cites the enthusiasm from Scott and the department as reason to feel optimistic about reaching their goal of 15 full-time programs by the end of 2015.

"I think things are going well," he said.

Scott said she wants to reach out to children and give them a chance to succeed, noting all of the opportunities she received through the Boys and Girls Club while growing up in North Little Rock.

"I live on purpose," she said. "I feel so indebted to the next generation."

Metro on 05/07/2015

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