Pre-Teen Program

---

Our Pre-Teen "Smart Is What's Up!" program, through a challenging standards-based program, nurtures and prepares our students to transition into our Teen Program and high school. 

• Hands-On STEM Lessons
• Presentations from STEM professionals
• Financial Literacy/Career Development Lessons
• Lego® Robotics
• Computer Coding
• Homework Assistance
• Leadership and Character Development
• Experiential Learning through:

                 1. High impact Field Trips

                2. Corporate Guest Speakers

                3. Volunteers (Collegiate and Business)

The program hours are Monday - Friday:

• Before School: 7:00 a.m. - 8:30 a.m.
• After School: 2:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.
• Full-day summer/track out/teacher workdays, etc.: 7:00 a.m. – 6:30 a.m.

Opportunities to learn STEM outside of school are especially important for members of groups underrepresented in science and engineering, including girls and minorities. Additionally, careers in STEM remain plentiful. A solid background in STEM education is a great path to livable-wage jobs; and for children from low-income families, can be the key in breaking the cycle of generational poverty 

Teaching STEM encourages innovative, critical thinking, problem-solving skills, and creativity, resulting in a capable, multi-faceted child. 

In discovering STEM, our students will learn to:

• Ask critical-thinking questions - "Why did it happen?"  "What is the situation?" (Language Arts)
• Discuss similar and dissimilar contributing characteristics/factors (Science)
• Form collaborative work groups to devise/build a "soft'" or "hard" solution (Engineering)
• Implement the solution using a variety of methodologies, tools and materials (Technology) 
• Test the solution (Science)
• Chart the test outcome (Math)
• Discuss test results and optional solutions/remedies (Science/Engineering)
• From the discussion, revise and implement the best solution/remedy (Technology) 

Through STEM, children build the skills necessary to navigate the world around them. They will be able to make connections between diverse skills and concepts.