Vassar After School Tutoring (VAST) is an academic enrichment and mentoring program housed at Poughkeepsie Middle School since 2003. Each semester, approximately 50 Vassar College student mentors are paired one-on-one with 50 Poughkeepsie Middle School students in grades 6-8 to help with homework and developing academic and literacy skills. VAST mentors also lead enrichment activities for the scholars on topics of their choice, such as writing a literary magazine, cooking new foods, exploring hip-hop and social justice, and participating in meditation and conflict resolution. All VAST activities are designed to build students’ self-confidence, foster collaboration and teamwork, promote student achievement and academic excellence, and prepare students for leadership roles in school and the community. VAST occurs at Poughkeepsie Middle School on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays afterschool. Once a month, VAST scholars and families are invited to Vassar College to participate in a community event. For example, in the fall of 2013, VAST hosted a squash skills workshop with the Vassar Squash team, a science experiment demonstration with a Vassar Chemistry Professor, a tour of the Vassar art museum led by student docents, and a field trip to a computer lab in the Vassar library to teach scholars how to write on a blog. In the spring of 2014, VAST will organize a Career Night panel with various professionals from different fields to prompt the scholars to consider their future plans, as well as a college readiness workshop for 8th grade students to learn what they can do in high school to prepare for college. 8th grade students who graduate from VAST have the option of enrolling in Exploring College as high school freshmen. Check out the VAST Scholars blog to learn more about what we do at VAST and read some of our scholar work. For more information about VAST, contact [email protected]
