Cornell Cooperative Extension

Onondaga County

What is a school-based program?

School-Based 4-H Programming: Getting Started

What is a school-based program?

A school-based program can be any of the following:

  • 4-H School Enrichment: Offered to groups of youth, taught by Extension staff or trained volunteers (can be a trained classroom teacher), and designed to support the school curriculum. "Enrichment can extend and enhance students' learning with fun, hands-on activities, provide an outside source of information to positively reinforce what is taught in school, and provide a different point of view about the same subject matter which may help youth comprehend and apply their newfound knowledge." Enrichment programs may not offer all the elements of Positive Youth Development (PYD) as they are condensed programs that focus on specific core learning objectives. Examples include 4-H Embryology, 4-H Public Speaking, National 4-H Youth Science Day, etc.
  • In-school club: Follows a more traditional club approach but occurs during school hours.
  • After-school club: Follows a more traditional club approach but operates directly after school hours (between 2:00 and 6:00 PM); can be at a school, community center, etc.

Benefits of 4-H School Enrichment

1. Increases the capacity of schools by:

  • providing teachers and students with trustworthy, balanced educational experiences supported by land-grant university research;
  • delivering learning experiences using current theories on educational attainment (e.g., experiential learning cycles, active learning strategies, youth development best practices, etc.); and
  • offering students a way to extend their learning by offering after-school experiences with 4-H through clubs, summer residential and day camps, contest and events, and workshops.

2. Increases the reach of Extension to youth, makes 4-H available to ALL youth, increases the public image of 4-H, and can increase the support base for 4-H.

3. Acts as an introduction to 4-H for youth.

4. Provides research-based curricula that are unbiased and evaluated for effectiveness by Extension, other land-grant universities, or a national jury of 4-H National Headquarters.

5. Provides an opportunity to develop or extend a cooperative relationship between schools and Extension.

How is school-based programming different from traditional club programming?

  • Volunteers: Some volunteers in 4-H school-based programs may be teachers in the classroom or paid staff at sites. Although they may have experience teaching youth, they may not be familiar with the principles or practices of Positive Youth Development that all 4-H volunteers should understand (i.e., Experiential Learning Model, Targeting Life Skills, and Essential Elements of 4-H).
  • Audience: Depending on the school club site, youth may be able to choose to participate in 4-H or they may be automatically enrolled. If youth don't have a choice, then it will be important to increase their desire to participate by getting them excited to be a 4-H member.
  • Parental involvement: School-based programs are helpful for parents, guardians, families, etc. who are working. Knowing parents will be working up front is important, as the level of parental involvement may be different than that of traditional community club members' parents. Some youth may not be as likely to attend events outside their club or have the opportunity to participate in the countywide activities in the 4-H program (such as County Events, Fair, camps, etc.).

Teachers - Before You Start

  • Please know we are not asking you to add something extra to your already busy schedule.
  • Many of our curricula resources are correlated with current standards. If there is a particular standard that we could help address with our curriculum, let us know!
  • 4-H Extension programming is offered to enrich what you are CURRENTLY doing. Let's figure out how does or can this material fit into the classroom curriculum?
  • We'd love to meet with you! We know you don't have a lot of extra time so we respect your time and can meet one-on-one when it's convenient for you!
  • We can offer sample programs of 15–30 minutes rotating to all classes for an entire grade level. This provides an opportunity to show hands-on demonstrations using equipment a you may not have—examples include a black-light handwashing demonstration or a seed-planting activity—then provide curriculum materials for the teacher to do additional lessons.
  • We love to share previous School Enrichment successes - please ask so we can brag!

Lastly, we are an organization of many expertise!

  • Partnerships in the Office: Our SNAP-Ed programs are excellent examples of Extension programs that may be able to provide resources for a healthy living club or project (whether it be nutrition, culinary, or gardening). Working with Master Gardeners, CommuniTree Stewards, Master Food Preservers, or Master Naturalists can also help develop and enrich our identified programming priorities with you!

Last updated August 9, 2024

4-H Youth & Family Development