21st Century After School STEM Program: Real World Academy Thrives

Two years ago, the 21st Century Community Learning Centers (CCLC) grant was awarded to Communities In Schools of Atlanta by the Georgia Department of Education. The federally funded grant supports the 21st Century After School STEM Program named the Real World Academy. The Real World Academy is a comprehensive academic program that encompasses an overall goal of ensuring student success and increasing academic achievements, including passing Math courses and accomplishing an overall GPA of 70 or higher.

The year- round Real World Academy provides academic support (in the areas of English, Social Studies, Math, and Science), college and career readiness, financial literacy, and a STEM based project-based curriculum to students. During the 2018 – 2019 academic school year, Communities In Schools of Atlanta served 90 students from Bear Creek Middle School (60 students) and Creekside High School (30 students).

Recently, three Creekside High School sophomores, and aspiring engineers who want to attend Georgia Institute of Technology post-graduation, self-built a VEX Robot in just three weeks! This project fostered team building, communication and collaboration. Each student, who is also in the AVID (Advancement Via Individual Achievement) program, played a different role in building the robot. Now rising juniors, these three young men are hopeful that the VEX Robot they built will be entered into their first robotics competition during the 2019 – 2020 academic school year.

Most amazing, 9th grader from Bear Creek Middle School who participated in the Real World Academy recently achieved an unprecedented perfect score of 100 on her End of Course Exam in 9th grade English!

On Thursday, May 17, 2019, the Real World Academy end of the year STEM Family Tailgate celebration was hosted at Creekside High School. The students and their parents enjoyed complimentary food, an on-site game truck and

family-oriented STEM games fostering parent and student collaboration! The end of the year STEM Family Tailgate celebration was fun. However, STEM fun isn’t over as students have an opportunity to attend the Real World Academy during summer vacation, too!