Serving students in sixth through eighth grades, the Y’s SONYC After-School Program at Columbia Secondary School aims to foster deep partnerships within the Columbia Secondary School (CSS) community. As such, it partners with the school’s faculty, families, and students in order to provide a well-rounded program to middle school students during its after-school hours.

By embracing our participants’ ability to explore their world, they discover passions and learn to strengthen their community. Through a diverse selection of program offerings that follow a Project Based Learning (PBL) framework, participants explore and showcase their learnings. The program supports enrichment learning in STEM, literacy, leadership development, the arts, physical fitness and healthy living, academic support, and more through our school-year program. Academic support includes homework help and small group tutoring.

Examples of activities provided by the Y’s SONYC After-School Program at CSS:

• Math and language skills enrichment
• College preparation
• Project-based explorations in which students apply and expand upon STEM-related concepts being taught during the school day (Enrichment / STEM)
• Social-emotional learning and academic excellence through activities that support the full range of students’ growth and development, including autonomy and independence, sense of purpose, and problem solving, which are indicators of personal and academic success, as well as empowering leadership and independent thinking (Leadership Development).
• Project-based arts classes, such as photography, animation, life drawing, and graphic arts (Enrichment/Arts).
• Physical fitness and healthy living instruction that includes CHAMPS, a physical education program that offers both traditional and non-traditional sports and fitness activities for middle school students: an aquatics program that provides swim instruction (Physical Fitness / Healthy Living), cheerleading, volleyball, rugby, and more.

The program is open to Columbia Secondary School students and runs Monday through Friday during the school year, from  2:30 – 5:30 p.m.

The Y’s SONYC After-School Program at Columbia Secondary School is a New York City Department of Youth and Community Development funded program.