| In the last 20 years leadership program have become more popular and for some populations critical. In the last 10 years the Florida Department of Education and the Department of Labor have identified migrant farmworker adolescents as an at risk group which needs stronger employment skills specifically targeting interpersonal, communication and leadership. Indian River Community College in conjunction with the Florida Department of Education developed and implemented a program which addresses and delivers the needed skills for this population to be successful. The programs curriculum is modeled around the Secretary's Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS) which outlines, national employability ready skills. The program is unique as it is residential two week program set on a college campus. In this mixed methodology study, the researcher describes Indian River Community Colleges Summer Leadership Institute program in its entirety. The researcher further explored historical data and analyzed whether Indian River Community College had met the requirements set by the United States Department of Labor, and Florida Department of Education. The researcher analyzed results from a program pre and post test and surveys of graduates in determining that the Summer Leadership Institute was a viable method for developing leadership, communication, team building, self-esteem, and employability skills. |
