Heads Up Programs
The Heads Up Tutoring & Life Skills Program (Heads Up) is an informal education program offering academic assistance and social development for K-12 children living in public housing complexes in east-Lafayette. What makes Heads Up unique is its location in a clubhouse where our families live, eliminating the challenge of
transportation. Heads Up offers a three fun and engaging programs for children in the Heads Up community. At Heads Up, we place an emphasis on encouraging skill development, normalizing ambition, and supporting autonomy.
Heads Up Aims
At Heads Up, we aim to support students in achieving their potential as young scholars in control of their own learning. We aim to achieve this by:Encouraging skill development
We work with students to set and academic goals and celebrate each student in a unique way when they achieve their goals.
Normalizing ambition
Too often do our students get messages that wanting to be their best is not something to strive for. At Heads Up, we set high and achievable expectations for our students so they have a place where it’s normal to want to grow, improve, and be their best self.
Supporting autonomy
Acknowledging that we only students only spend a fraction of their time with us, we work to help students build habits for success that are useful throughout their learning journey. Specifically, we build habits for reading, note taking, skills practice, and time-management.
Heads Up Programs
We host aftershool programming for students throought the year. See below for more information about our 3 programsHeads Up Homework Club
The Homework Club meets 2-3 times weekly afterschool in the clubhouse of our site. Community and Purdue volunteers work individually and in groups with students to complete their homework and practice academic skills. Students complete homework or an educational learning activity, read, play an educational game, and have free time. We also share two healthy snacks together. Students earn points for attending, completing work, developing skills, and good behavior. Each month, students with enough points are invited to a fun activity like going to a fair or trampoline park.
Heads Up Teen Mentoring Program
The Teen Mentoring Program serves teens aged 13-18 years. Teens are paired with a college mentor who supports their life skill development. Large group meetings occur monthly where mentees learn a new skill, like goal setting or career exploration, then we all do a fun task together. Mentor-mentee pairs meet 1+ times each month to practice our life skill of the month and engage in an activity together.
Heads Up Sunny Days
Sunny Days is a summer program that operates June-July during our studnets’ summer break. Meeting twice each week, we provide a meal for students, work in the garden, and engage in a life skill activity. We typically collaborate with Purdue Extension to offer sessions on nutrition and physical activity. Additional life skills such as conflict resolution, hair care, mental health, money management, and many more are taught by staff or volunteer speakers.
