Learning ROCKS! (named by our students) is a year-round program that facilitates the academic achievement and social-emotional development of students in grades 3-5 after school and in the summer.  We serve 80 students across three sites in the Columbia Heights West and Pike Village Center neighborhoods of Arlington.

Learning ROCKS! bolsters students’ academic achievement and fosters their social-emotional development.  In addition to providing homework help, we dedicate 30 minutes each day to language and literacy activities with the goal of improving student’s reading instructional levels.  This is critical because upper-elementary is when students shift from “learning to read” to “reading to learn” – a big challenge for our students, as most are English language learners and currently reading below grade level.  

Greenbrier Learning Center also implements a variety of lessons promoting healthy lifestyles (making positive choices), and exploring other academic and enrichment opportunities.  For example, each year, we host a science fair for our students after working with students on the scientific method and testing hypotheses for eight weeks.  All lessons and activities are organized to support four themes (named by the students):

•       Rockin’ Reading and Writing (Language and Literacy)
•       Got Skills? (Academic and Study Skills)
•       Healthy, Wealthy, & Wise (Life Skills)
•       Out of This World (Culture and Community)

GLC provides 15 hours of weekly out-of-school time programming to the children of South Arlington throughout the school year.  Added up, this equals 35,100 hours of academic and social support.