Project-Based Afterschool Program (K-8)
An affordable afterschool solution that saves teachers time (and sanity).
Learning doesn’t have to stop when the school day ends. Whether you’re combatting learning loss, running an afterschool club, or providing wraparound services for students, it can be tough to find high-quality resources that any teacher can use to accelerate learning without requiring hours of prep time.
But what if your staff had a simple way to create flexible learning experiences that are memorable, meaningful, and fun?
ESSR and EANs funds are available for afterschool programming, but it’s still hard to build a plan and design a curriculum that meets your needs. We can help! We can create your afterschool program where students have fun, meet learning targets, and interact positively with your community.
Learn how we can help!
MI Public Schools: 98C funding is available for afterschool programming, but to be eligible LEAs must apply to the MDE no later than November 30, 2022. Let us help!
Our Approach
Project-Based Learning provides an engaging and motivating experience for teachers and students alike, and with Blue Apple’s ready-to-use PBL units, your staff can implement incredible projects in an afterschool setting — projects your students and your teachers will love!
- Sustained Inquiry
- Intrinsic Engagement
- Thoughtful Collaboration
- Real-World Application
- Iterative Thinking
- Cross-Curricular Connections
- Authentic Audiences
- Student Choice
How We Can Help
Blue Apple offers project plans and supplies, provides coaching for staff, and can deliver world-class professional development to make sure your staff are comfortable and confident with the projects. These PBL experiences are flexible to meet a variety of educational settings — and our project coaches are always ready to help!
1. PBL Projects
Blue Apple projects are fully developed PBL learning experiences that teachers can implement easily. Teachers can choose from 10 highly engaging projects all designed to engage students in making the world a better place. They’ll receive practical project plans and physical supplies so they can focus on what they do best — teach!
2. Professional Development
Blue Apple can support your staff with customizable resources to make sure their PBL experience thrives. We recommend the following supports to help teachers flourish all year long:
1-Hour Project Selection Session
Make sure your afterschool teachers have projects they love, and that they have access to all their online plans and physical supplies. Ideally, we would conduct this at least one week before your programming begins.
3-Hour Blue Apple Implementation Workshop
Discover the extensive resources and supports that Blue Apple offers, and learn how to implement projects in a way that meets your unique goals.
Office Hour Check-Ins
Make sure your teachers get support as the year goes on by scheduling Office Hour Check-Ins; this is a great way to provide your staff with ongoing support. We recommend 2-8 hours of check-ins throughout the school year.
Optional: 3-Hour Introduction to PBL Workshop
If you’re interested in helping your afterschool staff understand Project-Based Learning so that they can use this powerful practice throughout the year, we recommend this engaging half-day professional development opportunity to help them deepen their understanding (and gain practical tips and tricks!).
Optional: 1-Hour Customized Content Sessions
Choose from Blue Apple’s wide variety of Professional Development offerings to hone in on specific areas you’d like to address.
Topics include:
- Collaboration
- Real-World Expert Connections
- Integrating Content
- Managing PBL
- Assessment in PBL
- Public Products
- Social-Emotional Learning and PBL
Are you ready to reimagine afterschool programming at your school?
At Van Andel Institute for Education, our mission is to create classrooms where curiosity, creativity, and critical thinking thrive. We NEVER want cost to be a prohibiting factor in quality education for students or teachers. If price ever becomes an issue, please let us know. We may be able to help!
