Program – SaturdayPlace

STUDENT RESULTS & ACHIEVEMENT

Saturday Place has real, proven benefits. Our students not only improve their academic performance, but maintain their improvements as they advance through higher grades.

Our students may arrive performing as the lowest in their classroom, however by the end of the academic year, our students minimally demonstrate:

An independent program evaluation of Saturday Place by Loyola University School of Education identified a wide range of benefit for students:

– Improved academic performance and academic self-sufficiency
– Student development in key social-emotional learning domains.
– Greater reading and math growth on national standardized tests
among program alumni in 5th and 6th grades
– Increased desire among students to attend college
– Improved relationship skills at home and in school
– Cultivation of a healthy sense of self-awareness and self-esteem

Success Stories

HOW SATURDAY PLACE WORKS

Saturday Place is an academic enhancement program for 3rd and 4th grade Chicago public school students who are performing at least a year behind grade level. Our mission is to enable our students—most of whom come from disadvantaged backgrounds—to reach their full academic and personal potential.

The two-year program focuses on boosting academic performance in core skills (reading and comprehension, writing, and math). Participating students come to Saturday Place every Saturday during the academic year for a half day of exciting hands-on learning and discovery.

But Saturday Place is about much more than just academics. We’ve chosen to hold our programs on university campuses to make college education feel like a real possibility for our kids. In addition, we offer field trips and other inspiring programs to empower them to envision lives and careers beyond their impoverished communities.

Learning Centers and Curriculum

Learning is not the same for everyone. Saturday Place recognizes these differences and teaches students how to learn. With practical learning skills, Saturday Place alumni have begun to learn on par with their peers academically, and in some cases, surpassed them.

Reading Fluency and Reading Comprehension
Reading activities focus on higher-level critical thinking questions to engage students’ interest and sharpen their reading comprehension skills.
Writing
Writing activities are designed to help students discover how to identify patterns within words to enable them read and write the words correctly.
Math
Math concepts become concrete and real for kids through a combination of fun kinesthetic, visual, sensory, and repetition strategies to build proficiency and confidence in math computation.

Student Selection

Saturday Place provides certain criteria to the schools to make sure we are helping students in most need of academic help. Students are screened and ultimately chosen by their school principal and teachers.

Family Commitment

The success of our students heavily depends on family commitment. Successful students are those whose families ensure their kids attend all Saturday sessions and benefit most from the program.

Typical Schedule

The program meets on Saturdays for half a day during the CPS school-year.

8:00 AM School Pick-Up
8:45 AM Arrival and Breakfast
9:00 AM Center Rotations: Reading, Writing, and Math
11:30 AM Lunch & Recess
12:30 PM Science & Integrated Projects
1:30 PM Dismissal
2:00 PM School Drop-Off