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The Quantum Opportunities Program (QOP) is a
comprehensive education and youth development program
designed especially for disadvantaged high school
students. It does not specifically target either
pregnancy or STD/HIV/AIDS prevention; rather, the
intent is to prevent risk-taking behaviors by
providing youth with health social and educational
opportunities and intensive personal support. The
intervention begins at the start of 9th grade and
continues through all four years of high school,
including vacation periods. During this time,
participants are exposed to the following: (1) 250
hours of education, including computer-assisted
instruction, peer tutoring, and homework assistance;
(2) 250 hours of development activities (e.g. life and
family skills, health and sex education, family
planning, drug and alcohol abuse refusal skills,
college planning); and (3) 250 hours of community
service activities. In addition, youth receive hourly
stipends and bonuses, both of which are to be
deposited in a controlled savings account.
The original field study included 125 randomly
selected students (half program participants, half
controls) across five sites (Philadelphia, PA Saginaw,
MI, Oklahoma City, OK, San Antonio, TX and Milwaukee,
WI). Researchers assessed a wide range of personal,
social and career-related attitudes, behaviors and
experiences beginning at the start of the program and
continuing through high school graduation. They found
that the positive effects of the intervention accrued
slowly and steadily. By the final assessment period,
program participants showed significant advantages in
academic and career performance and social behavior.
In particular, the researchers found that 24% of the
experimental group had children, versus 38% of control
group members. See "A Note About the Quantum Opportunities Program" below.
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A Note About the Quantum Opportunities Program
Within the PASHA collection, the Quantum Opportunities Program (QOP) is
unique in two respects. First, while other programs in the PASHA collection
may last for a few sessions, a few weeks, or even a few months, QOP is
designed to last for four years --from the beginning of a participant's
freshman year of high school through graduation.
Second, while other programs in the PASHA collection come with standardized curricular materials, QOP is best implemented when the content is completely customized to the community's specific needs and available resources. For example, in the original implementation of QOP, Program Coordinators offered classes in remedial math to program participants; your program may opt to focus on other substantive areas. Therefore, this program box does not include all the materials needed to replicate the program. Rather, it includes the program's framework, strategies and guidelines for implementing that framework along with tools for evaluation.
For more detailed
guidance on developing your QOP curriculum, please contact C. Benjamin
Lattimore, program developer, directly:
Opportunities Industrialization Centers of America
1415 North Broad Street
Philadelphia, PA 19122
Phone: 215-236-4500
Fax: 215-236-7480
online: http://oicofamerica.org/