Achieve After-School Program

Achieve is a FREE after school program for 1st-5th graders that provides a safe and structured after school community where students explore the arts, build leadership and communication skills while strengthening their academic achievement through homework help and tutoring.

Achieve

Creative curriculum design and program planning are at the core of ACHIEVE’s success. Lessons and activities are designed to teach something new, and still have broad-based appeal. Each project or activity engages participants with opportunities to read, write, create art, and perform. During the course of the year, staff develop activities to match the interests and abilities of individual participants.  A theme guides learning each month to build a web of knowledge on a specific topic.  Through hands-on projects, participants research African American entrepreneurs, female athletes, advertising culture and social oppression, environmental sustainability, drama styles, dance, drumming and more.  Opportunities for silent reading, group reading, writing, and presentation are woven into each club and multicultural activity. In addition, we offer all first and second grade participants a high school aged tutor who provides one-on-one literacy and homework support, twice weekly.  

 

ACHIEVE staff take a creative approach to developing multidisciplinary projects to support a fun, hands-on approach to literacy.  Recent ACHIEVE themes and enrichment activities include:

 

•            Monthly theme-based projects, such as “My World," led students through a journey to discover how they fit into a larger world community.  Each group chose an issue of focus such as endangered species, recycling, alternative forms of energy, advertising and society, and sweat shops and child labor. 

 

•            Weekly art workshops explored themes raised during group reading activities.  Group leaders use the KidzLit framework to make connections between reading, writing, math and art. Recent club projects include drama scenes, magic show, and recycled art. 

 

•            Sessions with theater and dance instructors. Students participated in role-playing and dramatic play activities to promote healthy communication skills and elevate self-esteem.      

 

 

In addition to enrichment based activities, ACHIEVE also uses tutoring and reading to develop literacy skills.  In an effort to strengthen our tutor training, we partnered with Learning Leaders, New York City’s largest non-profit organization dedicated to public school education and tutor training.

 

SRCO encourages youth to read for pleasure through the use of our after school library. Our growing library is a collection of new and donated books, offering options for a wide range of reading levels, including bi-lingual Spanish/English books. SRCO was selected by Reading Is Fundamental, to participate in their Family of Readers Program.  This partnership enables SRCO to develop a larger lending library, offer three free books of choice per student, and host literacy workshops for parents. In addition, our staff receive in depth training on best practices in literacy support and activities.  

 

Our goal is to provide free, innovative after school programming to more than 100 local youth while increasing literacy skills. We will achieve this goal by bringing together the energies of participants, staff, and families. We plan to provide staff with in depth training on how to incorporate reading, writing, and communication skills into cultural enrichment programming.  Our parent advisory committee will become involved in program development and play an active role in soliciting parent participation.  These program enhancements will help us to be more responsive to the learning and emotional needs of our participants.

Cooking Club