Following the Beat to Success
At Norton Science and Language Academy (NSLA), Think Together students from TK-5th grade are experiencing an action-packed week through various ongoing activities due to Think Together’s enrichment accelerator program. From folklórico to African drumming, cheer and dance, students are immersing themselves in dynamic visual and performing arts.
“I’ve enjoyed making a bunch of random beats in my African drumming lessons and learning new steps in ballet folklórico,” said fifth grader Leighton. “These enrichment activities are an awesome way to learn how to do different things, and they give you an opportunity to find something you might really like.”
The main goal for the enrichment accelerator program is to expand opportunities for students like Leighton and help them discover new passions they may have never considered. For fifth grader Alex, the program introduced him to cheer and dance, where he enjoyed learning how to project his cheering voice and working alongside teammates to put on a great performance.
“I love coming to Think Together because we do so many fun things! The program helps me be more kind, responsible and happy,” said Alex. “Other kids should join because it’s the best program ever!”
Think Together collaborates with partners such as Orange County School of the Arts (OCSA), Afterschool Music Academy, Arts & Learning Conservatory, and many more to bring high-quality arts education to life for students and communities statewide. Beyond the arts, the enrichment accelerator program provides Think Together’s school partners with flexible offerings, including STEM and sports, that support a well-rounded school day for students.
Under the leadership of Think Together’s Innovation Lab, the enrichment accelerator model blends unique capacity-building strategies with each high-quality community-based organization’s operations, allowing enrichment providers to scale among Think Together’s network.
The partnership with NSLA launched at the beginning of the 2025-2026 school year, showcasing the power expanded learning has on students when they are given the tools to discover new interests and be the best version of themselves. Think Together serves over 250 TK-8th grade students with not only enrichment accelerators but also core programming. This expansion also marks the first time NSLA 7th and 8th graders can participate in Expanded Learning Opportunities (ELO-P) afterschool programming.
This expansion is just one of many new partnerships for Think Together in the past year, as part of its strategic impact plan to expand its reach and impact more students in California. Investments have been made in a new district partnership team, leading to 16 new school contracts, over 14,000 more students served and new regional expansion in Northern and Central California.
This new vision for impact strengthens Think Together’s commitment to changing the odds for kids and ensuring all students are graduating high school with all life options available. Exceptional partners like NSLA help the organization reach its goal of lighting a bright path for students through quality enrichment, academic support and lifelong success.
