Program Development STEM/Occupational Therapy VISTA - Operation Breakthrough

The VISTA will work with Operation Breakthrough staff to design and develop educational extracurricular spaces for children ages 1-5, including a STEM lab, Makerspace, and Occupational Therapy gym (gross motor, fine motor and sensory development). The VISTA will design and develop extracurricular spaces and associated programming for children ages 1-5. The VISTA will also develop and implement processes for training teachers and staff in effective utilization of extracurricular space and associated programming. In addition, the VISTA will enhance Operation Breakthrough's documentation system and develop a process for training staff in its use. Begins August 2019.

In Jackson County, Missouri as a whole, the number of children living in poverty has risen from 16.4% in 2000 to 23% in 2008 to 27.6% in 2011. Over this same time period, violent deaths among teens aged 15-19 increased from 74.6 per 1,000 teens in 2008 to 81.5 in 2012. Operation Breakthrough's mission is to help children who are living in poverty develop to their fullest potential by providing them a safe, loving, and educational environment.

Operation Breakthrough is a sub-site of the Literacy KC VISTA Program. The Literacy KC VISTA Program seeks to address illiteracy through a concentration on traditional literacy as well as health literacy, financial literacy, and digital literacy. The VISTA members and organizations that participate in the Literacy KC VISTA Program take a holistic, collaborative approach to literacy, building the organizations’ capacity to serve their clients, and addressing poverty in the Kansas City metropolitan area.