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The South/ Southwest Branch of After School Matter is proud to launch a pilot program (Discover ASM Experience) specifically focusing on current 8th grade students in their last semester of elementary school. This pilot consist of 2 levels of participation, which include both virtual and in-person opportunities for your 8th grade students.

After School Matters is partnering with the Juvenile Detention Center to provide a 5-day mural arts program the week of 4/11. 12 teens will work virtually with world class artist Jeff Maldonado to create art projects for teens to artistically express themselves and help beautify their space. This program is not open to the public and the pod of teens is selected by JDC staff. If you have any questions please contact ASM Program Manager Chris Nergaard @ christopher.nergaard@afterschoolmatters.org; 312-217-6522.

Join us for 4 fun days of wellness and recreation at Chicago State University. Let’s Get Moving is a spring immersion in partnership with Chicago State University, After School Matters and Chicago Park District. Each day students will participate in activities that promote wellness and education while having fun with their peers. Teens will earn a stipend upon program completion.

In this program you collaborate with one of this City's premiere artists to take part in a mural creation. Plan and create a beautiful piece of art that will be displayed for hundreds of people to admire.

Virtual:Be a Peacemaker! Work with other teens to stop the violence and make a positive contribution to your community. Teen Peacemakers learn about the peace building process, reflect on their communities, recognize their roles as peacemakers, and design a project to spread the message of peace. The project will conclude with an opportunity for teens to showcase their accomplishments along with youth from around the city of Chicago. Teens will gain an understanding of the peace making process and youth empowerment. Through this program, teens will build skills in civic engagement, develop leadership skills, and build a sense of community.

Virtual:Be a Peacemaker! Work with other teens to stop the violence and make a positive contribution to your community. Teen Peacemakers learn about the peace building process, reflect on their communities, recognize their roles as peacemakers, and design a project to spread the message of peace. The project will conclude with an opportunity for teens to showcase their accomplishments along with youth from around the city of Chicago. Teens will gain an understanding of the peace making process and youth empowerment. Through this program, teens will build skills in civic engagement, develop leadership skills, and build a sense of community.

Teens learn, discuss, and demonstrate the socio economic qualities within American filmmaking. Through this program teens gain a better understanding of how film plays into the socio economic policies of America, as well as how it represents narratively on screen.

Virtual with In-Person mandatory field trip(s). Stipend based. After School Matters University (ASMU) provides teens with opportunities to discover their potential and explore their future. ASMU provides Chicago area freshmen and sophomores with an opportunity to explore post-secondary pathways and encourages youth to envision a successful college or career pathway. This program is dedicated to breaking down real and perceived barriers that stop CPS teens from pursuing a degree, a trade, or career. The goal of this pre-apprenticeship is to create a safe, supportive space for participants to reflect on their passions, learn about various college and career options, and map out the next step toward those opportunities.

Virtual with In-Person mandatory field trip(s). Stipend based. After School Matters University 2.0 (ASMU) provides teens with opportunities to discover their potential and explore their future. ASMU 2.0 provides Chicago area juniors and seniors with an opportunity to prepare to achieve their post-secondary goals and encourages youth to access and breakdown barriers to their college or career pathway. The goal of this pre-apprenticeship is to create a safe, supportive space for participants to engage their passions, prepare for college and career success, and connect to networks like the After School Matters Alumni Network.

Have you wondered why it took so long to send a Woman into Space? Or Latinx or African Americans and other people of color? In our Two Week Immersion program, we will discuss this inequity of early and current space travel and the pioneers who broke the barriers of space exploration discrimination - on the ground and in space.

The Civic Studios immersion program is an online experience focused on digital media and civic engagement. Be a part of Civic Studios' creative team and work with professional artists to produce media content to promote a community cause. The program is a studio experience in which every teen is assigned a role in the production. Teens have the opportunity to connect with industry professionals and learn the art of film production, graphic design, and music recording.

The Civic Studios immersion program is a live studio experience focused on digital media and civic engagement. Be a part of Civic Studios' creative team and work with professional artists to produce media content to promote a community cause. The program is a studio experience in which every student is assigned a role in the production. Students will have the opportunity to connect with industry professionals and learn the art of film production, graphic design, and music recording.

Mix your tech and creative skills together to design and build electronic project. Students will use lights, servo motors, Arduinos and more to bring their ideas into reality. Participants will be able to design circuits and code them in Java using the Arduino platform. This program is designed to focus on students interested in coding, electronics, lights, and servo motors so they can learn to incorporate all these components into one project.

Do you enjoy creating and improving logo designs on a computer? Have you ever dreamed of running your own business? Do you consider yourself an Entrepreneur? Then you need to join us for Chicago Military Academy-Bronzeville’s Creation Team with After School Matters. Here you will learn the fundamentals of creating a product, marketing it for consumption, and storing and maintaining your inventory in a store setting.

Creative Writing's Spring Immersion will focus on diving into various aspects that make up human identity, as well as writing about, discussing, and analyzing those findings about one's self and the society around them.

Teens will develop basic culinary skills in baking and savory dishes preparing them for future jobs in the culinary field and or enabling them to prepare simple meals at home.

Joins us during this immersion program to learn more about the cultivation of foods and its impact! Learn new recipes and techniques while standing up for causes you believe in.

