During one of three sessions of open gym at Pottruck Health and Fitness Center in July, a 6’5” rising sophomore from Furness High School—aspiring to play basketball in college—shot hoops full-court with a group of Penn students. Caroline Watts, director of the Office for School and Community Engagement (OSCE), watched on the sidelines as she saw the connective tissue of a new five-year program, the Academy at Penn, begin to form.
“What stands out to me [from this summer] is all the connections made across groups, among people who didn’t know each other—and kids who weren’t even in the program,” says Watts, who leads Penn GSE’s involvement in the program.
The Academy at Penn is a five-year program in partnership among Penn GSE, the national nonprofit Foundations, Inc., the School District of Philadelphia, and the Consortium for Policy Research in Education, funded by an $8 million gift from philanthropist Robert Schwartz. This summer, a team of support staff and graduate students from Penn GSE kicked off the Academy at Penn with an intensive four-week summer program that engaged 50 rising second-years from School of the Future and Furness High School. The responsive partnership program, designed with a high staff-to-student ratio, applies a holistic structure that weaves together academic preparation, career exploration, and personal growth—emphasizing well-being while identifying and strengthening students’ existing skillsets.
Summer activities varied: The students participated in job shadowing at Urban Outfitters’ headquarters in the Navy Yard; received academic instruction in math, language arts, and science; conducted a budgeting exercise incorporating real-life scenarios; toured La Salle and Swarthmore campuses; engaged in team-building exercises during a field trip to the Poconos; and learned about veterinary medicine through a hands-on presentation from Penn Vet. Students completed a final project designing a VR gallery space, sharing their summer experiences in collaboration with the Penn GSE VR Lab. Their home base for the summer program was at Penn GSE.
At the core of these activities is an intention to aid students in understanding their strengths and interests, then mapping those skills onto potential college or career paths.
“The goal is to provide each student who participates the holistic supports that meet their individual needs, so that they graduate from high school with a pathway to college or to a career that is meaningful to them and their goal,” explains Watts.
(Photo credit: Scott Spitzer)
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