Applications are open for more than 400 world-class programs being offered this fall through After School Matters®. Teens should act quickly as the 11-week fall session begins this week.
Program opportunities are free and are available for nearly 7,000 Chicago teens in the arts, communications and leadership, sports and STEM. Interested teens can apply by visiting afterschoolmatters.org.
All fall programs are paid apprenticeships and internships, and participants will earn a stipend between $275 and $750, depending on the length of time and level of expertise required for the program.
“It’s important to give our teens outlets to explore topics that interest them and allow them to express themselves in productive ways and also teach them skills they can apply in college and their future careers,” After School Matters Chief Programs Officer Tony Diaz said in a statement. “Our young people are still experiencing increased stress and mental health issues due to the pandemic and other issues they face in their day to day lives and we want to ensure they have safe spaces to learn and grow.”
Programs offer hands-on, project-based learning opportunities facilitated by highly skilled instructor-mentors. Teens who need access to technology will be able to acquire devices through After School Matters.
After School Matters programs have been an important part of helping teens deal with stress and mental health issues post pandemic. Services offered to teens were tailored to meet youth and community needs, offering social-emotional supports, and filling the education gap with remote options.
This year, results from a report in partnership between After School Matters and American Institutes for Research (AIR), found the importance of relationships teens develop with their peers and instructors, and that programs designed to create strong connections can improve a teens’ sense of well-being and hopefulness for the future, and reduce their stress.
A few of the programs offered this fall include:
Advanced Culinary Arts: Teens will learn new culinary skills and perfect their basic techniques. Participants receive the training necessary to obtain jobs in the culinary hospitality industry or simply to prepare healthy and sustainable meals for themselves and their families. Teens also learn the arts and techniques of cake decorating, table setting and catering for large groups.
Affirming You: Self-Love Bootcamp: Teens will participate in an integrative, social-emotional learning program led by holistic practitioners, artists, young people and community leaders. Participants meet virtually and focus on inspiring topics that empower them in all aspects of their lives, using art therapy, journaling, group discussion, meditation and more. The program concludes with a community mural designed by participants in collaboration with a local artist.
Astronomy & Space: Teens will learn about urban astronomy and celestial bodies by viewing and discussing space-themed films, conducting physics experiments, studying NASA and manned space travel/rocketry, as they learn about careers in the astronomy and space field. By the end of the session, teens will be prepared to present and display newly gained astronomical knowledge to their friends and their family.
Code Your Dreams: Teens will learn to build technical projects that make a difference in their communities. Participants will create their own mobile app developed using App Inventor and learn skills to continue solving big problems with code. The curriculum introduces teens to some of today’s fastest-growing roles in technology, including project management, user experience research and design, software development and marketing.
Design.Build.Grow.Eat: Teens will explore the connections between people and nature and learn about the process of farming and the concept of whole food – strengthening their knowledge of the environment and their ability to make a positive impact on it to create peace and produce.
Game Design: Teens will learn the fundamental concepts of game design and development through play, analysis and game making. Participants will play and analyze existing games (digital and analog) and then create new ones based on the knowledge they gathered in the program.
Les Enfants Dance: Teens will be exposed to dance as an art form, professional opportunity and tool of expression. Participants will learn a variety of dance styles, foster personal artistic growth and professional discipline through this program.
Yollocalli La Mesita: Radio & Live Stream: Teens will explore and narrate the stories of their communities through journalism, audio and radio production. Participants learn production skills while gaining the tools necessary to be civic community journalists and storytellers. They work as a team to research a story, often interviewing community members, local artists and fellow teens in the process. Teen’s work is peer-edited and published in various media outlets. Participants produce a weekly radio show that is broadcast on FM airwaves through a partnership with a local radio station.
Teens can search and apply for in-person and remote fall programs at afterschoolmatters.org.
All After School Matters programs are free and open to Chicago high school students who are at least 14 years old (16 for internships). As part of the application process, teens interview with program instructors to discuss their interests.
For questions about programs and applications, call 312-768-5200 or email applications@afterschoolmatters.org. Para mas informaciónen Español llámenos al 312-846-7106 o mándenos un correo electrónico al espanol@afterschoolmatters.org.
For more information, visit www.afterschoolmatters.org.