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Project My Time to Double in Size This Fall
from Five to 10 Middle Schools
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A MacFarland
student finishes up
homework in the
beginning of the afternoon |
This fall, Project My Time will expand from
five to 10 middle schools in the District, providing programming
for most of the middle schools in the city. This expansion
reflects our growing partnership with DC Public Schools as we
work together with new leadership to extend elements of the PMT
model to the entire DCPS OST system.
The new DCPS OST strategy will institute coordinated
after-school program sites at each of the school system’s
schools -- nearly 120 schools from kindergarten through 12th
grade. Each site will have a full-time after-school coordinator
and site assistant, and several DCPS teachers will provide a
rigorous academic hour at the beginning of each afternoon. After
the “Power Hour” of academics, community-based providers of
quality OST activities will provide enrichment activities, such
as arts, recreation and life skills.
The 10 Project My Time sites will align with the rest of the
DCPS after-school operations, but will allow us to continue
refining our middle-school OST approach—which we are contracted
to do through the Wallace investment and which will benefit DCPS
in the long-run.
More>>
Project My Time Brings Free Summer Camps to
Three DC Middle Schools
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Lincoln students
celebrate the end of the school year |
Project My Time wrapped up another successful school year
with fun year-end celebrations – complete with barbecues, DJs
and talent shows – at our five middle schools. This summer,
Project My Time will offer free summer camps at three DC middle
schools. A total of 600 kids will be able to participate in
everything from tennis to dance to photography to basketball.
The three free camps will be held at Kelly Miller Middle
School in Lincoln Heights, Lincoln Middle School in
Columbia Heights and Johnson Middle School in Southeast.
The camps begin June 30 and will run weekday afternoons until
Aug. 1. Camp hours are 12:30 to 6:30 p.m.
The end of the school year was celebrated in high style at each
of our schools:
- Jefferson Middle School held a big cookout/block party
with games, a slip and slide, music provided by a DJ, gift
cards and certificates for youth and staff.
- McFarland held a talent showcase and closing ceremony at
Bus Boys and Poets with student performances and a debut of
the MacFarland PMT promo, produced by students in the Music
and Media program.
- Lincoln students held a pizza party and student
exhibition and awards ceremony.
- At Kelly Miller, program providers showcased what youth
have learned and participated in after school. Youth and
staff received awards and certificates at a reception.
- Students at Hart also were treated to a cookout with a
DJ playing music, and they had a graduation reception for
8th graders at SE
Tennis and Learning Center with a welcome from Cora Masters
Barry.
This summer, the three camps will feature:
At Johnson, 1400 Bruce Place, SE, activities will include
Olympic style boxing, tennis, youth leadership development and
mentoring, Batter Up baseball program, digital photography,
computer skills, a teen pregnancy prevention program and a Safe
Passages Program.
At Kelly Miller, 301 49th Street, NE, activities will include
basketball, tennis, flag football, boxing, soccer, chess, and
martial arts as well as dance, theater, visual arts & media
arts.
At Lincoln, 3101 16th Street, NW, activities will include hip
hop dance, DJing, sports, literacy, arts, and more.
Hart Students Learn Technology, Build Goals in Digital
Success Program
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A Digital Success
student created this collage of photos taken at a
Covenant House event |
This summer, 25 Hart students
have the chance to improve their photography and computer
savviness through the Digital Success program. Continuing from
the school year, Digital Success allows students to practice
their photo-taking skills, edit and enhance photos on the
computer and learn how to build web pages.
Led by Joseph Davis, an information technology professional by
training, the Digital Success program aims to strengthen
students’ skills and self-efficacy in computers, information
technology and digital media, while also helping students set
and achieve their personal and academic goals. During the past
school year, the program taught students how to use the
different features of a digital camera and photo printer, how to
edit and correct pictures on Photoshop, how to take video and
how to create PowerPoint presentations. The summer program will
build on the skills learned during the school year and will
include more advanced Photoshop features and web development.
“Technology is an easy hook to get young people interested,”
Davis says. “But we also find that when they build skills,
confidence and accomplishments in technology, they transfer that
self-efficacy to academics and post-secondary education and then
apply themselves more to those goals.”
In the PowerPoint project, students talked about their goals and
then created visual presentations with pictures and text about
how they planned to reach them. “Goal #1: Pass My Classes,”
wrote one student. “I will pass all my classes by stop playing
around with my friends and start doing all my work in all my
classes.”
Using their photography and photo editing skills, Digital
Success students also took photos at events such as Lights On
Afterschool! and created collages and posters. For a few Hart
sports teams, students also took team photos which were
displayed in the school lobby.
“When the students present their projects and show people what
they’ve done, it builds up their self-image,” Davis says. “They
come to see themselves as being successful, making a positive
contribution to the community.”
Parents Very Happy with Project My Time –
Kids Like Ability to Choose Activities
Parents whose children attend Project My Time programs are
“highly satisfied” and kids are “generally satisfied” with the
program, according to a new assessment of attitudes toward the
after-school program. The research collected input from students
and parents as well as schools and PMT staff.
Parents worry about transportation home, especially during the
winter, as well as the time after-school activities end.
Students report that the PMT activities are fun and interesting.
They appreciate the ability to choose activities and to spend
time with their friends and meet new kids. Students believe that
the best way of ensuring regular attendance is to offer
consistently exceptional activities. Students’ chief gripes were
about other disruptive students and about some programs being
boring.
Teachers and PMT staff have a very positive image of PMT, the
study showed. Teachers feel like PMT is an academic resource for
students, providing them with individualized tutoring, a chance
to clarify concepts introduced in the classroom, and time and
space dedicated to completing homework assignments.
Market Street Research, a marketing research firm in
Massachusetts, conducted focus groups with students in the PMT
program, self-administered surveys of students at the five
schools offering PMT, a telephone survey of parents whose
children attend PMT and a self-administered survey of school and
PMT personnel.
More>>
New Partnership Shows Kids the Car Business
– From Under the Hood to Showroom
 The Trust is pleased to announce a new partnership – the
Toyota – Ballou –Trust Automotive Summer Bridge – for rising ninth graders to
learn all about the car business – everything from how to fix
cars to how to sell them.
In the 10-week program, which runs Monday through Friday until
August 22, 15 students will learn leadership skills, prepare for
the world of work, and explore possible careers with Toyota.
They also will take field trips, enjoy free nutritious meals and
snacks and earn $8 an hour.
Located at Ballou Senior High School, the new summer program is
aimed at generating interest in the Toyota – Ballou program for
10th to 12th graders, which exposes older youth to automotive
careers with Toyota. Toyota built an automotive center at Ballou
that trains teenagers on mechanics and the business side of
Toyota. The car manufacturer wants to strengthen its workforce
by training potential employees early. Students are able to do
internships in the summer of their senior year, in which they
shadow accountants and marketing staff, among others, to gain
experience and build their resumes.
The summer program for rising ninth graders will provide youth
with a challenging high-quality job readiness/job shadowing
experience by introducing them to the automotive industry. To
apply for the program, call Jeffrey Richardson at 202-355-8311.
Project
My Timeme is an initiative of the DC Children and Youth Investment
Trust Corporation. For more information, visit
www.projectmytime.org.
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