By Elizabeth Duffrin/LISC Chicago
On a rainy spring evening at Reavis Elementary in Kenwood, the hallways were lit and bustling. Three seventh-grade girls in cheerleading outfits leapt and waved their pom-poms, shouting, “Hi, welcome to the showcase!”
Nia Brown, right, a Reavis seventh grader, shows off her science display to her mother and her sister.
Down the hall, past the welcome table, a group of adolescents gathered
around a video screen, laughing at images of each other beating out
rhythms on drums or table tops, or chanting original rap songs.
More
than 200 parents turned out on April 21 for an event showcasing Reavis’
Elev8 after-school programs, launched last fall with a grant from The
Atlantic Philanthropies. Kids say the activities – ranging from digital
music, to science experiments, to cheerleading – keep them out of
trouble, help them develop new interests and, in some cases, even
increase motivation for schoolwork.
Principal Michael Johnson
credited the enthusiasm generated by the after-school programs for
boosting parent participation at school events. “I think the children
are inspired, and it rubs off on parents,” he said. “Parents sense that
their children are engaged in some really cool stuff.”
This table holds a variety of projects including an Aztec papier mache mask.
The school’s 15 clubs are aimed primarily at students in the sixth to eighth grades, enrolling 75 for the spring session.
Realizing
that some had babysitting responsibilities which would prevent their
participation, Reavis also arranged activities for 20 of their younger
siblings.
At the Sisters4Science table, seventh-grader Nia
Brown held up a plaster mold of an extinct marine animal. “It’s a
trilobite,” she explained to several onlookers, including her mother.
The
club, led by the non-profit Project Exploration, encourages minority
girls to pursue science careers. Ten Reavis girls learned engineering
principles while constructing a bridge from toothpicks and marshmallows
and discovered the properties of chemical solutions while working with
a research scientist to create their own cosmetics. Nia’s favorite
project: dissecting a sheep’s heart.
Some clubs build on
classroom learning. In an arts-and-crafts club with a history theme,
sixth-grader Eugene Kittler designed a colorful Aztec Mask with
papier-mâché and acrylic paint, using information from his social
studies textbook.
A Reavis art project involved coloring transparent paper to resemble stained glass.
Other
clubs present career possibilities. In a club led by an Art Institute
of Chicago graduate, eighth-grader Montana Wilkins learned about seven
different genres of photography including portraiture, advertising,
photojournalism, and nature photography.
But it was the
digital music club, where he learned sound engineering, which gave him
a new career ambition. “I want to be a music producer,” he said.
Kids
and their parents applauded the programs for providing a positive
influence in an often dangerous neighborhood. Eugene Kittler said that
afterschool activities – he also signed up for acting club and a dance
class – keep kids “motivated and active” and out of the reach of gang
members who congregate near the school.
Anniece Sherrod, whose
seventh-grade son helped design a mural with an environmental theme,
said she liked how the programs build real-life skills, like teamwork.
But “it also helps parents be aware of where their children are after
school,” she said. “That helps a lot."
Connie Thompson, who has
six grandchildren from kindergarten through the seventh grade enrolled
after school, likes that “it gives the children things to think about
other than video [games.]” But more than that, she added, “It helps
these kids know what they can do to fulfill their potential. It helps
them learn what they want to be.”
