AVOIDING 'HARD KNOCKS' DEGREE FREE CLASSES TO HELP GRADS WITH LIFE SKILLS.

Byline: Carol Rock Staff Writer

CANYON COUNTRY - The Santa Clarita Class of 2004 has one more graduation gift to open, courtesy of the community.

A free, three-hour crash course on finances, aimed at teaching the basic skills of balancing checkbooks, paying bills and managing debit and credit cards, is being offered by the SCV Youth Project, author Sally Taylor, the city of Santa Clarita and the Santa Clarita Valley Chamber of Commerce.

Graduates participating in the class will be given a copy of Taylor's book ``On My Own'' and a companion piece, ``The Ultimate Bill Paying Tablet.'' Three sessions of the classes, at 9 a.m., 1 and 6 p.m., will be held on June 29 at the Santa Clarita Activities Center.

Other teens, students and graduates can attend the class at no cost and can purchase the books for $40.

The class is one of several offered by the Youth Project, a foundation- funded organization that provides low- or no-cost services to area teens. Programs being conducted this summer include a second session of Life Skills 101 that begins Thursday, a Connect workshop for parents and teens that begins July 13 and a one-day Transition workshop for students and parents making the jump from junior high to high school on Aug. 4.

Taylor has been teaching the Life Skills 101 class through the Youth Project for the last few months. Fourteen students, representing a wide spectrum of area youth, were involved and the class received enthusiastic support from the group.

``I didn't even care about my goals before,'' said Danielle Allison, 20, a student at College of the Canyons. ``Now I make a list. When you write it down, it makes it real. I really like the class, and I don't want it to end.''

The Life 101 class covers a broad spectrum of subjects, including the move out of the family home, dreams and goals, finances, careers, college (and what to do after), health, pets, safety and sex. Taylor recruited guest speakers for several classes, noting that a nurse practitioner who came in to talk about health and sex was the most popular.

``She brought in a grab bag with all sorts of things, like Band-Aids, a syringe, pregnancy test and condoms,'' she said. ``It was very interactive, because as the kids pulled out each item, they had to talk about what they would do.

``I was amazed at what I learned from them. There are things they don't know anything about, but they want to know everything. A lot of things we take for granted, they don't learn in school.''

Wade Trimmer, the executive director of the Youth Project, said the classes help accomplish the project's mission of empowering young people.

``The better prepared they are, the more focused they can be on their goals,'' Trimmer said. ``We're here to provide services that aren't being provided elsewhere.

``We realize that, at some point, they will learn. They might have to go into credit card debt or through the school of hard knocks. But there's enough stress in life. We know the minute they get out of high school, they're going to get credit card applications, and they have no idea whose money they're spending.

Trimmer said that, for many kids, the concept of money and how it is made is elusive to some graduates.

``We show them what they would have to spend if they have a minimum wage job and what they are looking at after college,'' he said. ``We try to point out that they may not buy those $100 shoes, and they may be eating Top Ramen for four years, but after college, their income will probably go up. We give them the long-term perspective.''

Trimmer said that the other programs - the Connect and Transition workshops - are aimed at both parents and teens to help them through difficult times.

``With Connect, we're trying to strengthen families and the connections between parents and kids,'' he explained. ``We want to leave families better than we found them and give them tools to have strong connections.''

The Transition workshop is a two-hour class that meets Aug. 4 to discuss the challenges of entering high school. Both students and parents are encouraged to participate; the class is free, with a $25 materials fee.

``One of the toughest things that teens go through is going from junior high to high school,'' Trimmer said. ``They're dealing with things like puberty and peer pressure and having to make decisions they've never had to face before.''

Trimmer said that subjects such as sexual activity, violence and substance abuse will be discussed, with suggested responses and alternatives offered to participants.

``They're also asking themselves if they're going to be leaders or followers and how do they maintain their character and still have friends,'' he said. ``We really want parents and kids to have the same information. We're not there to share our opinions, but the facts. They need help to navigate the system and know what their rights as parents and students are and where they can go for help.''

Information and registration for all Youth Project programs is available by calling the hotline at [phone] (YOUTH).

Carol Rock, [phone]

carol.rock(at)dailynews.com