Saturday Academy
The Saturday Academy structure consists of 150 minutes of English Language Development (ELD) instruction, 30 minutes of Art, 30 minutes of Social Emotional Support/Self Esteem Building and 30 minutes of Fitness with an emphasis on oral language. Teachers are responsible for the 150 minutes of ELD instruction. The Social Emotional Support is delivered by a social worker, the Art component is conducted by a certificated Art teacher and physical fitness time is delivered by Amazing Athletes.
The Saturday Program runs for 6 consecutive Saturdays. Students attend from 8 a.m. to noon. The last Saturday will be dedicated to showcasing student’s accomplishments through a cultural celebration.
The Saturday Academy Program is offered twice a year in fall and spring for students in kindergarten – 12th grade. Target students for this program are “Level 1” ELPAC and had been in the U.S. two years or less. Instructional focuses are on oral language development, vocabulary development and writing. Class sizes are between 15-25 students in multi-age classrooms with a consideration to age appropriate placement and language proficiency. Approximately 150-180 students attend every Saturday. Each student receives between 1,050 - 1,200 minutes of ELD, 240 minutes of social and emotional support, art, and physical fitness.
The parent component of Saturday Academy is facilitated and/or coordinated by the School Community Resource Assistants and community-based organizations (CBO). Between 16-31 parents regularly attend each workshop and receives a total of 24-28 hours of training. Topics of the workshops includes U.S. school system, graduation requirements, A-G requirements, parent portal, immigration, maintaining healthy relationship, employment pathway, adult education, counseling support, financial assistance for college, and public library services.