P R O Y E C T O
How did we start?
Chronic poverty is a challenge that contributes to the adverse childhood experiences and toxic stress that have become the norm for most Puerto Rican youth. Instability and insecurity in early life, which leads to toxic stress, lay the groundwork for poor mental and physical health outcomes, including an increased risk of chronic diseases driven by high allostatic load. The Puerto Rico Department of Education's 2017-18 report card shows that only half of children in the public education system achieved adequate performance in science and less than 40% achieved sufficient performance in mathematics.
The Principal Investigator and the University of Puerto Rico (UPR) have a long-standing collaborative relationship with the Boys & Girls Club of Puerto Rico. Semilla is currently being implemented in select clubs in Puerto Rico, focusing on children ages 9 to 12. Children registered for services at the selected clubs have the opportunity to voluntarily participate in structured and unstructured activities. All club staff and volunteer groups receive training on the principles and practices of trauma-informed care, which are consistent with the organization's culture. Only those who adhere to these practices participate in club activities. Creating a nurturing and safe space for club participants allows us to reduce the impact of toxic stress, which affects the lives of club members.
Our role in the work proposed here is to provide a network of scientists, educators, and clinicians to support community efforts in Puerto Rico. As a first step, we promote educational and scientific opportunities for children and youth in the archipelago. Semilla's curricula are designed to tap into the natural curiosity of elementary and middle school students and guide them as they explore their own well-being in an integrated way. The experience capitalizes on the use of an animal model, allowing participants to externalize their lived experience and objectively observe the effects of exposures and other modifiers through the lens of the scientific method.
Since the beginning
Following a 2019 pilot study at the Boys and Girls Clubs in Las Margaritas and Bayamón, and addressing the challenges of living conditions following the impact of Hurricanes Irma and Maria, Semilla established the program's recruitment process for the first implementations. In early 2022, Semilla began the science education experience in collaboration with the Boys and Girls Club and Mayo Clinic, along with undergraduate and graduate fellows from three clubs.
Growth
In June 2022, Semilla completed the SEL (Social Emotional Learning) curriculum at the Arecibo, Aguas Buenas, and Las Margaritas clubs. The MBRS (Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction) curriculum was implemented in Arecibo and Aguas Buenas, with great success despite the challenges associated with the impact of the pandemic. Fellows from the first Semilla cohort collaborated with the principal investigator and the Mayo Clinic team to create the Semilla Whole Body curriculum based on the experience of the first year's implementation.
what now?
The Semilla Community has continued to evolve and, in its commitment to participatory program, has managed to continue implementing the full curriculum in all three locations since the second year of the program.
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A zebrafish facility has been established and maintained, enabling experiments at the local level and providing access to the experimental model for developing researchers.
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Our community has managed the language and cultural adaptation of validated instruments to document our participants' interest in STEM, in addition to contributing to the development of the Community Pediatrics curriculum.
