Community, Cultural, & Education Partners Unite with Global Game Changers Student Empowerment Program Serves 240 Low-Income JCPS Students Afterschool

LOUISVILLE, KY (September 23, 2019) – The Global Game Changers Student Empowerment Program joins forces with community, cultural, and educational organizations throughout Louisville to kickstart the 4th year of the In-Residence After-School Expanded Learning Program.

This unique, year-long, deeper learning opportunity is provided FREE, including transportation, to 240 underserved JCPS elementary students. Global Game Changers partners with local cultural sites, The Muhammad Ali Center, The Speed Museum, and Frazier Kentucky History Museum, and JCPS Title 1 Elementary Schools- Byck, Young, and Cane Run- to facilitate their immersive, high-quality program in-residence at the museums. This collaboration aims to transform student outcomes.

Global Game Changers Student Empowerment Program is an innovative evidence-based curriculum that uses service-learning to develop the whole child by building core social-emotional competencies, character development, and leadership skills in elementary students. Using their Superpower Equation: MY TALENT+MY HEART=MY SUPERPOWER!®, they learn to IGNITE GOOD!® and be successful and engaged citizens.

Each student attends the program two days per week at one of the three cultural museum partners for the entire school year where they explore different charitable causes, develop their talents, hone their social-emotional skills, learn from other children’s examples, and ultimately plan, implement, and personally deliver their own individual service project, using their talents to serve causes they care about. They participate in museum visits and lessons that align with the GGC curriculum and have a hot, nutritious dinner, family style with GGC staff thanks to Dare to Care Kids Café.

Global Game Changers has AmeriCorps Serve KY and VISTA grants that provide high-quality educators and capacity building volunteers to ensure measurable positive outcomes and a 4:1 student/educator ratio. This community collaboration also includes a unique partnership with the University of Louisville College of Education, Nystrand Center for Excellence in Education, & Psychological and Brain Sciences whereby the Global Game Changers program serves as the out of classroom elementary education field and service experience for undergraduate students. The field placement is being evaluated to measure how this hands-on interactive experience positively impacts UL students’ decision to continue with teaching as their profession and measures long-term teacher retention especially in under-resourced schools where they are likely to be placed upon graduation.

All partners share the belief that out-of-school time presents a unique opportunity to change a child’s life and want to specifically address inequities caused, in part, by the 6000-hour “enrichment gap” experienced by lower income and minority families by the time they reach 6th grade. This gap, which compounds the “achievement gap,” puts these young people even further behind their well-advantaged peers through inequalities created by lack of access to quality afterschool programs, summer camps, preschool education, extracurriculars, enrichment, and parent interaction.

Global Game Changers is a Metro United Way BLOCS partner and participates in their David P. Weikart Center for Youth Program Quality and Social-Emotional Learning Growth assessments. Results consistently demonstrate positive significant statistical change in students’ behavior and social-emotional growth.

“We believe that by bringing together cultural, community, and education partners, this project serves as a one-of-a-kind 21st Century Skills model to promote the role of museums and higher education institutions as critical partners in providing culturally enriching experiences to our most underserved students. This program opens their minds to a world of possibilities that they otherwise would not have imagined to be within their grasp.”. – Jan Helson, GGC Board Chair

This program is made possible thanks to very generous funding provided to Global Game Changers from Lift a Life Novak Family Foundation, Kosair Charities, C.E.& S. Foundation, The Gheens Foundation, V.V. Cooke Foundation, and Ehrler’s Ice Cream.

ABOUT GLOBAL GAMECHANGERS

Through collaboration, technology, innovation, and investment in human capital, Global Game Changers seeks to be a catalyst for change in the education landscape of our community by providing quality, consistent and sustainable in-school and out-of-school learning opportunities to all children, especially our most at-risk, that will help them develop the skills that they need to succeed in school and life. Utilizing our online educator portal, we want to provide equitable access to all educators to help students nationwide succeed emotionally, socially, academically, and civically, thereby building 21st century skills and empowering them to know they can make a difference. For more information www.globalgamechangers.org