Our character development program at

the Adolescent Character Garden

Character Development Program

Offering Enriching Educational Activities for Adolescents

Established in September 2016, the Adolescent Character Garden in Fulton County, GA aims to provide a quality character development program for at-risk middle school students. We conduct free educational activities throughout the academic year to a diverse group of children aged 13 to 14 years. With our compassionate teachers and complete learning facility, you can be confident that your young learners are in good hands.

The Adolescent Character Garden Operations

Program hours are from 2:00 pm – 7:30 pm.
Student activities begin at 3:30 pm and end at 7:00 pm.
Students can arrive as early as 3:00 pm but must be picked up from the campus by 7:15 pm.
Transportation is EXTREMELY LIMITED details TBA.
Parents are strongly encouraged to carpool and will earn volunteer credits.

Registration & Enrollment Procedures

Lottery Entry Forms Can Be Found At The Bottom Of Each Page.

All 80 available slots will be chosen by lots so that no preference is shown.

Eligibility: Students classified 8th grade for the 2021 fall term and living in any region in Fulton County may enter the lottery.

Registration: All eligible students wishing to attend must complete an online Lottery Entry Form which shows a valid Fulton County address.

All selected applicants will receive an acceptance letter and must solidify their attendance via email.

Lottery Entry Forms received after the closure date will be automatically placed on a waiting list.

Please DO NOT complete more than one Lottery Entry Form per student. Your child’s form will only be submitted to the lottery ONE time. All duplicates will be deleted.

Student’s not selected in the lottery will be placed on a waiting list. You will be contacted by mail, email, or telephone when a slot becomes available.

Enrollment: After the selection process, parents will be provided with a set of enrollment forms for each student. All forms must be completed and returned in a timely manner to the Program Coordinator before the student’s first day of attendance.

NO student will be allowed to attend the program until ALL enrollment forms have been completed and returned.

The Adolescent Character Garden Parent Requirements

Play an active role in assisting in your child’s character education.
Donate 25 hours of volunteering per semester (MANDATORY).
Support and abide by the ACG parent/student handbook/program compact.
Attend program activities and meetings regularly.

This Is How We Do It

We will provide meaningful programming for adolescents during out of school times.
We strategically designed the four component areas to encourage, equip, and elevate each participant.
Students will follow a weekly schedule that has structure, flexibility, and choices. Our schedule includes components in the following areas: academic enrichment, recreation, socialization, and family-style dining.
Students will have opportunities to do something real.Our service learning projects and other hands-on activities will help our youth see tangible results.
Exploration of skills and interest; students will have chances to develop hobbies, skills and interest to get them excited about learning. These opportunities will allow our young people to develop self-confidence as they find new talents in areas typically not addressed by regular school curriculum.
The program will provide each student with foods that help meet daily nutritional needs in a clean and pleasant environment, recognizing individual differences and cultural patterns. All meals will be served according to dietary guidelines and mealtime related activities will be part of the total education program.
All meals will be table ready upon students' arrival.

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Learn About Our Character Development Program

Developing students' moral character is important in helping them become productive citizens who have genuine love for their community. Help make this a reality by enrolling your children in our program at the Adolescent Character Garden. To learn more about our character development program, visit our learning facility today or contact our staff.

Our Learning Program Activities Include

Character Class 101

We aim to introduce students to basic character qualities that enhance the character development already taking place in the home. For this activity, we will utilize the character curriculum established by the Clayton County Public School System. We will study one character quality for each week of school by integrating it into lesson plans and various activities. Parents will be kept abreast via a monthly newsletter.

Community Garden

Students will build and cultivate a vegetable garden on the premises to help them learn the value of teamwork, respect for the environment, the process of sowing and reaping, the importance of reading and following directions, math, measurements, water, heat, light, weather and how all these elements affect the food chain. These character-building excercises and life lessons gleaned from this activity will serve our youth well.

Lion Heart Awards

We want to recognize our students for making better choices and moving in the direction of becoming a kinder, gentler human being. Teachers and staff will select one student each week who has demonstrated an improvement in cooperation, conduct, and citizenship.The student chosen will be allowed to select a gift out of the treasure chest at the end of the day on Friday.

