PRINCETON-BLAIRSTOWN CENTER INC

The Princeton-Blairstown Center works in partnership with school and community-based organizations to help young people increase their social-emotional skills (i.e. assertiveness, empathy, social responsibility, and self-regard). These are an important part of an individual's overall emotional intelligence (E.I.). Daniel Goleman, in his 1998 book “Working with Emotional Intelligence," reports that job performance, as measured by superiors, peers and subordinates, is predicted three times as well by an individual's E.Q., a measure of EI, than by I.Q. Experts from close to 500 corporations, government agencies and nonprofits throughout the world have replicated this finding. Goleman also reports that leadership skills are directly related to Emotional Intelligence. John Gottman, in his 1997 book, “Raising an Emotionally Intelligent Child," reports that children with high E.Q. are more likely to succeed academically than those with low E.Q. Further, he reports that aspects of a child's E.Q. predict the likelihood of later delinquency, violence, and drug and alcohol abuse. These findings demonstrate that E.I. is an important indicator of many aspects of future success. By building the skills and qualities of E.I., PBC prepares students for accomplishment and readies them to make positive personal choices.

PBC's Blairstown Campus programs help young from historically marginalized communities by providing access and equity in the outdoors:
1. Form positive and supportive relationships with peers and adults:
PBC's curriculum is sequential and intentional. Small groups of students are engaged in initiatives, trust-building activities, challenge course activities, and then they progress to work on the low and high ropes courses. Through this carefully facilitated programming, groups set norms, learn to trust each other, develop effective and powerful ways of solving problems, overcome challenges, and celebrate individual and group successes. Strong bonds and friendships form and are transported back to school. Faculty members reference these experiences when students return to the classroom, helping to transfer the learning back home. The documented benefits of challenge course programming include gains in team building, trust, and cohesiveness (Glass & Benshoff, 2002; Priest, 1998).

2. Foster positive, productive social skills:
PBC's experiential education programs are designed to build SEL skills. Students will live and work in small groups. They must work together to successfully complete challenge course activities and restoration (stewardship and clean up of the site). Communal living and working together in a rustic setting strengthens empathy, cooperation, and conflict resolution skills. Challenge course work has been proven to increase self-esteem, group cohesion, leadership skills, self-efficacy, work efficacy, and leadership efficacy (Hart & Silka, 1994; Hatch & McCarthy, 2005; Paxton & McAvoy, 2000; Propst & Koesler, 1998).

3. Develop group norms that support school climate and culture:
PBC helps young people and their leaders develop and reinforce group norms around climate and culture. According to the National Council on School Climate, “school climate refers to the quality and character of school life and is based on patterns of students', parents' and school personnel's experience of school life that reflects norms, goals, values, interpersonal relationships, teaching and learning practices and organizational structures." A positive school climate fosters positive youth development and learning. A positive climate consists of school norms, values and expectations that support people feeling socially, emotionally, and physically safe; students, faculty, and staff who are engaged and respected; students, parents, and educators working together to develop, live, and contribute to a shared school vision; educators who model and nurture attitudes that emphasize the benefits and satisfaction gained from learning; and students, faculty, and staff who take pride in the school and the care of the physical environment. Peer-reviewed educational research has consistently demonstrated that a positive school climate is associated with academic achievement, effective risk prevention efforts and positive youth development.

PBC has a beautifully maintained 268-acre campus in Northwest New Jersey complete with 11 rustic log cabins, challenge courses, ropes courses, climbing towers, Bass Lake, Blair Creek, hiking trails, classrooms and a modern dining room and group meeting space. PBC's staff is carefully trained in experiential education methodology so that they can facilitate student learning. PBC has partnerships with more than 100 schools and community based organizations.

More than 90% of chaperones and teachers report that their students improve their social-emotional and 21st Century skills after a week of Summer Bridge programming. From 2017-2022 (no data available for 2020 due to COVID-19), on average, students demonstrated the following improvements according to their teachers/chaperones:

87% demonstrated improved teamwork skills.

85% demonstrated improved leadership skills.

86% demonstrated improved problem-solving skills.

80% demonstrated an improved appreciation of the natural world.

From 2017-2022 (no data available for 2020 due to COVID-19), on average, student results indicated that 77% reported improved teamwork skills, 72% reported improved problem-solving skills, and 75% reported improved appreciation of the natural world.

In 2022, 45% of the students served identified as female; 45% as male; and 10% as non-binary, prefer to self-describe, or prefer not to say. Fifty-nine percent identified as African American, 26% as Latinx, 4% as Biracial or Other, 1.5% as AAPI, and 1.5% as Caucasian. Over 90% of the students were eligible for free (families with incomes at or below 130% of the poverty level) or reduced (families with incomes between 130% and 185% of the poverty level) meals.