STARS Afterschool Program is an after-school program providing academic support through homework-based tutoring, literacy, technology training, and enrichment activities. STARS currently serves approximately 110 students and utilizes approximately 80 volunteers. STARS also works with families by empowering parents to discover best practices for supporting their children. This includes parenting class, counseling, support groups, nutrition education and other learning opportunities like ESL and technology classes.
Mentoring provides neighborhood students in Pasadena an opportunity to rise above the challenges of their environment to become college-educated community leaders. NSM currently mentors 60 at-risk youth and utilizes more than 45 volunteer mentors. NSM uses mentoring relationships with positive Christian role models to focus on students at a convictional level. This produces marked changes in a student’s identity, affects their value system and results in positive changes in their behavior and lifestyle.
SKILLZ and Elementary Summer Program
When PUSD cut summer programs during the state’s fiscal crisis over three years ago, we rallied our volunteer resources to develop SKILLZ, a program for entering ninth and tenth-grade students. In addition to academic remediation, SKILLZ provides counseling and helps mainly African American and Latino youth acquire skills to successfully negotiate the myriad of social challenges, like peer pressure, dispute resolution, depression and substance abuse. More than 80% of the graduates of SKILLZ report that for the first time, they have developed a trusting relationship with an adult.
In addition to SKILLZ for high school students, we also joined with North West Neighbors to create and run a summer program for 40 Elementary Students, focusing on fun and exciting ways to learn science, math and life skills.