Red Ribbon Week

Each year in October during National Red Ribbon Week, we will honor our students’ commitment to remain alcohol, drug, and tobacco-free. Weekly activities include classroom and program wide presentations by local community drug prevention educators as well as participation by students in various theme days.Our students will compete in the National Red Ribbon Photo Contest to win prize money for the organization.

Kick-Off BBQ

At the beginning of each academic year, we will host a cookout in conjunction with our first board meeting. We will send notices to all families and post signs advertising the event. During this first meeting, board members and staff will take turns introducing themselves and describing their contribution to the program. This activity is designed to encourage parent participation at our meeting and other program functions. The Adolescent Character Garden will provide all expenses for the event.

Newsletter

The collection of information, editing, and distribution of the monthly newsletter will be the responsibility of the Program Coordinator and a select group of student participants. They will gather information from teachers, parents, students, or any other contributor that may have information concerning upcoming events, fundraisers, or student achievements. The newsletter will be distributed to all staff and copies will be sent home to all program participants. The cost will be minimal since we will utilize supplies and equipment owned by the learning center.

Music and Movement

Despite the many health benefits associated with a regular physical activity, many adolescents do not participate in physical activity for sixty minutes or more each day. Once a week, a professional contractor will be invited to the center to get the students moving in a fun, less strenuous way. Activities will include line dancing, square dancing, walking, chair aerobics,Tai Chi, and group hip-hop dancing.

Social Etiquette

A teenager’s social life is extremely important because fitting in with peers can make the difference between feeling confident or being one of those young people who struggles to fit in. Following proper etiquette gives the teenager the advantage of appearing more mature and trustworthy. Bi-monthly, we will invite a contractor to conduct small group sessions to teach the students general etiquette tips which will include: table manners, proper introductions, showing respect, being on time, etc.

Field Day

An “End of the Year” fun-filled day for students, parents, staff, and board members. Staff and parent volunteers will monitor individual stations that range from snack foods (popcorn, cotton candy, ice cream, etc.) to water play, kickball, bounce house, etc. Students will rotate through the various stations at appointed times throughout the day. All supplies, food, rental fees will be incurred by the Adolescent Character Garden.

I Am Special Day

All participants will get a special acknowledgment on their birthday. Each will be serenaded and allowed to make a selection from the treasure chest. All monthly honorees, students and staff will celebrate at the end of the month with an Ice-Cream Social. All participants whose birthday fall during the month of June and July will be honored in May.

Student All-Star Gala

This End-of-the-Year awards banquet will celebrate and honor our students for their outstanding achievements and contributions to society. This event will be held at an outside venue. The attire is semi-formal. A formal dinner will be served to give our young people the opportunity to use their newly aquired etiquette skills. After dinner, we will dance the night away. The Adolescent Character Garden will cover all room fees, food, music, and awards for participants.

Community Service Projects

Studies consistently show that students who participate in a service learning program have improved academic performance and positive behavior in school. This is why we sponsor five major community projects each year. The projects planned are as follows:

Create and distribute Valentine candy grams to seniors in convalescent homes
Collect, clean, and distribute coats to a local Women’s and Children’s shelter
Clean up trash and debris at a local park
Create get-well cards and Easter baskets for children in a local hospital
Package and distribute “I Care” grooming kits to a local Men's homeless shelter

Passport to Success

In response to the Metro Atlanta high school dropout crisis, the Adolescent Character Garden wants to begin preparing our middle school students for success in high school and beyond. We will collaborate with local high schools in our area for parents and students to spend the day learning about the ever-changing demands for high school success early. Our families will be able to set goals after face-to-face interactions with administrators, staff, and current students. Everyone will walk away with the knowledge of the differences between the major types of high school programs serving their community. This workshop will provide our students with the skills, information, and confidence they need to navigate their transition into high school successfully, so they are better prepared to graduate.

The Adolescent Character Garden

Fulton County, GA

Info@adolescentcharactergarden.org

ONLINE LOTTERY ENTRY FORM

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