After School Program

 

The Hardy Center After-School Program provides homework help, life skills, tutoring, and nutritional meals to school-aged children in grades K through 8, operating from November through April during the school year.

 

We have learned that today's traditional educational system assumes that there is a concerned, nurturing parent at home waiting to help their children with homework and study. In the neighborhood we serve, this is too often not the case. Many parents still need to finish school, and, by their admission, feel they need to be qualified to help their children with homework. Therefore, with parental permission, the Hardy Center steps into that parental role by attending parent-teacher conferences and obtaining the student's homework assignments each night. This proactive approach helps us to be prepared for the children when they arrive at the Center and to reach our goal of returning the students to class the next day with completed homework, understanding of the homework completed, and readiness to move on to the next learning concept. We receive positive feedback from teachers about how this approach changes the entire dynamic of their day-to-day student academic achievement.

 

Our facility houses a comprehensive computer lab allowing children to become proficient in technology by obtaining computer knowledge. We supply access to various online learning programs such as Kahn Academy, Star Fall, Cool Math, Study Island, and others that help reinforce learning in a fun way.

 

To assist with the nutritional gap, our facility operates a healthy meal program that provides dinners to all children who arrive at the Center each evening after school. They are allowed a particular time to eat before they continue to Center activities and homework help sessions.

 

Our trained tutors, comprised of certified school teachers, provide homework help to our students. Our main objective is to help improve their performance on standardized tests, preparation for weekly tests, and to establish better study habits & good work ethic. Our approach to homework helps "fills the learning gap" for students and establishes a relationship with their teachers whereby students can ultimately succeed in the classroom.