enables youth to become proficient in basic educational disciplines, set goals, explore careers, prepare for employment and embrace technology to achieve success in a career.

STRATEGIC APPROACH FOR ACADEMIC SUCCESS
As informal educators, Boys & Girls Club professionals envision all Club youth, who become members as children and retain their membership through their teenage years, graduating from high school with their class members. Through their experiences at school and the Club, young people are able to make good post-secondary education decisions. This vision identifies key objectives and strategies for working with members ages 6 to 12 and 13 to 18. BGCA helps local Clubs, like Boys & Girls of the Midlands combat problems that contribute to low high school graduation rates by implementing localized activities and tactics, emphasizing more intentional integration of programs across core program areas and conducting and sharing findings of more rigorous evaluation efforts.

PROJECT LEARN
Project Learn reinforces and enhances the skills and knowledge young people learn at school during the hours they spend at the Club. This program strategy is based on research demonstrating that students do much better in school when they spend their non-school hours engaged in fun, but academically beneficial, activities. Through Project Learn, Club staff use all the areas and programs in the Club to create opportunities for these high-yield learning activities, which include leisure reading, writing activities, discussions with knowledgeable adults, helping others, homework help and tutoring and games like Scrabble that develop young people’s cognitive skills. Project Learn also emphasizes parent involvement and collaboration between Club and school professionals as critical factors in creating the best after-school learning environment for Club members ages 6 to 18.

GOALS FOR GRADUATION
Goals for Graduation introduces academic goal setting to Club members ages 6 to 18 by linking their future aspirations with concrete actions today. Members create an action plan with daily and weekly goals leading to short- and long-term academic gains. This program is part of a comprehensive academic strategy that will help retain members in the Club through their high school years, encourage high school graduation and enable them to make good post-secondary choices.

POWER HOUR: MAKING MINUTES COUNT
Power Hour: Making Minutes Count provides Club professionals with strategies, activities, resources and information to create an engaging homework help and tutoring program that encourages Club members ages 6 to 12 and 13 to 18 to become self-directed learners. The Power Hour materials provide practical tips and Club best practices for recognition and incentives, behavior management, volunteer recruitment and training, collaboration with other organizations and use of technology and the Internet.

CAREERLAUNCH®
CareerLaunch encourages Club members ages 13 to 18 to assess their skills and interests, explore careers, make sound educational decisions and prepare to join our nation’s work force. Club staff or volunteers use the Career Exploration Quick Reference Guide to work with teens individually or in small groups to build their job-search skills and job readiness. The easy-to-read, pocket-sized CareerLaunch Teen Tips is full of practical job-hunting advice for young people. The CareerLaunch Web site, www.careerlaunch.net, provides Club teens, staff and volunteers with online career exploration, college and job search information and interactive activities. Mentoring, job shadowing and training opportunities round out the program.

MONEY MATTERS: MAKE IT COUNT
Money Matters promotes financial responsibility and independence among Club members ages 13 to 18. Participants learn how to manage a checking account, budget, save and invest, start small businesses and pay for college. The Facilitator’s Guide provides Club staff and volunteers with basic financial information and instructions for easy-to-implement small-group activities. The fun, attractive Teen Personal Finance Guide contains practical tips and activities to help teens learn to balance a checkbook, create a budget and save and invest for college and retirement. The Money Matters Web site, http://moneymatters.bgca.net, helps teens build their money management skills through interactive activities, games and tools like a savings and financial aid calculator to plan for college.

CLUB TECH
Club Tech is an ambitious, multi-year initiative to provide all Boys & Girls Clubs with state-of-the-art software; a comprehensive array of programs to help Club professionals build members’ computer skills and integrate technology in all Core Program Areas; and extensive, ongoing training for Club professionals. Club Tech helps Clubs incorporate technology in every aspect of their operation. Most importantly, young people develop the technology skills necessary to succeed in school and the job market. Club Tech resources and programs are available through My Club My Life, BGCA’s Web site for teens, www.mcml.org.