Herndon VA
Former Director: Amy McFarland
The Quantum Opportunities Program, which just concluded its fourth and final year of operation, was operated by Neighbors
United/Vecinos Unidos, which continues to operate the Herndon Youth Safe Haven.
The Herndon community, a hi-tech suburb of Washington, DC, near Dulles Airport, is a mix of highly educated professionals and recent immigrants, mainly from El Salvador and other Latin American countries.
The Quantum program served a diverse mix of youths, many with language and cultural barriers that hinder their ability to compete with the children of highly educated families in the community. The program provided academic assistance and enrichment, cultural opportunities, and service opportunities to the program associates. In addition, the staff worked with family members in their interaction with schools and other local institutions.
Evaluation
Despite the language and cultural barriers, 17 of 20 youths completed high school or alternative education, such as Job Corp. Three associates returned to their home countries and were replaced by three additional youths, who also completed high school. Only 11 of 20 youths in the control group completed high school.
A preliminary analysis of standardized test scores (TABE) found that the associates performed significantly better, than the control youths. It was also demonstrated that the associates had significantly better grades, and that the higher grades were at least in part due to improved attendence and behavior. This suggests that the Quantum program not only led to higher grades through homework assistance, but fundamentally altered the youth's perspectives on the importance of school.
The associates also had:
- Significantly lower teen fertility
- Less involvement with legal authorities
- Higher rate of seeking advanced education or training