Education and Academic Enrichment programs teach youth to become proficient in basic educational disciplines and approaches to thinking, learning, and decision-making. These programs encourage youth to set goals, get caught up academically, embrace technology, and learn the skills necessary for employment and leadership in their future careers.
After school and throughout the Summer, each Clubhouse helps to reinforce what Clubhouse members are learning in school and provide enrichment activities that augment their formal education. These activities and programs include:
Since 2008, Boys & Girls Clubs of Western Pennsylvania has served over 30,000 youth through our Literacy program, with participants demonstrating a 30% increase in math and literacy scores. Our program focuses on Reading, Math, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) and Career Development, dedicated to helping young people ages 5 – 18 reach higher achievement levels by incorporating Lexia and Dreambox “After School Excellence” curricula. Our Literacy program is complemented by in-house designed modules by our Literacy and STEM coordinators as well as selected Boys & Girls Clubs of America programs.
Being a national affiliate of Boys & Girls Club of America allows us to access a variety of research based and strongly developed curriculum including:
Power Hour: Homework Help & Tutoring
Power Hour helps our Clubhouse members achieve academic success by providing homework support, tutoring and technology engaged activities in a safe place with the assistance of qualified tutors. Power Hour encourages members to make a daily commitment to homework, studying and learning.
Young adults in the U.S. today are facing a number of personal and social pressures that can compromise their financial well-being: record lows in savings, record highs in student and consumer debt, increasing living costs and uncertain employment prospects. Money Matters, a BGCA national program, helps young people learn financial literacy, so they can make good financial choices as adults. Participants learn how to manage a checking account, create a budget, save and invest, start small businesses and pay for college. Teens who complete Money Matters show improved financial management skills, including saving money and sticking to a budget.
diplomas2Degrees (d2D) is a college readiness program that guides Clubhouse members as they work toward high school graduation and prepare for post-secondary education and career success. d2D helps teens develop both short-term and long-term goals, familiarizes teens with post-secondary education options, assists them in securing financial aid, and fosters supportive relationships with adults who can provide support throughout their college experience.
My.Future provides young people with a safe, fun digital platform they can use to learn, play and socialize while at our Clubhouses, providing members a digital platform to showcase their work and earn recognition in the form of stars, badges and master badges. It is a space where kids can interact with each other – free from the prospect of cyberbullying – and share their accomplishments locally and nationally. It’s a great way to experience BGCA’s digital programming, make friends and build a positive self-image through online achievement.
- Digital recognition in the form of stars, which recognize the individual activities that young people do in the Clubhouse; badges, which recognize clusters of activities; and master badges, which recognize when young people have completed significant programming in the form of a learning pathway.
- Safe socialization, through likes and follows, support from other young people in a safe environment, and allowing youth to watch the media makers who matter to them most.
- Project and media sharing to allow young people to break down walls and share media, both with one another, across Boys & Girls Clubs, and with the entire world – all through Clubhouse-moderated means.
- In-Clubhouse digital signage to promote what young people are doing, in a visible and recognizable way – essentially the digital version of the pegboards so common in our Clubhouses
Students do much better in school when they spend their non-school hours engaged in fun, but academically beneficial activities. Through Project Learn, our Clubhouse staff use all the areas and programs within the Clubhouse to create opportunities for these high-yield learning activities, including leisure reading, writing activities, discussions with knowledgeable adults, helping others, homework help, tutoring and games that help develop young people’s cognitive skills. Project Learn emphasizes parent involvement and collaboration between Clubhouse and school professionals.