CSET

CSET Jr. Leadership Program
Community Leaders Come in ALL SIZES

We have all heard that youth are our future, but CSET has seen that they are also our present. Youth can get important things done now, when they are provided with the right skills and experiences and encouraged to succeed academically. Members of CSET’s Junior Leadership program are demonstrating this phenomenon in communities across Tulare County.

CSET’s Junior Leadership Program is a yearlong curriculum for youth 10 to 18 years old. About 240 youth participate each year, 30 in each of eight communities. The curriculum teaches core competencies in communication skills, conflict resolution, consensus building, group facilitation, public speaking, strategic planning, group dynamics, character development, and community organizing. When youth graduate from the program, they take with them a clear set of educational and career goals, the skills to help them succeed, and the knowledge that they have what it takes to make a difference.

Jr. Leaders across the county take on a more active role in their communities. They participate in the decision and planning of the project and then take on a more active role, carrying out duties during the events. At least 100 Jr. Leaders will help plan and coordinate Earth Day Activities in their communities. Projects include planting trees and collecting large amounts of trash and electronic waste, which might otherwise end up on the side of county roads.

Jr. Leaders participate in academic enrichment activities and tour universities. Their hard work pays off as more than a dozen Jr. Leaders begin college in Bakersfield, Fresno, Santa Cruz and Riverside.

Throughout the year, Jr. Leaders plan and carry out community improvement projects and events that promote drug-, alcohol- and violence-free activities for other youth.

CSET operates the Jr. Leadership program in Tipton, Pixley, Earlimart, Alpaugh, Ivanhoe, Cutler-Orosi and Visalia.

For more information about Youth Leadership activities, please call CSET at (559) 732-4194.