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Academic Excellence

How Do After-School Activities Improve Student Achievement?

April 25, 2022 By Zavia Jarrett

As parents, we often ponder our children’s mental and emotional wellbeing. We’d like them to always be happy, healthy, and motivated to excel academically. We weigh all the options and reach the final conclusion – after-school activities are a must-have, especially these days.

According to the Afterschool Alliance, 1 in 5 young people are alone when the school day comes to an end. This comes as no surprise, as most working parents have little to no time to come home and attend to their children’s after-school needs. 

The Village Method has always pointed out the importance of safe and culturally affirming after-school programs. Without the implementation of relevant after-school activities, a young person may easily become disoriented and uncertain about their academic future. Besides, in worst-case scenarios, they could also get into trouble from having too much time on their hands. Time well spent enables the children of today to become the successful adults of tomorrow.

In this article, we’ll look at some of the ways in which after-school activities improve student achievement. We invite you to keep on reading and find out more!

 

Accessing After-School Activities Impacts Student Achievement

As caring parents and educators, we want to ensure that today’s youth is educated enough to break several cycles of poverty, inequity, and systemic racism within our society. 

The Journal of Negro Education revealed that African-American children who are perceived as low-achievers end up being disproportionately enrolled in after-school programs. This should come as no surprise to most of us. 

Such an ongoing issue can only be tackled by enrolling the students in better, more culturally affirming after-school programs. That way, we could help them reach excellence alongside peers and educators who are aware of this undeniable race gap.

There is no point in denying a truth that has been ever-present for centuries. It’s time to pick up the pieces and offer our children their shot at a successful life, far away from poverty and discrimination.

The Harlem Children’s Zone has made it their main mission to put an end to intergenerational poverty by providing children and their families with some of the best after-school activities designed for young people of color.

Poverty can become a distant memory once we realize that our children are capable of academic excellence. After-school activities and family engagement are here to facilitate this.

 

Increasing Student Achievement Starts With Family Engagement Activities

Close-up of cheerful student with red t-shirt Free Photo
Image credit: Freepik

The race gap is not the only factor that slows down our journey towards equity. In fact, it’s been proven that the gap between home and school is just as detrimental to the academic achievements of our young ones.

As the Carnegie Corporation of New York revealed, the COVID-19 pandemic has managed to achieve the impossible. More specifically, it has finally bridged the gap between parents and educators, thanks to family engagement activities.

Most families of color have constantly struggled with being seen and heard by the schooling system. To go even deeper, not even the curriculum acknowledges our people’s relentless fight for freedom and student achievement.

Instead, we are faced with a willful omission of our real history. Our rich cultural heritage has been swept under the rug for centuries. 

There is only one way to counteract this injustice, and that is to enroll our children in qualitative after-school programs that aim to highlight the importance of family engagement activities.

When the family is involved in the academic journey of the young one, the chances of an increase in student achievement grow exponentially. It’s also important to keep in mind that truly great after-school programs will pay close attention to the concept of Social and Emotional Learning.

This educational framework supports our children’s so-called soft skills. They will develop healthier attitudes towards education and life. Such an advancement in social and emotional abilities is made possible through valuable and authentic parental engagement. 

Excellence can only be reached once we realize the importance of effective parental engagement. Social and Emotional Learning aims to target the very core of inequity and poverty. All forward-thinking after-school programs should prioritize this incredibly important framework. 

By choosing to enroll our children in after-school programs that encourage family engagement activities and Social and Emotional Learning, we will have the opportunity to watch our children’s intellects soar to heights that we didn’t think were possible 

This is how we ensure the increase in student achievement – by encouraging our children to always aim higher. After-school activities that are tailored to their exact needs will certainly do the job.

 

The Conclusion Is…

Our people have always aimed for academic excellence, regardless of the social climate and constant inequity, they’ve had to face. We’re living during unprecedented times, watching society change by the minute. 

There is only one thing we can do in order to truly benefit from the incoming changes, and that is to invest in the academic accomplishments of our children. As we’ve seen, we can turn this vision into reality by seeking culturally affirming and safe after-school programs. 

It’s essential that they elevate the real history of our people, highlight the importance of family engagement activities, and also use the Social and Emotional Learning framework throughout the way.

The Village Method has always emphasized the importance of creating communities with like-minded individuals who are eager to give our incredibly rich cultural heritage its rightful credit. We invite you to explore our cause by visiting our website, volunteering, or simply donating. We believe that your ongoing support will benefit many children, and we invite you to stay tuned for our next blog post

Filed Under: Academic Excellence, TVM Parent Corner

The Village Method Launches Afrocentric College-Access App That Provides Culturally Affirming Educational Resource for 8-12th Graders

July 7, 2020 By Jasmine Powers

black male student sitting at the computer with black male teacher

Wednesday, July 1, 2020 – Bay area nonprofit, The Village Method, known for its cultural and educational youth enrichment programs has launched ScholarPrep Nation (SPN), a national college-access network to serve a primary audience of 8-12th graders.

SPN provides students with a virtual “village” of peers, parents, educational consultants, counselors, school administrators, and college recruiters. The platform grants students access to courses, monthly presentations from educational consultants, and access to regularly programmed interactive summits. The platform allows all subscribers to create profiles, participate in forum discussions, and interact with other members through private messaging. The content and engagement opportunities within the platform provide the relationships and information that students need for a successful college experience.

