Hamilton students spend time in local public and private schools as part of a variety of academic course commitments and volunteer projects.  The Youth Development Project began in the Levitt Center as a commitment ot the youth of Cornhill in one of our first AmeriCorps VISTA projects in 2003.  Faculty and staff from the Levitt Center participated actively in discussions aout the creation of a Community School at Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary School, in the heart of Cornhill.  The VISTA project brought music and art form the college to the community in a Cultural Series, as well as a number of other activities.

Several courses in different academic departments at Hamilton focus on education from their own discipline perspective, such as Anthropology, Women's Studies, Government, Sociology, Comparative Literature, and Hispanic Studies.  When these courses are offered, they may include a service-learning component focused on youth development in the schools or in afterschool programs.     

Other courses offer opportuntiies for enrichment in or out of the classroom.  Students from courses in Hispanic Studies and Comparative Literature have offered readings, film clips and discussion from other cultures to students in area elementary schools.   Students wrote short reflections describing their experience with the program.  A short video detailing the success of the program was also created.  Next year, our International Students may participate in educating students from communities adjacent to the college about their culture. 

The Youth Development Project also 
connects various initiatives across the campus in the Sciences, Humanities, Arts,and the Social Sciences through a Civic Engagement Wiki, so that we can be aware of what others on campus are doing and see the breadth and scope of our youth development interventions in  the community.


Our initiative in 2008-2009 focused on the west side of Utica, working with a coalition of interested citizens and organizations to address issues faced by family and youth in this over-looked and under-served part of the community.  

Family and Community Connections at Kernan (FCCK), a grass-roots group consisting of townspeople, government officals, and agency representatives, has been instrumental in providing ideas and support for the Youth Development Project.  Kathleen Rinaldo, Literacy Coordinator at Boces and a member of FCCK, received a $600,000 New York State Literacy Grant (only one of eleven awarded) for the period of July 2009 - June 2012.  This money will be used, among other functions, to implement programs that will assist our literacy initiative on the west side of Utica.