Princeton University

The Big Brother/Sister Program is an opportunity to work one-on-one with middle school students from the Princeton community. Volunteers commit themselves to providing academic and social support for their little brothers or sisters at weekly meetings that take place at Community House. For applications or more information, please contact Aba Osseo-Asare, Yolisa Nalule, or Mac Steele. Click here for an on-line application.

Crossings is a new project that encourages John Witherspoon Middle School students to examine issues surrounding diversity. The project is geared towards confronting racial and cultural stereotypes and to promote an in-depth understanding of concerns that are specific to people of varying ethnic and racial backgrounds. The curriculum is designed to help foster a sense of cultural awareness and to offer techniques pertaining to conflict resolution. For more information, contact Whitney Ajibade, Eric Plummer or Michelle Thompson.

The Generation One Program is dedicated to improving the academic experience of high school students from the Princeton community. Our primary goal is to ensure that our students will experience academic success throughout their four years at Princeton High School. Volunteers and Project Coordinators bring their academic knowledge to develop concrete and creative ways to support and encourage our Gen1 participants to do well in the classroom and in their future aspiration. To accomplish this task, we provide academic tutoring, subject specific study circles, writing workshops, and trips to lectures on campus. In addition to academics, in the past we have taken trips to Broadway, basketball games, and the movies. For more information, contact Laura Fletcher, Rachel Okunubi, or Katherine Welbeck.

The Community House Health Matters Project is dedicated to improving health awareness among children in the Princeton community by addressing health issues and concerns in a hands-on manner. Volunteers bring their health knowledge and appreciation to the Princeton community through four-week workshops for elementary school children involved with the Princeton Young Achievers (PYA) educational program. The purpose of these workshops is threefold: enrichment, preventative education, and empowerment. The focus on enrichment will allow the children to comprehend more fully the important aspects of a wide range of health topics. In addition, workshops will be used to teach preventative steps about which children should be informed in order to decrease their risk of infection or disease. Most importantly, the Health Matters Project hopes to empower children by teaching them how to deal and cope with health concerns that may affect them personally as well as to foster meaningful relationships between University students and Princeton children. For more information, contact Milana Zaurova or Rachel Rizal.

The Princeton Preschool Program is dedicated to helping Princeton preschoolers (2 to 5 year olds) with school-readiness skills in preparation for kindergarten. Preschool volunteers assist teachers in the following ways: leading small-group activities in classrooms, reading books to small groups of children and guiding discussions and/or related activities, as well as engaging in creative and interactive play. For more information, contact Emily Hildner or Louisa Cronan.

PEEK (Princeton Engineering Education for Kids) is a program through which undergraduate students visit elementary school classrooms during and after school to teach children basic principles of engineering using fun tools such as LEGO Mindstorms robotics kits. PEEK's general goals as an organization are: 

* To get kids interested in engineering from a young age, and to 
promote engineering as a viable and exciting career path for girls.
* To increase kids' ability to understand and manipulate the physical world around them.
* To supplement pre-existing curriculum units for K-12 student classrooms (e.g. Simple machines).
* To promote group-driven and cooperative problem solving through the design process.
* To show kids that engineering is fun!

For more information, contact Jane Yang or Josh Israel.

PYA is an after school program for K through 5th graders from low- to middle-income families in Princeton. It is located in three different centers and staffed by teachers, teaching assistants, and student volunteers. The program provides academic and social support to at risk children in the immediate community. Princeton students can spend their afternoons tutoring these younger students in reading, writing, math, science and ESL. Each afternoon session combines academic tutoring with group reading, outdoor games, science projects and much more. The free tutoring provided by the Princeton students is the key to this organization’s success and more volunteers are always appreciated! For more information, contact Peter Dunbar, Jessica Gray, or Anna Leonard.

Volunteers will engage in one-on-one tutoring with Princeton High School and Middle School students and help to organize and schedule tutoring appointments. We are looking for dedicated and responsible tutors in all subjects to help out students who are having difficulties.  For more information-contact Laura Fletcher.

The SAT Prep program works with high school students to help them develop standardized test-taking skills. Volunteers teach math and English sessions twice a week and also provide one-on-one tutoring when needed in order to support and help students perform better on standardized tests. For more information, contact Jenny Ross or Angela Shan.

Step-Up is a middle school tutoring and mentoring project. We work with sixth and seventh graders at the John Witherspoon Elementary School who need special attention. With a little extra help, we hope these students will learn to excel in academics and be prepared for and "step p" to the challenges that await them at higher levels: junior high, high school, and even college. In addition to the academics, in the past some of our fun activities during the semester have included outings to football games and ice cream breaks. We hope that volunteers are able to develop an intimate, one-on-one relationship with their student and will end up learning as much as the children. For more information, contact Yemi Olorunnipa or Hilary Lambert.

SuperKids is a project that pairs up volunteers, or coaches, with kindergarten and first grade students, or buddies, at PYA.  Kindergarten is a very important beginning when children begin to discover the many wonders of school and learning. In kindergarten, children learn to accept responsibility, follow directions, work and play with others in a friendly manner, communicate effectively, and solve problems in a positive way. 

As a SuperKids coach, your role will be to encourage and be part of this important beginning in helping your buddy develop a positive attitude toward school and learning.  You will also be providing tutoring and mentoring support that will help increase and enhance the academic, developmental, social knowledge and skills of kindergarten and first grade students enrolled in the SuperKids program.  For more information, contact Maria Bohn.