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• CollegeTrek Afterschool Program
• Summer Fun Camp
• Street Soldiers
• CollegeTrack College Readiness Program

The center is closed on the following 2012 federal holidays:

Programs and Facilities

The Al Wooten Jr. Heritage Center offers four programs for students from grades 3-12. Programs are held at our youth center on Western Avenue in South Los Angeles and at area middle schools and high schools.

The Wooten Center is housed in five adjacent storefront buildings at the corner of 91st Street. Facilities include a library, computer lab, teen room, parent room, homework and tutorial building, basketball court and other areas. The center is open Monday-Friday, 2-6pm, from September-June, and Monday-Friday, 7am-6pm in July and August.

CollegeTrek Afterschool Program

• Schedule: September-June,
  Monday-Friday, 2-6pm
• Location: Wooten Center
• Grades: 3-12
• Cost: Free; optional transportation is available for $25/month per household

College preparation should not wait for high school. CollegeTrek starts at grade 3 in preparing students to adopt the skills needed to complete their journey to higher education. Our reading, writing, math and science labs and our poetry, world languages, field trips, sports and other activities are based on the A-G requirements needed at many institutions for high school graduation and college enrollment.

Instruction is also based on California state content standards for grade level achievement. Students are encouraged to perform above grade level and to explore advanced studies in science and other disciplines.

Academic instruction comprises the majority of our activities, with a minimum three hours of homework and tutoring available daily from 2-5pm, followed by sports and recreation from 5-6pm. Our Mission Possible tutorial labs are guided by our STEP model: Self-directed, Team-oriented, Experiential and Project-based. Students receive assignments based on their grade levels, projects to demonstrate their assignments, and drills based on their individual needs. The project-based learning approach teaches the arts of critical thinking, collaboration, communication and creative expression.

In addition, all students in grades 3-12 complete a College Plan outlining their plans for higher education. College Days are held on the first Friday to introduce our kids to college life and career choices. Plans are underway to expand our CollegeTrack program to be held at the center for students starting at grade 9.

All afterschool teachers are either college graduates or students. Interns from schools including USC, Pepperdine and Los Angeles Community College also volunteer to provide additional support and mentors for our students.

Other services include transportation, which is available from several public school campuses in South Los Angeles and Inglewood. Students engage in financial literacy through the Wooten Bank, which teaches how to save and write checks using their Wooten Dollars earned for participation in class.

Summer Fun Camp

• Schedule: July-August, Monday-Friday, 7am-6pm
• Location: Wooten Center
• Grades: 3-8 (teen helpers in grades 9-12 may serve as interns)
• Cost: $50/week; $45/week per child for families with 3 or more children enrolled (includes tuition, t-shirt and weekly field trips)

Summer Fun Camp is a full-day program for elementary and middle school youth. The program is designed to prepare students academically for the next grade level and to increase their exposure to new places and opportunities. Reading, writing, math and science labs, sports, performing and visual arts, water day and field trips to museums, amusement parks and other sites are held weekly, with a college-oriented focus similar to our afterschool program. High school students participate and gain work experience as teen helpers, assisting teachers in the classroom and other areas. A limited number of paid teen internships may be available some summers.

Street Soldiers

• Schedule: Held for one hour per week year-round
• Location: Wooten Center and local middle schools
• Grades: 6-8
• Cost: Free

Street Soldiers is a free violence prevention program engaging adolescents in discussions on preventing gang activity and being productive in school and life. It is based on curriculum developed by the Omega Boys Club in San Francisco. See www.street-soldiers.org. Street Soldiers discussion groups for teens are held weekly in the afterschool program and summer camp at the Wooten Center and at local middle schools. Our Street Soldiers instructors were either raised or live in the local community and have experienced the kind of challenges we are training our students to overcome.

CollegeTrack College
Readiness Program

• Schedule: September-June
• Location: Wooten Center and local high schools
• Grades: 11-12
• Cost: Free

CollegeTrack provides free SAT-prep instruction and one-on-one advisement for completing college, financial aid and scholarship applications and high school graduation requirements. Visits to college campuses and financial aid workshops for students and parents are also provided at no cost. SAT classes and college advisement are provided at area high schools in day classes and afterschool. CollegeTrack instructors are college graduates who have achieved high scores on the SAT and who are sensitive to the needs of our students, many of whom represent the first generation in their family to attend college.