After School Matters

Ben Paul

Description

http://www.afterschoolmatters.org/ ... sports37 programs focus on sports, health, and fitness; tech37 programs focus on website development, robotics ...

Sujets

• Sport

Informations

• Publié par: Sportif
• Nombre de lectures: 55
• Langue: Français

Extrait

After School Matters: http://www.afterschoolmatters.org/ After School Matters (ASM) is a non-profit organization in Chicago that provides out-of- school activities for Chicago Public Schools’ high school students, with an emphasis on students from low-income communities. The programs are hands-on and project-based to provide high school students with first- hand insight into careers and to help nurture transferable and applicable job skills. In order to achieve its mission, ASM aligns and maximizes community and neighborhood resources, fosters partnerships with citywide organizations, and works to provide innovative, collaborative, and sustainable investments in high school students. ASM’s partners include Chicago Public Schools, the Chicago Park District, the Chicago Public Library, and community organizations. ASM sees the value in the contribution that youth can make to their communities and strives to help teens explore career areas that interest them through professional internship and apprenticeship opportunities. Programs are modeled after work environments and teens earn stipends for their work. With support from Chicago First Lady Maggie Daley and Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs Commissioner Lois Weisberg, ASM began in 1991 as a summer program where 260 teens apprenticed under professional artists, known as gallery37. With additional funding, ASM expanded in both 2000 and 2006. ASM currently offers 20,000 program opportunities through five content areas gallery37, science37, sports37, tech37, and words37. The gallery37 programs focus on visual, media, culinary, and performing arts; science37 programs focus on lab science, environmental science, engineering, and math; sports37 programs focus on sports, health, and fitness; tech37 programs focus on website development, robotics, television/video production, digital photography, and hardware/software development; and words37 programs focus on literature, journalism, community and social development, and photojournalism. Program sites include schools, parks, libraries, and easily accessible community organizations. In order to ensure program quality, ASM has participated in several independent research studies that evaluated their programs. ASM utilizes the findings of each evaluation to revise and improve programs. Researchers at the University of Chicago’s Chapin Hall Center for Children found that students who participated in ASM apprentice programs had better school attendance, failed fewer courses, and had a higher graduation rate than students who did not participate in ASM apprentice programs.