Study Space at Empowerment Academy Helped Teens Succeed - 2024 Annual Report

With your support, students were able to get their homework done and connect with tutors for extra help

Thanks to you, students attending Empowerment Academy had a quiet place to study after school.
(Photo credit - Teen Services)

Students need a quiet place to focus on homework– but for many, this space isn’t available in their homes. Noisy younger siblings want to play after school, not study. There might not be a quiet corner for a desk. Pets need care.

Add the lure of a video game and the ever-present buzz of a cell phone, and it’s easy to set aside schoolwork. Your generosity helped make possible the Empowerment Academy, an after-school program on the Sonoma High campus where teens were able to find their focus.

Open two afternoons per week, Empowerment Academy offered a space with plenty of tables and chairs, making it an ideal place for group and solo study. It’s been a welcome oasis of calm for Evelyn, whose four-year-old sister and eight-year-old brother demanded attention as soon as she got home from school.

“It’s a quiet and peaceful environment, and I get my work done a lot faster,” said Evelyn, a junior.

Empowerment Academy is overseen by our partners from the Sonoma Valley Mentoring Alliance and Teen Services, a program of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Sonoma Valley. Staff are on hand to provide homework help if students are struggling with difficult concepts.

Students can also ask for help from Evelyn and schoolmates like her who’ve signed up as peer tutors. Concepts are relatable when teens talk them over together, and there’s no intimidation factor.

“Sometimes it can be scary to go talk with a teacher one-on-one,” says Evelyn. “When it’s a student helping another student, it’s easier, because you’re both in the same position.”

Teens can take a break from the grind to play a board game or a round of pool and make new social connections outside of their usual friend groups.

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When soccer practices started for the season, Evelyn recognized someone she’d met at the Empowerment Academy, and that connection helped break the ice.

“It was easier to get along with her and talk with her,” Evelyn says.

Thanks to donors like you, after-school hours are now more productive for Evelyn and teens like her. Thank you for giving her the time and space to connect, focus, and learn.

At a Glance: Empowerment Academy 2024 275 students attended Empowerment Academy 8 types of life skills and leadership workshops offered 46% of participants used study hall and homework help

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