Our Model

Over three decades, we have refined our model to put every scholar we serve on a pathway toward their dreams.

Academic Excellence and Social Emotional Learning 

Our programs are grounded in evidence-based strategies that improve student outcomes. We focus on academic excellence and social emotional learning to equip our scholars with the skills they’ll need to succeed in college, career, and life.  

To bolster academic mastery in foundational disciplines like literacy and math, we implement individually tailored curriculum and tools that reinforce and extend learning from the school day to out-of-school time.  

To foster social emotional capability, we combine a proven national curriculum designed to build research-backed competencies like self-efficacy, self-management, and social awareness, with a staff-driven mentorship program centered on creating Individual Success Plans with each scholar.

Family Programs and Wraparound Services 

We believe that supporting kids requires supporting the whole family. Our team offers engaging family events as well as educational workshops designed to help parents and caregivers navigate the K-12 educational system and support their child’s academic and social emotional development. Through these offerings, we hope to facilitate opportunities that spark joy and build community, forming a conduit between school and home. 

We know that the needs of our families and the learning outcomes of our scholars go hand in hand. Wraparound resources go beyond programming time to intentionally respond to these needs. We create a village by bringing together community partners who provide financial, transportation, health, housing, and other resources that remove barriers to access and impediments to learning and family stability.

Full-Time Staff 

Our team is full-time and year-round, unlike most other out-of-school time providers who often need to rely on short-term volunteers or part-time staff members. Continuous investment in our team allows us to build strong relationships with scholars, families, school leaders, and community partners and provide wraparound support to meet learning goals and family needs. It also allows us to offer summer program opportunities to reduce learning loss and boost our scholars to greater success.

Experiential Learning and Innovative Partnerships  

We expose scholars to non-traditional learning opportunities to spark interests, offer knowledge, and build understanding beyond classroom content. In an ODA program, scholars might visit an organic farm, attend a musical performance, or speak with community elders and the mayor about neighborhood advocacy. Our focus areas include core academics, culture, visual and performing arts, sports, nutrition, workforce development, service learning, entrepreneurship, and so much more.  

With over 50 community partners, we ensure our out-of-school time programs provide the most unique enrichment opportunities in the state. We partner with museums, colleges, nature preserves, artists, and other community partners to provide both educational enrichment as well as service referrals for families needing extra support.

Statewide Leadership and Experience 

Our 30 years of experience tell us that out-of-school time programming is key to a thriving community. We set the standard for high-quality, out-of-school learning in our programs, but also seek to elevate the out-of-school field by building organizational capacity across the state.

Our professional development conferences for educators and administrators promote best practices and our rigorous research promotes innovative models. We advocate for more support for out-of-school time learning to expand access to every family who wants to participate.