To develop members’ technical skills, creativity and critical thinking with projects in web design, graphic design, digital photography, electronic-music making and digital-movie making. Combining technology and the arts attracts more members to tech centers and introduces the creative technology skills to aide them in developing higher education goals and future career paths.

Smart Girls:

To help girls develop and adopt a healthy attitude and lifestyle, as well as acquire and maintain a positive self-concept, sound decision-making skills and mentor relationships. Female Club members need a safe setting in which they can address health and social issues unique to them and build the necessary skills to resist negative influences such as drugs, alcohol and premature sexual activity.

National Fine Arts Exhibit:

The Fine Arts are designed to enable them to develop their creativity and cultural awareness through visual arts. The exhibit has ten categories including monochromatic drawing, multicolored drawing, pastel, watercolor, oil/acrylic, print making, mixed media, collage, sculpture and group project. This program also gives Clubs the ability to showcase the artwork of their Club members in the community. Approximately 1,200 local Clubs participate annually.

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 academically when they spend their non-school

hours engaged in fun, educational activities. Formally evaluated by Columbia University, Project

Learn has been proven to boost the academic performance of Club members. The strategy

consists of five components:

• Homework help and tutoring  (POWER HOUR) enables members to develop the daily habit of completing homework in a safe, quiet, allocated space with staff and volunteer encouragement for five to six hours weekly.
• High-yield learning activities (HYLAs) help members apply what they learn in the classroom and encourage them to make productive choices about how leisure time is spent at the Club and at home.
• Parental involvement empowers significant adults to support members’ academic development by informing them of the child’s progress and providing programs and information so they can assist their child at home.
• School collaboration allows Clubs and teachers to develop individualized plans for members to build competencies in challenging subjects.
• Incentives reward Club members for positive academic participation and encourage parental involvement in Project Learn.

HYLAs are the essence of Project Learn. Club staff members are trained to organize daily and weekly program schedules to ensure that every member participates in as many HYLAs as possible, making the entire Club.

DramaMatters Afterschool: