Assessment of the SEPP: A Means to Personal and Community Growth

By Fr. Lou Molinelli, SDB, Province Delegate of Youth Ministry

The Salesian Youth Ministry Frame of Reference provides a framework for the assessment and evaluation of the local SEPP each year (pgs. 296-301). It is important to put the same time and resources into the assessment of the plan as one does for the development of the plan. It is very important to carry out and plan for the yearly assessment of the SEPP because we want to be able to measure its impact upon the real situation in which we are immersed each day. The assessment also helps to discover new possibilities or needs that have emerged through the year and the steps we need to take. From this, it is evident that the plan is organic in its design and in its updating.

In order to do a proper and complete assessment of the plan, the following aspects must be kept in mind. First, take take care to involve all those people and groups that are impacted by the SEPP. Think of the various groups of people in the EPC: young people, educators, parents, board members, neighborhood entities, etc. Besides being involved in the planning, they should also be involved in the assessment.

Second, a real educative and pastoral process should be planned and carried out to accomplish the assessment. Thus, it should reawaken the primary motivations that went into the development of the SEPP, just not a checklist of whether or not the objective was accomplished. How can the SEPP continue to provide motivation for growth?

Third, use precise and measurable indicators to assess progress. The goal is to learn how the EPC can improve, what worked well, what did not work, and what was not done. The honesty in doing this will lead to a useful evaluative tool, rather than just generic statements which often go nowhere.

Finally, the assessment must analyze the causes for the growth or lack of growth: personal, structural, and/or organizational. This will assist in adapting the plan for new structures and possibilities.

Let us not let the pastoral year end without doing this very sacred and necessary task as we continue to journey with our young people in faith!