The Black Belt in Alabama has traditionally seen an exodus of community members and promising students who have left to pursue their careers elsewhere. This departure of citizens leaves a void of good role models and mentors who can help students plan for their futures and avoid the pitfalls of negative influences.

Teens account for nearly a third of all births in the Black Belt. There are also considerable problems with alcohol abuse, marijuana use and methylamphetamine drug use.

"Education is not valued by many students because they don't see what it can do for them," said Dr. Steve Nagy, UA professor of health education. "These students will ask why should I do well in school? What good will it do me?" he added.

Nagy is hoping to help change teens' low expectations by using a program called Future Selves.

Now in its fifth year, Future Selves is a youth development program for students in grades 6 through 8, which encourages them to examine their life paths and focus on the future by setting goals, developing skills to achieve those goals and resisting peer pressure.

"UA's goal, through this program, is to reach out to these young people, encourage thinking and decision-making skills, and showcase role models and behaviors that give them a positive future," said Nagy.

Currently, 12 schools from three counties—Pickens, Bibb and Hale—are participating in the pilot phase.

Teens in both intervention and comparison groups were asked to complete a self-administered questionnaire, designed to assess the effectiveness of the curricula, both prior to the delivery of the program (pre-test) and following it (post-test).

Students in each of the three intervention groups (grades 6-8) were given 20 hours of curriculum instruction that included workbooks, videos, peer-led discussions, mentors, case studies and interactive group activities.

"Each grade level focuses on different aspects of a student's life when addressing barriers that get in the way of having successful futures," explained Nagy.

Grade 6's theme is "Focus on Self: How Do We Become Who We Become?" Grade 7's is "Legacy: What Do You Leave to Your Family and Friends as a Consequence of Your Existence?" Grade 8 presents "Success: What Does It Take to Achieve Personal Success?"

This school year, Future Selves will expand beyond the classroom and into the community. "We will be focusing our efforts on a stronger link between the communities and the school systems," Nagy said.

Nagy said the project's initial goal of creating strong materials and delivery methods has been achieved during this first phase. "I am very confident in our materials development and hope we can take them, apply for further funding, and move to the next level."

While results are still being tabulated, Nagy said some evidence shows that they are making progress, although it is difficult to break a generations-long mind-set.

"It is very difficult to keep teens in rural areas encouraged because there's not much there for them, and it is very hard to find a lot of positive role models," he said.

Future Selves and CDR are both programs of UA's College of Human Environmental Sciences.