Program

SquashScholars is an after school academic enrichment program for middle and high school students. Our mission is to promote academic, physical, and personal development for under-served inner city youth.

Our students are bused to the University of Minnesota Rec. Center for program participation after school on Mondays and Wednesdays. On Saturdays we hold field trips, do community service projects, practice squash, or have special squash events. Weekday sessions are organized as split sessions, with one-half of the students on the squash courts and the other half in the classroom. Midway through the two-hour session, the two groups switch places, so that each student has court time and class time each day. Occasionally, a student chooses extra classroom time to complete homework or a special assignment.

SquashScholars has two squash instructors on the courts for each weekday session. With six players on the courts at one time, the student/coach ratio is three to one. In the classroom, we maintain a one to one ratio of students to tutors. Six or seven academic tutors attended each weekday session in addition to our academic coordinator. Homework help is the primary activity throughout the year. In the spring, practice versions of the standardized tests for reading, writing, and math are used to help students prepare for the formal testing. We also work with faculty and staff from the University of Minnesota’s College of Education and Human Development, School of Public Health, and Augsburg’s Department of Education to augment our materials and methods.