SCUBA program buoys local high school students
It's 9 a.m. on a Saturday, the first full weekend for Larkin High School students after winter break. Junior Marcus Sanford would normally be sleeping in, but today he's dressed in full scuba gear, slinking around the bottom of the school's pool like a fish.
"You're doing an excellent job. That was great. You want to get out or go back down?" asks scuba instructor Ty Varner of Elgin.
"Go back down," he replies with a grin, adjusting his face mask.
Marcus could be one of about 50 students to take part in the Scuba Training At-Risk Students (STARS) International program at the Elgin school come March.
Founded by Lake in the Hills resident and Hoffman Estates businessman Kevin Vaughn in 2005, the program teaches "at risk" teens from minority and low-income homes to scuba dive. For free.
A scuba instructor for years, Vaughn decided to found the program after he saw the positive side effects of diving certification for teens. Through the process, he came to believe, kids mature and learn to be held accountable for their actions.
Vaughn likes to call the program "a catalyst to opportunity" - helping kids move beyond economic, social and geographic constraints by making them commit to an intensive, long-term training regimen while pulling up their grades.
"There are plenty of kids out there who can afford to pay for scuba diving lessons," Vaughn said. "These kids would typically never have that option. We approach kids who have peer issues, gangs, (and who) would never have the means to pay for scuba diving lessons. ... This is the biggest commitment they've ever had in their lives. They learn to be at something every day, to be on time, to commit to complete."
In recent years, Vaughn has graduated four groups of Chicago area students through the program. A 2007 class featured students from Kimball Middle School in Elgin.
After being accepted to the scuba program, students must promise to keep up or improve their grades; have a positive, respectful attitude; and attend each of the three to four 3-hour training sessions a week.
Parents, too, must lend continued support, and attend one session each month.
The six-month, 440-hour program consists of three components: physical fitness training; scuba "academics," incorporating science, history and sign language into diving certification; and self-development exercises.
Vaughn has held one informational session and two tryout sessions for the program this winter.
After applying, students are interviewed for a chance at the 50 slots.
Larkin's different tackLarkin's fledgling scuba program is perhaps the most novel example of leadership's efforts to turn around a school plagued by gang problems, fights and failing test scores.After a housecleaning of the school's leadership a year ago, new Principal Jon Tuin has continued to revise strategies to address continued fights, gang incidents, and high rates of absenteeism.Throughout, however, one mantra has remained - hard work and responsibility will be rewarded.The STARS program echoes that theme.For students who failed a course due to excessive absences, Tuin has made a promise: If they successfully complete the scuba program, they can earn a credit back.Vaughn said he tried to bring scuba programs to two of U-46's other four high schools last year, but they didn't take hold.Hearing about the administration changing at Larkin, "this was an opportunity to come around and say here's how I can help," Vaughn said. "That's what we can do with the program. Dangle the carrot."Along with using interested students to recruit others, Tuin and Assistant Principal Randal Ellison promote the program to students themselves.As part of budget cuts, U-46 announced it would drain four of its five high school swimming pools after winter activities concluded. Larkin's, however, will remain open through June just for the STARS program.Offsetting costsAthletic ability - or the ability to pay - is not required. The $5,000 to $6,000 cost of lessons, dives and gear is primarily covered by private donations, including Topsham, Maine-based Scuba Diving International.Renowned underwater diver and painter Ron Steven, commonly known as Rogest, has created a painting specifically for STARS International and its Larkin program. Prints of the work are being sold to offset costs for the program. In mid-January, Steven came to campus to work with students to create their own artwork, which will be on display at the Feb. 19-21 OurWorldUnderwater scuba expo at the Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, alongside Rogest's own paintings.If enough money is raised, Vaughn said, students will have the opportunity to go on an international diving trip to St. Croix over the summer. If not, dives will be done locally. Any money leftover is given to program participants for scholarships. A sweet deal for those lucky enough to be selected? Absolutely.However, Vaughn knows from experience, not all participants will be left standing at the end of the program. While 139 teens originally expressed interest, school officials managed to winnow the field to the truly at-risk kids, a number much closer to the maximum 50 allowed in the program.They'll find out Feb. 5 if they make the cut."This year, it all depends on the inside support you have in the school. With Larkin's program, we've been supported from the superintendent on down. Jon (Tuin) and company at school are driving this hard," he said.Less than six weeks are left before the start of the program. And many students, like sophomore Jorge Galvin, are raring to go.Jorge, of Elgin, considers it a "totally new experience" and says he hopes it will counteract some of the negative parts of the student culture at school, like getting pressured to do drugs.A few brief moments in the water, using the gear, "got me excited," he said. "Now I'm just a little impatient to do it again."True20001328STARS International instructor Frank Kross of Elgin, top, guides sophomore Andrian Castillo on a dive to explore the deep end of the Larkin High School pool.Laura Stoecker | Staff PhotographerTrue <div class="infoBox"><h1>More Coverage</h1><div class="infoBoxContent"><div class="infoArea"><h2>Video</h2><ul class="video"><!-- Start of Brightcove Player --><div style="display:none"></div><!--By use of this code snippet, I agree to the Brightcove Publisher T and Cfound at http://corp.brightcove.com/legal/terms_publisher.cfm.--><script language="JavaScript" type="text/javascript" src="http://admin.brightcove.com/js/BrightcoveExperiences.js"></script><object id="myExperience63123784001" class="BrightcoveExperience"><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="width" value="300" /><param name="height" value="255" /><param name="playerID" value="18011347001" /><param name="publisherID" value="1659832549"/><param name="isVid" value="true" /><param name="@videoPlayer" value="63123784001" /></object><!-- End of Brightcove Player --></ul></div></div></div>