After School Academy

Nurture. Educate. Inspire!

Students in classroom

ESF Dream Camp’s After School Academy (ASA) is much more than after-school care – it’s holistic enrichment and long-term mentor support for the students who need it most. By sixth grade, children without access to out-of-school time (OST) programs have spent an average of 6,000 fewer hours learning than their middle-class peers, a gap that is extremely difficult to recover (source: ExpandED Schools).

Student writing paper

For our youngest students, ASA offers a safe home base during the critical hours between 3:00 and 5:00pm. Our scholars gain confidence and life skills while engaging in a wide range of experiences, and they have fun doing it! For elementary school students, ASA offers:

  • 1:6 mentor-to-student ratio
  • Homework support
  • Music and movement classes 
  • Sports, like soccer and martial arts
  • Painting, drawing, and sculpture
  • STEM activities in topics like marine biology and engineering
  • Community service projects
  • Theme weeks, “challenge” events, and awards

Our highly-qualified, caring mentors support their students every step of the way. And since we know that deep, transformational student-teacher bonds take time to build, we welcome our scholars back to ASA every year, automatically, until they graduate from high school.

Students working on a project
Students painting

As our students grow, ASA engages scholars with evening and weekend workshops. Our middle- and high-school scholars enjoy activities like:

  • Check-ins with mentors who know them well and are invested in their success
  • Workshops on topics like conflict resolution, financial literacy, cooking and more
  • Social opportunities, like our annual overnight camping trip, reunions and more!