In this program you will explore and celebrate the many ways that dance and movement have been used to uplift social justice and change the world. Teens will reflect on and share the issues that they care about and build community & solidarity through dance activities, discussions, video showings, and final teen-created dance projects.

Learn how fashion can play a major role in social justice movements. In this program you will be able to show your creativity and show up for a cause. During this immersion program we will go over fashion sizing equality. We will look at how fashion can be accessible to all people and you will get to design and begin to construct your own equitable sized items.

Spring Immersion

Test your dance skill and expand your dance experience in this special program designed to challenge you physically and artistically. Learn exciting choreography and work with inspiring instructors and teens to create a dance that will inspire and move you. Come ready to dance!

Test your dance skill and expand your dance experience in this special program designed to challenge you physically and artistically. Learn exciting choreography and work with inspiring instructors and students to create a dance that will inspire and move you. Come ready to dance!

Food Access. Food Justice. Beautification! What is whole food? How do I grow it myself? Can I make a difference in my local community? Yes you can! Come and get your hands dirty! Join us as we take a deep dive into all of this together.

Join Girls Inc of Chicago’s Bold Girls Society for Spring Break as they gather for a ‘State of Our Youth’ summit! Here, you will catalogue critical conversations around youth citizenship in Chicago at this current moment – What issues do young Chicagoans face in 2022? What current events and trends impact Chicago youth? Who are young influencers on the Chicago scene? What are youth perspectives on the state of our communities? This program will be focused on developing content and producing a podcast miniseries that summarizes your findings. This will be the first of an annual project to document history in the making!

IN PERSON / VAX REQUIRED. Do you have a side hustle you want to take to the next level? Teens will dive into a variety of workshops, field trips, and activities all about running a small business. From product costs to using social media, you’ll end the program with the needed skills and tools to propel your business to the next level. Teens should have a business/side hustle they are actively pursuing, or solid plans about what type of business you want to create and the passion to start working on it now.

Interested in learning about how graphic design and social justice come together? "Designing For a Cause" will educate teens on the role of design in various social justice movements, causes, etc. Teens will be able to create their own informative brochures, mock protest signs, posters, or mini publications based off of a social justice theme of their choosing with approval of the instructor.

Do you want to express your thoughts, concerns, and ideas about the news stories of the day? Are you concerned about your rights and the rights of others being jeopardized? Now so you want to express your concern and ideas in a creative way using music & dramatic expression? Then this is the immersion program for you!!

In a world filled with confusion, chaos, and distractions it can be easy for us to put on a disguise and not show up in the world as our authentic self. When you begin to peel back the layers of who you are and develop your character traits, then you will become a great contributor to the world. Kreative Krew Kreating You will provide you with the tools you need!!

Spring Immersion

learn the basics of Manicures, Pedicures, waxing, sanitation and how to get started in this 7 billion dollar business.

Explore nature in the city, participate in hands-on scientific investigations, and learn about career paths in ecology, environmental science, and conservation! Join us this spring break at the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum to learn more about the plants, animals, and other aspects of nature and our environment that we share our city with. Each day will cover a different topic in nature and urban ecology, and you’ll have a chance to learn different field methods that help us document and learn more about nature right here in Chicago. The Nature Museum will be our home base, but we will get to spend most of our time outside, investigating the parkland and other ecosystems around the museum.

No Longer Hidden explores the contributions of minorities in STEM fields and the obstacles they faced was a result of social injustices. Teens learn and conduct experiments about little known advances in science and medicine that were made by minority groups.

This program will introduce students to learn the basics of composition, manual exposure, and lighting, using DSLR cameras and professional lighting equipment. The Digital lab will do several exercises that focus on one aspect of the exposure triangle – shutter, aperture, and ISO – as well as always focusing manually. We will shoot at dusk and at night to experience different color temperatures, as well as shoot objects close-up. Students will learn how to create either themed or abstract photographs through the use of a slow shutter or framing.

Discover your Simple Good through the power of photography and impact your community. In this program you will learn about how your photography can be turned into Art Activism. This dynamic practice combines the creative power of the arts to move people emotionally with the strategic goal of social change.

Scenography: Introduction to Principles of Theatrical Set Design: This course will take you through the life of a Scenic Designer, where you will be able to draft up your own original drawing of a theme park or set design of your choice. You will learn about artists that are storytellers and become one yourself.

Explore the world of scent by creating your own one of a kind natural perfumes and colognes. This unique class offers teens the opportunity to learn about the science and art of fragrance creation from a professional perfumer through engaging, hands-on activities.

This fast-paced experimental comics program will involve creating an original comic about a social justice issue. You will decide on a topic and determine how to share your point-of-view through text and imagery. This immersion program is perfect if you are interested in comics, social issues, and self publishing your artwork!

Interested in acting, scriptwriting, and guitar lessons- in this program you will develop your acting practice that is simple, naturalist, and powerful. You will have the opportunity to develop writing skills for creating monologues, plays, and TV scripts. Experience is not necessary. All you need is a desire to learn a creative process that leads to a vibrant, awake artist.

Tumbling into Fitness introduces teens to tumbling skills that include conditioning and flexibility exercises and strength training. Teens also study nutrition and learn to create healthy meal plans for themselves and their families. Teens work together to plan and execute a "Family Fitness Night" as a culmination of all they learn - a night of games and health exhibits for their friends and families.

In this program you will learn about preparing a college art portfolio, college, career options, and life after high school. We will develop goals and discover resources that will help you reach them.