Education United States Project #19796

Native American After-School Program

by Native American Advancement Foundation

Project Report | Dec 17, 2015
NAAF After-School Program a Huge Hit!

By Jim Kober | Executive Director

Dear Friends,

Thanks to your support, the 2015 Gu Vo Academic After-School Program has been our strongest to date. Fall semester alone, we served over 2,000 healthy meals to students. This is crucial on such a remote tribal nation where healthy food options are few and far between. Our students love the change of pace with a warm, nutritious dinner each evening during the school week.

We spent the summer meeting with celebrated after-school professionals all over the state of Arizona in an effort to refine our program to be as effective as possible. After months of planning and guidance, our program is thriving, with an average of 32 students per day. We are also incredibly fortunate for the volunteerism of the Gu Vo Youth Leadership Council who, along with our staff, mentor the students daily.

Each after-school session is made up of lessons in math, reading, writing, composition, STEM lessons, tribal culture and tradition, art-and-crafts, and play time. Our students cannot wait to get to the program. In fact, they are so happy with it, we have extended our calendar into winter break, taking our 36-week program to 42 weeks. You, the donor, made this (and so much more) happen!

Refining our after-school program to its current, top-notch state, was only the beginning, as we continue to improve and find new ways to give these underserved kids the lessons and tools needed to break the cycle of poverty on the Tohono O’odham Nation. Please consider making another donation to the Native American Advancement Foundation so we can continue this great program into 2016. The beautiful thing about supporting nonprofits is that every action is meaningful. If you are unable to give, please follow us on Facebook by clicking here and/or subscribe to our newsletter by clicking here and filling in the field on the right side of the page.

We truly cannot express how much your support means to us and our young scholars. Together we can make a meaningful difference for these eager students so many have forgotten.

Sincerely,

Jim Kober, MPA
Executive Director
Native American Advancement Foundation (NAAF)

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Sep 22, 2015
Gu Vo Academic After-School Program 2015 / 2016!!!

By Jim Kober | Executive Director

Dear Friends:

We are excited to share some great news with you. This year our academic after-school program will be held at the local elementary / middle school! Having these facilities will definitely allow us to put on an even stronger program. The number of students attending is expected to skyrocket. Each session will include math, reading, writing, vocabulary, and STEM lessons. Students will also spend time doing arts & crafts, receive tutoring help, and be fed a healthy after-school snack and dinner.

Each student takes a reading, writing, and math assessment at the beginning, middle, and end of the program. Through the educational software Ten Marks (math) and Raz Kids (reading and writing), we are able to track a student's progress and assist where needed. Keeping a close eye on their progress is crucial to helping these young scholars as much as we can.

Setting these students up for success is imperative on a reservation where the dropout rate exceeds 51%. Year after year, we have seen first-hand the love of learning these kids have. Through mixing fun with academic lessons, our after-school program is one the kids can't wait to attend.

Our new partnership with the school will make it much easier for these kids to attend the program. The Tohono O'odham Nation (TON) is vast with wide open spaces in every direction. While these spaces serve as amazing backdrops, they provide transportation challenges. With our program at the school, the kids simply have to walk to the after-school building on campus, learn, have fun, play, eat nutritious food, and catch the school bus home.

Moving forward, it is our hope to partner with other districts on the TON to implement their own after-school programs based on our model, which combines physical and psychological safety, supportive relationships, appropriate structure, opportunities to belong, positive social norms, support for efficacy and mattering, opportunities for skill building, and integration of family, school, and community efforts.

Of course, this program would never be possible without the support of kind donors like yourself. If you can, please support our new and refined academic after-school program. Each dollar makes a world of difference!

With gratitude,

Jim Kober
Executive Director
Native American Advancement Foundation
www.nativeamericanadvancement.org
www.facebook.com/NativeAmericanAdvancementFoundation

Links:

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Jun 22, 2015
Greetings from NAAF!

By Jim Kober | Executive Director

Hello Everyone,

Thanks to your support, the Gu Vo Youth After-School Program, Spring Semester 2015, was a huge success! The students were assisted daily with homework assignments, fed a nutritious snack and dinner, developed their reading, math, and writing skills using learning software and other lessons developed by our tutors and staff. The students also kept journals on a garden they grew. Many STEM lessons came from this garden, and the students were so proud of everything they grew.

Plans to launch an even stronger after-school program this August are in the works. We have been meeting with the directors of Tucson's best after-school programs and working with the University of Arizona and various other local organizations to make our program the best it can be. Also on the horizon for August is a fantastic partnership with the Southern Arizona Research, Science, and Engineering Foundation (SARSEF). SARSEF will send one of their scientist to our after-school program to teach the kids how to research, develop, and bring to life a science fair project to be entered in the annual SARSEF Science Fair at the Tucson Community Center in April. We are so excited to see the great projects these creative, bright, young minds bring to life.

As always, the survival of this program depends on the generosity of donors like yourself. If you are thinking of making a donation somewhere, please consider the Gu Vo Youth After-School Program by clicking below. This remote area of Arizona receives little to no financial support. A dropout rate of over 51% continues to be the norm. The second largest Native American tribe, the Tohono O'odham has the highest rate of adult onset diabetes in the world, with some figures stating over 70% of all Tribal adults suffer from the disease. Through our programs, NAAF is teaching the youth there is a prosperous life ahead through education, hard work, and nutritious eating.

With your support, these underserved kids are truly on the move to accomplish big things.

All the best,

Jim Kober, Executive Director

Native American Advancement Foundation

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