About
Success in school makes kids feel normal, gives them hope for the future and brings relief to frustrated parents and caregivers. The Afterschool Program provides academic tutoring, mentoring, art exposure, music appreciation and instruction for all ages, and lifeskills / job readiness seminars and college preparation for older youth.
Academic Tutoring
Academic tutoring is geared to the individual student. A brief, specific skills assessment leads to an individualized educational correction plan that may include phonics, decoding, reading comprehension, vocabulary enrichment, memory work and Math help for all levels.
Flexible afterschool tutoring sessions are arranged at the clinics (
St. Luke's Roosevelt Hospital Center for Comprehensive Care and
Metropolitan Hospital's Special Family Assistance Program) or at public libraries near students' homes in northern Manhattan and the Bronx.
Meanwhile, on clinic days at
Metropolitan and
St. Luke's Roosevelt Hospitals, lessons using science principles and social studies themes, math drills and reading practice, all adjusted for age-appropriateness are provided in the waiting rooms by certified teachers, program staff and college-level volunteers; donated books are given to the children, youth and parents to take home; memory games and creative art are offered to remind the children that learning goes on everywhere.
Mentoring
As a response to tutors' desires to spend more time with their tutees, mentoring was instituted at the
Special Family Assistance Program at Metropolitan Hospital in 2002.
Lifeskills/Job Readiness Seminars
A series of five-hour workshops are offered that correlate school behavior and achievement with job readiness, with an emphasis on the practical application of academic knowledge. Courtesy, proper group behavior, healthy lifestyles and habits and punctuality are stressed throughout these well-attended seminars. Adolescents, starting at age eleven, learn to negotiate the public transportation system, practice telephone and interviewing skills, prepare job applications and resumes, work on time management, budgeting, menu preparation and food shopping. These seminars begin in the clinics and then branch out into the larger community.
College Preparation
Older students preparing for higher education receive advice and special, individualized attention from staff, tutors and mentors in exploring colleges and preparing the applications while drilling for the Regents and SATs.