Ohio County 4-H collaborates with local schools to provide research-based 4-H Youth Development educational curriculum to youth in a classroom club format.  Local 4-H, community, and school leaders strongly support the efforts of professional 4-H staff in the classroom settings as these relationships provide a tremendous marketing opportunity of other 4-H programs to 4-H age youth.  Principals, teachers and school staff embrace the 4-H program into the classroom setting because “curricula” provided as part of the 4-H club content, is consistent with the Kentucky Department of Education’s Core Content for Assessment.  

Cooperative Extension Service staff, in cooperation with local teachers, created forty-seven classroom clubs in the Ohio County School system involving 905 youth (102 youth -11.3% minority).   CES provided curricula, core content checklists, and materials for eight monthly meetings for each club, which featured a Core Content lesson.  Lessons were offered in the core content areas of Natural Resources, Communications, Public Speaking, Citizenship, Leadership, SET, Nutrition, Health and Wellness. All clubs elected officers using the democratic process, all candidates presented speeches before the class, and elected officers conducted the meetings using formal business meeting structure throughout the year.  

Evaluations revealed:

81% of youth understood the principals of a democratic election used to elect club officers.

100% of elected officers carried out their roles in the club meeting.

90% of youth utilized information learned in their 4-H meetings to help them make decisions.

86% used skills learned in their 4-H club meetings at home, school, or in the community.

93% of youth stated they felt connected to 4-H staff as adults who were interested in them and their success in life.

Teachers acknowledged the best component of the in-class 4-H Club program were the hands-on, engaging activities that focused on the core content.