Purpose

CTE, Inc. has established the CTE Academy to offer after-school enrichment that will help students increase their academic achievement, cultural awareness, and technological skills.

Description

CTE, Inc. developed the CTE Academy to serve as Tomorrow’s Promise after-school program that provides academic enrichment, social development, community awareness, and recreation for grades K-12. Specific objectives of the Academy are:

• Offering homework assistance and personalized attention in an effort to increase and maintain school success. 
• Incorporating technology into daily program in order to ensure each student has computer literacy. 
• Providing character-building, personal empowerment and conflict resolution programs, in an effort to help each student develop self-confidence and increase skills in pro-social behavior. 
• Providing diversity and cultural awareness training in an effort to improve race, ethnic and cultural sensitivity. 
• Maintaining a strong alignment with youth programming and the local Board of Education.

CTE Academy activities are part of the agency's Education & Youth Programs and it is staffed by the Director, Education Coordinator, Recreation Coordinator, Teacher, Youth Technology Worker, Youth Worker/Volunteer, and Administrative Coordinator. 

Students are enrolled from multiple schools in two age groupings: grades K-5 and grades 6-12.  The elementary program focuses on homework assistance and tutoring achieves. The students also participate in the following activities: girl scouts, arts & crafts, reading club and a variety of recreational and cultural activities. The middle school program focuses on youth development through the following: technology training, anti-gang discussions, youth entrepreneur training, recreational activities, peer-to-peer, community service, cultural development activities, creative writing, monthly field trips and a variety of other programming opportunities.

The middle school students also participate in a technology program called the “Mouse Squad”. These students along with staff are guided through the MOUSE Squad training and certification processes. The curriculum addresses both technical training (workstation, printer and network trouble-shooting and maintenance) and help desk operations training.  The technology literacy and workforce readiness skills targeted by Mouse Squad are in alignment with state and federal standards, including the Secretary’s Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS) and National Education Technology Standards (NETS).  The purpose of these standards is to define what students need to understand and be able to do with technology in order to be prepared for life in the 21st century. The Mouse Squad curriculum is also correlated to both middle and high school performance standards in Math, Science, Technology (MST), English Language Arts (ELA), Social Studies (SS), the Applied Learning Standards along with the New York City Technology Standards, and Career Development and Occupational Studies (CDOS) for the state of New York.

A number of other youth programs have been established by CTE to further expand opportunities for involvement of area students:

• Reading Club: This program runs during the school year. The south end branch of the Ferguson Library gives all students in the after school program an opportunity to participate in this program once a week. The library staff picks out a book to be read that day. Once they are finishing reading the book they have the opportunity to ask questions and to discuss what was read. Books are picked out according to a monthly theme at times. 
• Mighty Mites Basketball League: Fosters lasting ties between members of the community and the city police department that provides volunteers.  The goal of the league is to teach participating youth how to have fun while learning about teamwork, dedication, and hard work.  The league lasts 12 weeks and is co-ed with students divided into two groups (5-9 years old and 10-12 years old).  The principles of the league are related to academic endeavors and future aspirations of higher education and employment. 
• Jackie Robinson Baseball Program: 3- month program designed to foster team building and athletic skills through a semi-competitive environment. 
• Dance Program: This is program is run during the school year. This program is designed to teach the fundamentals and discipline of dance (hip hop, modern and ballet). 
• The Music Studio: High School students learn to make music using computers and produce a group CD of their work.  Participants collaborate to prepare a student-written manual of what they learn during the course of the program. 
• GEMS (Girl’s Excelling in Math and Science): This program was designed for middle school girls in the south end of Stamford. The purpose of the program is to increase the academic performance of 18 of these girls through individualized concentration on science, math and technology. In addition to giving them a grater opportunity for positive social development through workshops highlighting body image, self-esteem, and activities that magnify one’s cultural importance. The goal is to prepare them to succeed in middle and high school math, science and technology courses and possibly even beyond. 
• Enlightening the Mind: This book club is funded by the Connecticut Light and Power is for elementary, middle and high school youth and their families. The books are selected for grades 1st – 12th grade. This program offered in collaboration with the Ferguson Library was designed to encourage the family to read together and then have a forum to discuss the books and the issues that it raises that come up in the young person’s every day life.  Dinner and babysitting is also included with the program. 
• Tutoring Achieves (Stamford Achieves): Students in grades 1st through 5th grade participate in this program 3 times a week in reading and math. There are certified teachers who come in to do the tutoring. 
• Sound Waters: Students in grades K – 5th will have the opportunity to talk about the Long Island Sound. They participate in discussions about the water and the different creatures that live in the water. 
• Tomorrow’s Promise Summer Camp Program (K -8th): This program will serve about approximately 80 students between the ages of 5 to 13 participate in academic enrichment and educational field trips and structured recreational activities.  The program is held for 6 weeks between 9:00am and 5:00pm with academic enrichment in the morning and swimming/recreation/cultural activities in the afternoon.

Outcomes

Tomorrow’s Promise After-School Program:

• 77% of students that completed the program improved social skills in the areas of cooperation and responsibility.  Indicators were report cards behavior grades, monthly parent meetings and case notes on each child. 
• 70% of the students have completed monthly computer instructions with emphasis on internet access, keyboarding skills and usage of academic software 
• 100% of the students that completed the program graduated to the next grade.

GEMS (Girl’s Excelling in Math and Science)

• 83% of the students have increased their academic performance through individualized focus on science, math and technology skills

The Music Studio

• 40% of young adults who participated in the program learned how to write lyrics, produce songs, market products and learn the music working language. Some of the students participated in a show case event here at CTE, Inc with music producer Chubb Rock

Mighty Mites

• 80% of the students have improved their social skills in sportsmanship and respect

Jackie Robinson Baseball Program

• 64% of the students have improved their social skills in sportsmanship and respect

Tomorrow’s Promise Summer Camp Program

• 75% of the students have improved their social skills and behavior skills