Education & Career Development

Programs in this Core Program Area enable youth to become proficient in basic educational disciplines, apply learning to everyday situations and embrace technology to acheive success in a career.

• CAREER LAUNCH: CareerLaunch encourages Club members ages 13-18 to assess their skills and interests, explore careers, make sound educational decisions and prepare to join our nation's ever-changing work force. Mentoring and job shadowing opportunities for Club teens and training for Club staff round out the program. The Gap Foundation sponsors CareerLaunch.   

 

 

• DRAGONFLY QUEST:        Dragonfly Quest shows Club members ages 10-15 how to conduct their own investigations using the scientific method.  Dragonfly Quest builds members' skills in science, math and language arts and helps members think critically about the world around them as they explore topics that appeal to them. BGCA and Miami University's Project Dragonfly collaborated to develop the program.

 

 

• GOALS FOR GRADUATION:         Goals for Graduation, a Project Learn program, introduces academic goal setting to Club members ages 6-15 by linking their future aspirations with concrete actions today. Members create an action plan with daily and weekly goals leading to short- and long-term academic gains. An encouraging recognition strategy buoys members as their successes are recognized and supported at every step of their journey. The JCPenney Afterschool Fund sponsors Goals for Graduation. 

 

• MONEY MATTERS: Money Matters promotes financial responsibility and independence among Club members ages 13-18 by building their basic money management skills. Participants learn how to manage a checking account, budget, save and invest. They also learn about starting small businesses and paying for college.  The Charles Schwab Foundation sponsors Money Matters: Make It Count.

• POWER HOUR:        The program provides Club professionals with strategies, activities, resources and information to create an engaging homework help and tutoring program that encourages Club members ages 6-12 and 13-18 to become self-directed learners. The JCPenney Afterschool Fund sponsors Power Hour: Making Minutes Count. 

• PROJECT LEARN:  Project Learn reinforces and enhances the skills and knowledge young people learn at school during the hours they spend at the Club. This comprehensive strategy is based on Dr. Reginald Clark's research showing that students do much better in school when they spend their non-school hours engaged in fun, educational activities. Project Learn also emphasizes parent involvement and collaboration between Club and school professionals as critical factors in creating the best after-school learning environment for Club members ages 6-18. Extensively field-tested and formally evaluated by Columbia University with funding from Carnegie Corporation of New York, Project Learn has been proven to boost the academic performance of Club members. The JCPenney Afterschool Fund underwrote the initial implementation of this educational enhancement approach in Clubs across the nation.

• PROJECT G.P.A.:   A program that focuses on helping middle school students with their school work and homework.  The goal is to help students improve by at least one letter grade while they are in the program.  Over the long term improved understanding, better study habits, and more classroom engagement will occur.  These should help improve the transition to high school thereby reducing the incidence of drop outs.

• GIRLS ROCK!:            A club for girls ages 10 – 14 teaching the science, math, and technology in a fun and secure environment.  Girls are encouraged to become investigators in any area they choose and to bring out the possible science or technology in any subject or activity.  Activities include Internet research, building robots, engineering challenges, and crime investigation.

•   JOB TRAINING:         The concession employs high school youth who want to learn about having a job.  The youth are all Club members and this program gives them their very first venture into the job market.

•   SCIENCE/MATH CLUB:      A program concentrating on a different scientific or mathematical area each month.  Some have included building, astronomy, and money.

 

ConocoPhillips has funded a 4-year program to work with some of the highest at-risk of school dropout youth in the Farmington Municipal Schools.  With this funding, the Club will be implementing an evidence-based program from University of Minnesota, Check & Connect, which works with each youth in the program over a 4-year period to help them stay in school, make annual on-time grade progression, and graduate high-school on time.