Programs
Kelle Barr
Sunday, January 12, 2014
Infancy to Innovation is a framework within The Power of We crossing community sectors to boost developmental results for children and young adults, especially those of color from low-income neighborhoods. Using an atypical approach to solving child (birth to 25 years) development problems, Infancy to Innovation operates with the belief that having a healthy, successful life begins in the womb.
Kelle Barr
Sunday, January 12, 2014
The Verona Early Grade Reading Achievement Program is striving for 80 percent of its K-2 students at Verona Elementary School in Battle Creek to read at or above grade level. Coaching for teachers, leveled book sets in the classroom, a summer reading component, and trained community volunteers that come in weekly to tutor are all part of the mix to help children excel in reading.
Noelle Lothamer
Sunday, January 05, 2014
Music Makers is a program for at-risk youth to learn guitar, piano or chorus in weekly group classes. The material covered is largely based on input and feedback from the students in order to recognize various cultural backgrounds and to develop a sense of trust and investment.
Kelle Barr
Sunday, January 05, 2014
Water Street Glassworks is casting a blazing fire under Benton Harbor youth. Nearly three dozen teens attend FIRED UP! afterschool glass class where they design holiday ornaments, glasswork items, and other “beyond-their-years” works. The program’s curriculum was conceived to boost youthful spirits and reinforce confidence.
Kelle Barr
Saturday, December 14, 2013
Ann Arbor’s REACH (Responsibility, Education, Achievement, Community, and Hope) program engages low-income, K-5 students in tutoring and activities to develop social skills and educational excellence. With the help of nearly 200 volunteers, the afterschool program is designed to be both rewarding and fun to keep kids and families coming back.
Amy Kuras
Saturday, December 14, 2013
Neighborhood Service Organization’s Youth Initiatives Project engages at-risk youth in creating their own campaigns around causes they believe in. This reinforces leadership skills and teaches young people to advocate for themselves around the policies that affect their lives. In the process, they give kids in some of the hardest-hit neighborhoods in Detroit a sense of ownership over their futures.
Noelle Lothamer
Saturday, December 07, 2013
Lift Up Through Literacy is a rapidly growing Kalamazoo Public Schools program that teaches hands-on literacy skills to parents and children that they can use at home on an everyday basis. The eight-week sessions are divided into classes for birth through two years, two through pre-school, and kindergarten through eighth grade. The program targets at-risk families, but any interested parent is welcome.
Kelle Barr
Saturday, December 07, 2013
Sojourner Truth Girls Academy, sponsored by the Urban League of Battle Creek, offers girls experiences in math and science and exposure to female role models in the fields of engineering and computer technology. The program sparks interest in science and math topics through enriching activities like creating balloon rocket launchers, making flavored lip gloss, and designing and building simple airplanes.
Melinda Clynes
Saturday, December 07, 2013
Statistics show that functional illiteracy among southeast Michigan adults is significant, from 13 to 15 percent in Oakland and Macomb counties to 36 percent in Wayne County. Reading Works partners with other nonprofits to help adults reach a minimum ninth-grade level of literacy, thus allowing them to improve their economic status, participate equally in community growth, and improve literacy skills for children within the home.
Melinda Clynes
Monday, December 02, 2013
YOUTH VOICE, a project of the Harriet Tubman Center, is a network for young people to make community change. The current YOUTH VOICE statewide campaign is to reduce out-of-school suspensions by advocating for the zero tolerance policy to be modified and for more school resources so students have additional support as an alternative to suspensions. It’s all about youth creating change, so the 16-year old president of YOUTH VOICE has joined our dialogue.
Melinda Clynes
Monday, December 02, 2013
Kids Helping Kids gives young people the opportunity to help others by packing food at Gleaners Community Food Bank that will be distributed to other children and youth in southeast Michigan. It introduces the idea of community service in a fun, rewarding way and has both hunger education and nutrition education components too.
Melinda Clynes
Monday, December 02, 2013
An important aspect of Food Warriors, a program of Detroit Black Community Food Security Network, is to de-stigmatize the relationship between African Americans and agriculture, which is often viewed through a lens of oppression. As the program teaches young people about healthy food and gardening, it’s also helping to reframe agriculture as a tool of self-determination.
Kelle Barr
Monday, December 02, 2013
CultureWorks’ way-cool afterschool art and design classes are targeted toward underserved middle and high school youth from the Holland and Ottawa school districts. The 12-week courses offer students the chance to sculpt, create ceramics, design amusement parks, or work with digital photography, and kids get a lift to and from the program.
Melinda Clynes
Friday, November 15, 2013
Small but mighty, Education Trust - Midwest, headquartered in Royal Oak, is pushing to close the achievement gap and raise learning levels for all Michigan students. With a focus on what’s best for students, the organization is making headway in reforming teacher policies that will boost educator effectiveness.
Amy Kuras
Friday, November 15, 2013
Excellent Schools Detroit’s School Report Card provides parents of Detroit children with an easy-to-understand annual evaluation that looks at hard numbers such as test scores, as well as softer targets such as how nurturing, creative, and safe a school is for students.