Afterschool programs of the past faced a dilemma with middle school students. Usually elementary school curriculum was adapted for middle school, but students transitioning to high school would not engage.

Today, middle school students have exciting opportunities for exploration, autonomy and real-world challenges. In programs throughout the Central Valley, afterschool is cleverly connecting students to their schools and real lives outside the school walls.

According to the U.S. Department of Education, 25 percent of older youth afterschool participants drop out of their programs within two months, citing disinterest in the activities.

“We don’t fully appreciate the unique nature of the social, emotional and cognitive development of middle school youth,” said Rico Peralta, director of program development at Central Valley Afterschool Foundation. “They are not being properly engaged so they vote with their feet.”

Innovative concepts are keeping middle school students from walking away, nationwide and right here in the Central Valley. Programs that promote lifelong learning skills by linking content to vocation, integrated performing arts classes and real-world club experiences are a few outstanding local examples.

“Real Game” Vocational Exploration in Madera County

Middle school students in Madera County afterschool programs are using a new and engaging program that allows them to make the content-to-vocation connection. The Real Game California program gives students a real dose of reality while allowing them to focus on their current schoolwork and future ambitions.

Roughly 100 Madera County middle school students use the simulated game in their afterschool program called Club YES. Last year, the Madera County Office of Education introduced this program to four middle school sites. This year, eight middle school sites are participating.

The educational curriculum is designed to show students the future they face in California’s work environment. They navigate through employment opportunities, salaries, housing prices, learning facilities and other market conditions specific to the state of California. A student participant will adopt a simulated work role and make decisions about his/her living conditions, transportation and lifestyle.

“They start off dreaming of what they want to do in their life. After they craft this beautiful dream, they get a card that tells them their occupation and their salary. Then they deal with reality,” said Kathy Woods, director of curriculum and instruction, Madera County Office of Education. 

“Many times, that mansion becomes an apartment they share and that expensive car becomes a bus pass,” she said.

Real Game California, launched in 2006 by Jack O’Connell, former state superintendent of public instruction, is comprised of four units that make up roughly 26 hours of work. The units focus on making a living; quality of life; changes and choices; and the personal journey.

“[The program] permits students to dream, but in a realistic way. It shows them that life is complicated but can be dealt with in a positive way. It also teaches goal setting, budgeting, and saving,” said Marcos Espinoza, program instructor for Club YES at Martin Luther King, Jr. Middle School in Madera Unified School District.

Creators of the Real Game California have recently upgraded the program to include 65 profiles for science, technology, engineering and mathematics, also called STEM, occupations and their current salaries. All of the profiles articulate with the program’s main goals: creating new opportunities, lifelong learning, focus on the journey, leaning on support and believing in yourself.

Real Game California is a part of a larger series called The Real Game, which has programs geared toward elementary age students to post-secondary age students. The original series is currently used in more than 50,000 classrooms in 10 countries.

According to Peralta, integrating technology and real-life scenarios is quite an effective way to reach middle school students. He believes it is important to build 21^st century “soft skills” such as work cooperation, along with the ability to analyze and process information. The lifelong skills they develop in critical thinking and planning for the future will carry them beyond their middle school years, far into adulthood.

“This program fills a void where students can create and invent,” Peralta said.

Connecting Performing Arts to the School Day in Fresno County

The theme for the Terronez Middle School afterschool program, called The Den, in southeast Fresno appears to be engagement over compliance. The uniqueness of students at this stage of life is celebrated with an integrated performing arts program. Terronez epitomizes the ideal, mutually rewarding relationship between afterschool and the school day.

While arts classes may fall victim to budget cuts during the day, they thrive in this Fresno County FRESH afterschool environment. Terronez students have plenty of choices after 3 p.m., for example:

• Visual Arts - sculpting, painting, drawing, decorating and set design
• Dance – folklorico, Bollywood, hip hop, salsa and Latin dancing
• Music – rock band, disc jockey, lyrics and musical performance classes.

One of the beauties of the program is the symbiotic relationship with regular-day classes like band and folklorico. In a time when many afterschool programs are on their own, Terronez teachers welcome the integration during the school day with cross instruction and resource sharing. In fact, the program is viewed as an extension of the school day.

So when the school-day band teacher wanted to start a drum line, members of the afterschool rock band were asked to participate. Moreover, when the regular-day folklorico class gets ready for a performance, they call on set designers and other creative support from the afterschool program to help.

“The afterschool program puts on the school dances in partnership with the leadership class,” said Alejo Delgado, Terronez’s Afterschool Coordinator. “The students love to perform and to help with regular-day activities such as assemblies. They develop a lot of school pride in the process.”

Delgado is most proud to see problematic kids transform as they are encouraged to express themselves through the arts. He explains that the students must be eligible to participate in performances, which helps keep their grades and attendance in check. 

“They come out of their shell,” said Delgado, who is pleased to watch their school-day engagement grow.

Real-world Club Experiences in Tulare County

Middle school afterschool students in The Pulse Afterschool Program at Visalia Unified School District are organized in clubs that are all the rage. The clubs include dance, cooking, science, sports, CSI, fashion, DIY, multimedia, arts and leadership. But the district’s afterschool director, Frank Escobar, takes the club concept a step further.

“We think about program elements as experiences instead of activities,” Escobar said. “Our goal is to provide creativity, energy and structure with what we call real-world club experiences that step up student effort while keeping them coming back.”

Take the typical afterschool cooking class. At The Pulse, rather than a class, it is a club. Furthermore, the club aims to heighten the experience of the student by integrating activities, events and elements that mimic reality television shows like “Iron Chef.” This allows students to feel they are a part of something much bigger, and better, than just another enrichment class.

The same concept is applied to the hip-hop classes offered at each PULSE site, where “Visalia’s Best Dance Crew” allows students to feel as if they are part of the popular MTV show, “America’s Best Dance Crew.” These well-accepted strategies have proven to increase student attendance, learning and potential outcomes.

Escobar explained that afterschool leaders give students “a voice and a choice” when it comes to developing real-world clubs. Students are inspired to envision beyond the school boundaries and find ways to bring their enrichment experiences to life.

“Wrapping afterschool clubs into real-world experiences has been a learning process for us, and has really challenged our staff to meet the students where they are,” Escobar said. “But if we meet them where they are, they will generally meet our recruitment, retention and learning goals as a program.” 

For more information:
Real Game California, http://www.realgamecalifornia.com
Lorie Werner, Madera County Office of Education/Club YES, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Rico Peralta, Central Valley Afterschool Foundation, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Alejo Delgado, Terronez Middle School, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Frank Escobar, Visalia Unified School District, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it