What's Happening at Groundwork for Youth

We recently reduced class sizes: In the past, Groundwork for Youth After-School Academy classes have featured classes composed of 20 students, compared to classes of 10 students during the Summer Academy . After-school classes have been larger both because of the costs and other challenges associated with hiring additional teachers and finding adequate classroom space to reduce class sizes. However, this past year we were able to reduce class sizes at one campus, our I.S. 292 campus. We hired three additional Reading Specialists reducing class size to 8-10 students. Smaller class sizes have allowed for improved curriculum implantation, better teacher understanding of students needs, and more individualized support.

We increased number of hours of programming: Through generous funding provided by the Department of Youth and Community Development out of School Time Programming, Groundwork has gained permission to run programming on 20 school vacation days across all three of our campuses. Programming is offered for 10 hours per day and consists of literacy enrichment and recreational activities such as arts, music and field trips. We also began offering Saturday programming at our I.S. 292 campus and have added an extra week of summer programming.

We increased the number of hours of teacher led literacy instruction students receive during the Summer Academy : During the 2005 summer academy, students received six hours of literacy instruction per week, up from four hours during the summer of 2004, and at least six additional hours of another program activity with a strong literacy focus.