You can see sports and literacy come together in this video of one of our past annual summer sports camps. Our most recent summer sports and literacy camp offered tennis and basketball training and play to increase the enthusiasm for sports, physical fitness, nutrition, and continued education.

Our Teaching Approach

“Creative curriculum designs, classroom management, student engagement, and teacher-student connections—all very essential for an effective 21st Century afterschool learning experience.” — Nancy Hill McClary, Ph.D.

Our teaching approach promotes a physically and emotionally safe classroom atmosphere. This is maintained by stressing the importance of caring, respect, and empathy. High expectations will be established the first day for every child. Our paced procedures and fun climate do not mimic daytime school. We are very disciplined and purposeful with our teaching.

We aim to achieve visible, high energy in our classrooms and written, verbal, and artistic expressions indicating student empowerment, confidence, and leadership.

How Do We Teach?

Our classrooms operate in 40-minute game-based, physical learning activity modules designed for 15 to 20 students to minimize low engagement and robotic learning while maximizing motivation. Also, students learn in collaborative learning groups to mobilize discussions around an issue.

A&L Afterschool Lesson Guidelines 

• Does Not mirror daytime school curriculum
• Varies with high quality education objectives
• Addresses diverse student learning styles
• Applies real-world game-based scenarios to assignments
• Offers opportunities to provide student review and feedback

Classroom & Summer Camp Activities 

• Reading and reflective real talk discussions
• Learning how to conduct online searches
• Digitally composing persuasive narratives
• Completing STEM curriculum and the Arts! projects
• Creating final showcase writings and artistic expressions
• Participating in culturally relevant state-wide field trip & exploratory tours