Introducing: Think Together’s Enrichment Accelerators!
For summer 2024, Think Together piloted its newest innovation, enrichment accelerators, to select school districts to immerse students in enriching programs that open them up to the world of competitive sports, STEM skills and arts.
According to data collected by the After School Alliance, 57% of parents decide not to enroll their children in an expanded learning programs due to high costs for registration. With Think Together’s innovating enrichment accelerators, parents do not need to worry about paying the typical high price that comes along with their children participating in sport or art programs.
By partnering with community organizations like Street Soccer USA and Arts and Learning Conservatory, Think Together, along with the support of our school district partners, have been able to bring in expert coaches to teach students the game of soccer and show them what it takes to put on a theater production.
Arts and Learning Conservatory provided professional theater directors and technical directors who prepared students over the course of four and a half weeks of classes teaching them what it takes to put on a play.
Students not only learned how to embody a character but were also exposed to STEM career skills through the immersive interdisciplinary program.
This program provides hands-on experience in the tech field, such as lighting engineering, sound engineering, coding and functional design.
“A lot of them have never even been on stage, so it’s exciting and rewarding that we get to give them that first experience,” says Cybelle Kaehler, Arts and Learning Conservatory teaching artist. “We taught them a lot about vocal technique, about how to sing, the basics of acting and what it means to pretend to be a character.”
Street Soccer USA coaches worked with Think Together students for eight-to-ten-weeks to prepare them for a culminating soccer tournament. At the elementary level students competed with peers from other schools within their district, something they may not have the opportunity to do until middle or high school.
“The biggest thing with students is sportsmanship, teamwork, relationship building and trusting each other,” says Megan Rucker, Street Soccer USA coach. “Throughout the whole program we’ve been working on skill building, but it really all comes down to being a good teammate and that’s what we get to see out on the field with students. Street Soccer USA has loved working with Think Together.”
Fifth grader Miguel is proud of the work he put into learning the ins and outs of soccer and cultivating how to work together as a team to reach their goal.
“I’ve learned that it’s a hardworking sport and it has helped me improve a lot,” Miguel says. “We put a bunch of work into and hopefully we do good in our game!”
Parents of students have also responded immensely positive to Think Together’s enrichment accelerators. Think Together parent, Judith Quiroz shared how the accelerators are impacting her son Aiden.
“These extra program offerings are great! He looks forward to going to his program every day because it’s something different. It’s a different activity, a different field trip and he just loves it. It’s something great for them to do,” Judith shared.
Think Together is mission focused and aligned with community partners that have been implementing their curriculum and skills into the enrichment accelerator programs. Through strategic partnerships, we strive to build exciting experiences for students that go beyond the regular school day and academics.
Jaclyn Aviles, Senior Strategist and leader of the enrichment accelerator initiative for Think Together says, “It’s important for us to bridge strong intentional partnerships to help provide these experiences to our youth because they demonstrate engagement. Our students show up more to school because they want to be a part of these programs. They give them the skill sets, experiences and tools that they can use as they continue to develop.”
