PROGRAMS

After School Program

From 3:00 pm to 7:30 pm Monday to Friday, The Brotherhood/Sister Sol provides a creative, fun and safe learning environment supervised by skilled and caring staff. The Brotherhood/Sister Sol After School program offers a diverse range of classes on a rotating schedule. These classes include acting, cooking, photography, visual arts, poetry, percussion and drumming, karate, and computer/video technology. Various sports activities are held at nearby facilities.

During our After School program, our younger members (ages 7 to 12) receive tutoring and academic assistance as well as participating in enrichment classes. In addition to the traditional chapter-based program, which follows all of these stages over four to six years, we have also initiated Young Sisters and Young Brothers groups for our elementary-aged children. Each group has about ten members, and is designed to begin the process of education, exploration, and empowerment that will ultimately occur when the youth are old enough to join the traditional chapter program. Through two-hour weekly meetings, the Young Sisters and Young Brothers participate in a similar sequence of activities as traditional Brotherhood/Sister Sol chapters, but tailored for their age and comprehension level. Every Thursday from 6:00 pm to 7:30 pm, Mentors provide an additional network of support for our members. Through fun activities, group projects and special mentoring outings, these adults become an additional network of support for our members.

Our older members (ages 13 to 19) also receive academic support and participate in enrichment activities during the After School Program. These activities have included web design, dance, cooking, and beading. In addition, the teens are paid program assistants, helping their younger peers build reading skills and helping them reflect in order to achieve personal development. Mentors also provide our teens with an inside look at their professional career interests.

Our Lyrical Circle formed through a dream of a few teens to have a space to write. They were poets and needed a space that would support the development of their craft. Through the support of three dedicated staff members, Lyrical Circle took flight. Meeting every Friday night for three to four hours over the course of four years, LC members have entered slams in NYC and across the country, performed in venues and colleges throughout the East Coast. They wrote a play entitled Off the Subject, which is also the name of a recently published collection of their poetry.