The high school department here at EPA has been busy the past few weeks!
With Amelia’s hard work, we launched the Big Homie Project mentorship program, where our students are matched with vetted, invested, and awesome young professionals. Our goal is to surround them with even more positive adults than they already have at the club, and expose them to the various career avenues available to them. As of now, we have 8 students paired with high quality mentors, and we’re excited to keep adding.
Career Fridays, spearheaded by Erica, has been an incredible engagement opportunity. In hour-long panels, students hear from young people of color in different industries about their pathways to that field, high school careers, etc. Importantly, we’re hand-selecting the panelists to ensure that they’re engaging, relatable, and inspirational to our students.
We’ve also partnered, for the third year, with East Palo Alto Academy to host the Senior Exhibition Projects. Seniors at the school must complete a long-term, community-based project that addresses a sincere need in order to graduate. This year, four groups of students asked to do their project with younger BGCP students: one group is focusing on 8th to 9th grade transition, one is forming an elementary step team, one is hosting an LGBTQ+ support group, and one is working with 6th graders on academic skills.
Finally, in our newest partnership with Oxford Day Academy, Coach Country teaches their entire student body’s PE Class two days a week. It’s a great example of the collaborative work we can do to better serve schools, and thus, our students.
We’re excited to keep learning and growing with our 72+ high school students a day. 9th grade case management has continued to be crucial to our students’ success, and the efforts of case management for 10th-12th grade students has pushed them to be real examples for our younger students. Our Keystoners have added PBL to their structure, and we’ve grown teen staff to 20 students! In all, the teen department keeps growing and thriving, and we’re excited to see what’s next.
See you in April!
