May-June 2000

¡Muy Bien, Milwaukee!

By Layne Cameron

Scouting's emphasis on leadership and character development inspires a middle school in an urban Hispanic neighborhood to add a Boy Scout troop to an already rigorous, challenging program.

• A Full Day
• Providing a Quality, Well-Rounded Education
• Nativity Jesuit and Scouting—Partners in Success

At their campsite in Wisconsin's Devil's Lake State Park, crisp fall temperatures greeted the Boy Scouts of Troop 200 as they climbed out of tents dampened by the previous night's rain. Through the fog rolling across the black-glass lake, the young campers glimpsed at misty apparitions on the opposite shore. Though actually fallen rock formations and barren trees, the ghostlike shapes brought to mind the Winnebago Indian legend that the lake and woods were once inhabited by evil spirits.

But on this October weekend, any evil spirits would have been hard-pressed to find a spot to linger. That's because, along with Troop 200, the 36th annual Devil's Lake Anniversary Hike had attracted more than 2,500 Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Venturing crew members, and adult leaders.

The Scouts in Troop 200, which is chartered to Milwaukee's Nativity Jesuit Middle School, are Hispanic youth from the city's south side. The troop has attended the Devil's Lake outing every year since the troop's inception in 1994, and the Scouts were anxious to begin this latest version.

At the trailhead, Humberto Sanchez and Greg Parisot, the current and past senior patrol leaders, respectively, readied the troop while answering rapid-fire questions in Spanish from younger Scouts. Then they moved out, accompanied up the trail by Scoutmaster John Emling and assistant Scoutmaster Carl Malischke. The two Scouters observed that the leadership demonstrated by older Scouts like Humberto and Greg was a good example of why Nativity Jesuit had adopted Scouting as a part of its curriculum.

Partnership of programs

Larry Siewert, the school's founding principal, wants to create an educational environment that fosters community leaders instead of gang leaders. Although the Scouting program historically has had limited success in Milwaukee's Hispanic community, Siewert recognizes the value of the program.

"We want our kids to go to good high schools and on to [higher education] and then return as community leaders," says Siewert. "Scouting's emphasis on developing leadership, discipline, and responsibility dovetails nicely into our program."

The school contacted the BSA Milwaukee County Council for help in starting a unit. The council, through its Scoutreach program's Hispanic Initiative, was happy to oblige. (This innovative program was created to serve children at risk residing in the city's underserved south-side community.)

Recruiting and retaining qualified urban Scout adult leaders can prove challenging. "Many troops develop their own leadership," says Siewert. "But here Scouting was a brand-new venture."

To jump-start the troop, the council recruited veteran Scouter John Emling, who had earned his Eagle Scout Award in the Milwaukee area and had served as a camp director at the council's Indian Mound Scout Reservation.

Welcoming a challenge

The 26-year-old Scoutmaster welcomed the challenge of helping to bring Scouting to Milwaukee's urban Hispanic community. His first task, however, even before Nativity Jesuit could officially adopt the program, was to sell it to the boys.

During the school's five-week summer program at Thunderhead Camp in Mercer, Wis., Emling spent a week introducing the boys to Scouting. At week's end, the boys were asked if they wanted to become Boy Scouts. It was also during this period that Emling was asked if he still wanted to continue as Scoutmaster.

The response from everyone was ¡Si! And during the camp's final dinner, the formation of Troop 200 was officially announced.

The school includes Scouting as a regular part of the curriculum for all sixth graders and as an optional program for seventh and eighth graders. Scouting activities are part of the school's all-day, year-round schedule.

Classes begin at 8 a.m. and run until 3:30 p.m., followed by an afternoon activity such as football or swimming. The boys then spend two hours at home, a break that some use to squeeze in soccer practice for their weekend league games.

Others use the time to relax. "I have to get my TV time in at six o'clock," jokes Scout Victor Mares.

In the evening, the boys return to school for a two-hour study hall that lasts until 9 p.m.

Even with the school's heavy demands on their time, most boys stay with Scouting when it becomes an optional activity. In fact, more than 90 percent of the student body takes part.

A boy-run troop

"Part of the high retention is credited to John Emling, who has done a great job developing their leadership skills," says Siewert. "He is intent upon enabling them to run the troop themselves, and the boys are picking up on that."

Greg Parisot is an example of how Scouting helps develop leadership skills. During Greg's tenure as senior patrol leader in the winter of 1997, Emling had to take a temporary leave of absence from his Scoutmaster duties.

Without the Scoutmaster's regular presence, the troop program began to lose momentum. Some of the boys who were not required to be in the troop left the program, and the future of Troop 200 began to look questionable.

A Klondike derby loomed on the troop calendar. Using the team-oriented event as a way to focus the remaining boys' efforts, Greg assumed the reins of troop leadership. And no one was more shocked than he was when the troop not only flourished but was able to finish in second place at the Klondike derby.

After Scoutmaster Emling returned, the role of junior leadership continued to grow in importance, and it was the senior patrol leader who ran the meetings. Since then, the troop has grown to 58 boys. Parisot has traveled the Scouting spectrum from enrolling as a quiet, withdrawn Tenderfoot to now standing poised to earn his Eagle.

"Becoming an Eagle Scout is one of my goals," says Parisot, who plans to attend Marquette University in Milwaukee. "I know what Scouting has done for me, and I want to achieve its highest rank."

Standing atop one of the highest points in Devil's Lake State Park, a rocky outcrop that overlooks the lake, John Emling says he is looking forward to the day when Troop 200 has its first Eagle Scout.

"The day I received my own Eagle Scout Award was sweet," he says, "but awarding one as a Scoutmaster would be even sweeter."

And with the enthusiasm and leadership displayed by the members of Troop 200, that sweet occasion will no doubt be repeated many times in the years to come.

Freelance writer Layne Cameron lives in Indianapolis, Ind. His article "The Motor City's Magnum Opus," in the September 1999 issue of Scouting, described another urban success story, Troop 194 in Detroit.

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