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.

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

  • Regular check-ins with mentors who know them well and are invested in their success
  • Academic advising, SAT prep, and college application support
  • Workshops on topics like conflict resolution and mindfulness
  • STEM activities
  • Book club
  • Social opportunities, like our annual overnight camping trip, reunions and more!