After School
ARISE Offers High-Quality Youth Development Curricula for After School Programs
Members of the DC Boys and Girls Club with ARISE Trainer Judy Lyons (in white shirt on the far left) after an ARISE Life Skills Instructor Training in 2006
Why must learning end when the final school bell has rung? Today more than ever, after school programs are crucial in creating student success. ARISE with over 20 years of experience engaging disengaged youth offers after school programs a wide variety of positive social and safety activities. Enriching youth development opportunities await those children who normally struggle through a day at school. ARISE interactive group lessons bring out the best in those suffering from habitually poor academic achievement. Sentences are short, no big words, even type faces are large and easy to read. Youngsters who have difficulty with reading are helped by jump reading exercises. No one is ever put on the spot. ARISE groups focus on participation, not put downs or competition.
Making a difference in the lives of youth
According to the National School Boards Association, “A burgeoning research base tells us that for after school programs to make a real difference in the lives of young people, the programs must do much more than simply fill the hours when school is out” (NSBA 2005). ARISE will do just that! In two decades of hands-on experience with disadvantaged populations, ARISE materials have a proven record of success when utilized by the following youth facilities and programs: public, charter, and alternative schools, Girls and Boys Clubs, After-School All-Stars, parks and recreation departments, school resource officers, juvenile justice departments, departments for children and family services, Salvation Army chapters, homeless shelters, churches, and more.
ARISE life skills curriculum makes it easy for program/facility administrators to construct a beneficial program for the often disadvantaged, at-risk, troubled, and transient populations of young people in their care. First, ARISE lessons do not build on one another, and children new to ARISE groups ease into activities comfortably because everyone starts fresh on the same page at the same time.
Second, program/facility administrators find that ARISE fills a void for high-risk youth because they are able to explore interesting topics in non-confrontational but structured group settings. A sampling of ARISE topics includes: anger and conflict management, self-esteem, dropout prevention, social skills, health and hygiene, good nutrition, preventive health care, and 250 other positive life skills lessons. Each ARISE life skill lesson is specifically designed to provide approximately 50-60 minutes of interactive learning activities. As a result, each young participant gains the value of knowing that as they express themselves in ARISE small groups, their opinion matters and counts for something.
Your own books – your way!
ARISE also can create insightful custom curricula with the same easily understood life skills curricula for your after school program. To learn more, visit our Custom Books page.
A stellar partnership with After-School All-Stars
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger with ARISE Co-Founder Edmund Benson at an After-School All-Stars event.
In 1993, Arnold Schwarzenegger created the After-School All-Stars Program, currently located in 14 cities across America. ARISE curricula and life skills training has been used in many of these locations with documented success. This has been particularly true in Miami. Since 1998, ARISE has provided one and often two custom designed curricula each year for the South Florida After-School All-Stars on topics such as developing positive life style habits to learning life skills through drama through our book ARISE On Stage. When now California Governor Schwarzenegger met the ARISE founders Edmund and Susan Benson, he pointed his finger at them and said, “I’m going to tell the world about your wonderful program.”
Testimonials from South Florida After-School All-Stars
Other after school program partners
In addition to the After-School All-Stars, ARISE has been used over the years by the Miami Dade Parks Department and summer camps. We have been told when kids are finished with athletics and games that ARISE group activities provide a welcome respite for the children and instructors. “We never run out of ARISE material, so the kids don’t become bored.”
Need more info
Are you interested in getting the right ARISE materials for your after school program? Would you like us to design a custom book compiling interesting lessons into a convenient package? For more information on how you can use ARISE curriculum for your after school program, feel free to contact us.