SPN stands apart from other college-access resources by providing a relational and Afrocentric environment that affirms students. Additionally, it confronts the problems of children getting lost during their academic journey, parents who are ill-equipped to help their children, overworked counselors, and Black youth suffering because of inadequacies of the public educational system. With SPN, these very preventable and solvable issues are met, to the success of students’ futures.

Hear from Mahea and Mark Gaskins, the founders of The Village Method and ScholarPrep Nation about the platform and how it will support the needs of the young people needing this unique learning environment!

To subscribe to the platform and access it’s educational content and community, visit scholarprepnation.org.

Filed Under: Academic Excellence, Village Method Tagged With: Afrocentric, Afrocentric education program, college, college prep, college-access network

#UnlockingExcellence

October 26, 2016 By Mark Gaskins

tvm-family-night-6840

What happens when a child believes in his or herself and becomes a visionary? Their goals, combined with a positive self-identity, become a compass for their future and a barometer for their expectations in life. A child that is pursuing his or her dream needs a community to pave the way with love, encouragement, support and resources.

As Frederick Douglass has told us:

“It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.”

Strong children lead to even stronger families and communities that thrive. Schools aim for each and every student to succeed. Service providers seek to deliver this with their resources. Families want this for their children. In Southern Alameda County (Union City, Hayward, Fremont, Newark) it is widely known and seemingly accepted by some, that students of African descent perform academically at the bottom compared to their counterparts.

At the same time, they are represented at the top of the disciplinary distribution. While graduation rates are over 80% in some districts,we’ve learned that students are not eligible to apply to a 4-year college due to not completing the required courses in high school. Of all the resources and service providers available in this rich area, youth and families of African descent still travel outside of their immediate community or never receive the support they need.

So, whose problem is this? Who do we hold accountable? The children, their parents, or the community? In less than two years, The Village Method (TVM) has impacted the lives of over 200 youth and families. None of this would be possible if it weren’t for the children and families allowing us into their lives. We never would have imagined the amount of learning required to develop a program that is responsive and adapts to the unique needs of our community. We are humbled and thankful to all those who have supported our vision of services.

As we press forward, TVM is narrowing its focus to the effect of implementing a greater degree of academic rigor and guidance into our programming. The theme for our 2016-17 academic school year is

#UnlockingExcellence

…and it represents a chapter in our larger vision: “From the Bottom to the Top”. With this initiative, we intend to increase the number of our students represented in the upper 25th percentile of academic performance. Students and their families are excited! The school district is on board! TVM is staffing up for the challenge! To be successful, it will take the efforts and collaboration of the entire village as we rally for support. Incentive programs, celebrations of success, establishing partnerships, financial support, and plain old sweat-equity will all contribute to our collective success.

Are You Ready?

Filed Under: Academic Excellence, Village Method Tagged With: #UnlockingExcellence, Achievement, Black Scholars, It Takes A Village

Dehumanizing Black Children and Innocence

November 5, 2015 By Mahea Gaskins

TVM-Family-Night-Pic15

All children should be considered innocent. And, studies have shown that up until a certain age, most children are, in fact, considered innocent. The problem arises, however, when certain children, children of a specific race, are thought of as less innocent than their age-mates of different races. This situation is seen most profoundly in the difference in perceptions of White and Black children. Unfortunately, this idea that Black children are less innocent than White children continues to plague African Americans [Read more…] about Dehumanizing Black Children and Innocence

Filed Under: Academic Excellence

A Lack of College Readiness

October 1, 2015 By Mahea Gaskins

2015-02-18 07.12.53

With the steady rise of racial tensions throughout the country, it’s becoming increasingly important for African-Americans to educate themselves on the issues surrounding these tensions. One of the most overlooked and pivotal issue that African-Americans need to be aware of is the discrepancies in the treatment and thoroughness of the educational experience

[Read more…] about A Lack of College Readiness

Filed Under: Academic Excellence

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Testimonials

TVM Gives Hands on Experience

My son’s favorite subjects in school are Math and Science and it’s great that The Village Method includes programs that introduces him to hands on experience. They include coding, trips to UC Berkeley, and guest speakers that… Read more “TVM Gives Hands on Experience”

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“The Village Method is a place for Black people where we have the freedom to express ourselves, go on field trips, learn about our culture, and practice stepping formations.” — Sixth Grade TVM Scholar

From being immature to a proud young scholar

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“The Village Method teaches us to be an awesome scholar not just in class but for the whole community. TVM also helps us to turn from being immature to a proud young scholar.” Seventh Grade… Read more “From being immature to a proud young scholar”

TVM Can’t Stop

“Can’t tell you how much this community means to us! TVM is great for our son, but it means as much (if not more) to our family. This can’t stop! Thank you Mahea and Mark… Read more “TVM Can’t Stop”

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“I volunteered for the better part of a school year with TVM. I was really impressed by the TVM leadership; their continued commitment and drive to have the program succeed was inspirational. (The only reason… Read more “Impressed with TVM Leadership”

It takes a village

The Village Method (TVM) is dedicated to teaching our children not only how to manage their academic success but how to make good life decisions through knowledge and love for our rich African history. I am… Read more “It takes a village”

TVM from a student’s perspective

I like TVM because the people there are so nice. They are always supportive and help whenever they can. They always are willing to teach us about our culture. They are funny and I look… Read more “TVM from a student’s perspective”

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