Summer Program Goals:
- to expose students to a college environment early in their grade school years so they continue high school with an understanding of what they need to do to prepare to enter college
- help students understand why post secondary education is relevant to them
- help students determine which career fields especially those involving STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) are of interest
- highlight opportunities for training and education available through the military including service academies and scholarships which may or may not require military service.
How Are Students Selected?
Our summer experiential program is focused on students predominately in grades 7-10 who are chosen in the local community based on metrics which include: grades, attitude, attendance, participation in school activities as well as extracurricular activities, and who would benefit from a collegiate immersion. Much of this is left up to the local partnering organizations who are using the summer experience as a reward.
We seek students who have the time to change their study habits, participate in school and extracurricular activities, and create resumes for a future career in college or the work place. Thus the primary RFT focus is on students in grades 7-10 with an eye on those 2 "forgotten years" of high school, 9th and 10th grade.
This experience can be used by a local organization as a reward for participating students who met organizational requirements during the year such as community service, school attendance, academic performance, or meeting internal goals for the organization. Or it serves as an outcome for students who fully participated in the Extralearning Online program during the academic year.
We seek students who have the time to change their study habits, participate in school and extracurricular activities, and create resumes for a future career in college or the work place. Thus the primary RFT focus is on students in grades 7-10 with an eye on those 2 "forgotten years" of high school, 9th and 10th grade.
This experience can be used by a local organization as a reward for participating students who met organizational requirements during the year such as community service, school attendance, academic performance, or meeting internal goals for the organization. Or it serves as an outcome for students who fully participated in the Extralearning Online program during the academic year.
What Does This Program Provide?
The strategy underlying all RFT summer programs is to engage students in activities which most have never attempted in order to open their eyes and minds to a world beyond their neighborhoods, families, and friends. Years ago a student who did not particularly care for an activity asked why we scheduled it for the whole group. Our answer was that each activity is enjoyed by and benefits at least one student in the group- we just never know which "one" so everyone participates. That logic seems to make sense to our students as everything we schedule is designed for them.
With this understanding, these summer experiences serve as a tangible outcome for student participation in an existing program such as GEAR UP, 21st Century, Boys and Girls Clubs, or any community based organization. These summer programs use resources on college campuses, federal and state entities, and various public and private agencies so students might gain a better understanding of what is attainable through education and hard work.
While we do not necessarily concentrate on science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) careers, many of our activities on college campuses are STEM based. Students return home understanding the correlation between their current academic courses and real world careers. They see for themselves why they need to take Algebra, Physics, Chemistry, and Biology during high school years and how these classes apply to future careers.
The one week college immersion programs begin at 6 AM and end at 11 PM, with activity periods throughout the day that include interactive classes in a variety of STEM related courses, interspersed with snorkeling, surfing, flying, climbing, or team building sessions.
CLICK HERE to VIEW A SAMPLE SUMMER PROGRAM SCHEDULE
With this understanding, these summer experiences serve as a tangible outcome for student participation in an existing program such as GEAR UP, 21st Century, Boys and Girls Clubs, or any community based organization. These summer programs use resources on college campuses, federal and state entities, and various public and private agencies so students might gain a better understanding of what is attainable through education and hard work.
While we do not necessarily concentrate on science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) careers, many of our activities on college campuses are STEM based. Students return home understanding the correlation between their current academic courses and real world careers. They see for themselves why they need to take Algebra, Physics, Chemistry, and Biology during high school years and how these classes apply to future careers.
The one week college immersion programs begin at 6 AM and end at 11 PM, with activity periods throughout the day that include interactive classes in a variety of STEM related courses, interspersed with snorkeling, surfing, flying, climbing, or team building sessions.
CLICK HERE to VIEW A SAMPLE SUMMER PROGRAM SCHEDULE
How Can You Participate?
If a school or community-based program already has a preferred academic program in place, this summer experience serves as a reward for academic achievement and meeting additional metrics. Your cohort and programs benefit by integrating Reach for Tomorrow's compelling experiential summer programs developed over the past two decades.
CLICK HERE to CONTACT US and we'll connect to curate a Summer Program for your students.
CLICK HERE to CONTACT US and we'll connect to curate a Summer Program for your students.
What Resources Do We Use?
*Disclaimer: RFT summer programming is not a recruiting tool for the military or any particular career field or college. It is a strategy to expose young people to what is possible in their futures, as we seek to actively immerse students in a wide scope of possibilities.
- Military resources when possible which provide hands-on training as well as expose young people to those who serve our nation.
- Interactive classes in a variety of STEM related courses, interspersed with snorkeling, surfing, flying, climbing, or team building sessions.
- Chaperons from the students' home area or school provide oversight and mentoring as they work directly with student teams as small as 5 participants. These chaperons get to know the students through these commonly shared adventures and all return home with a better idea of each other's strengths and weaknesses.
Do Students Enjoy The Summer Programs?
Yes! And we have plenty of feedback & evidence to support this. Past RFT participants sum up what they gained from these college experiences as "All I Can Be Is Up To Me".
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