One of the greatest joys we have at Trevor’s Campaign is working with children. Our DISCOVER after-school and summer school program seeks to counter and correct the negative environmental influences many homeless children face. The program is designed to provide real-world knowledge and skills, nurture academic achievement and school attendance and remedy educational deficits.
Tah’Diyah is a 7 year-old second grader at the local Waring Elementary School. She is bright and inquisitive and though only in 2nd grade testing shows she amazingly reads at the 5th-grade reading level. Tah’Diyah is a motivator that other students depend on for help and she loves helping. She carries this same spirit with her to school where she loves reading, writing poems, singing, dancing and cheerleading. Tah’Diyah was recently selected by her principal to receive an award as top student because she performs at a superior level and is well-organized.
One distinctive of the DISCOVER Program is that it follows a Project-Based Learning (PBL) model. This means all learning is centered around short-term projects that last 5 to 6 weeks. Subject matter – whether it is language arts, math, science, computer – is focused upon a student-chosen theme and all disciplines work together to complete the project goals. PBL is not concerned mainly with the acquisition of knowledge in isolated subject areas. Instead, project-based learning emphasizes the development of real-world, life-long skills like communication, teamwork, creativity, problem-solving and self-management. The purpose of DISCOVER is to equip homeless youth to spell out in their lives our 8-letter acronym:
Achieving measurable outcomes is a key component of the DISCOVER Program and all Trevor’s endeavors. Fortunately, through the efforts of our staff and the Support Of Donors Like You, we have accomplished much. Over 90% of our students achieve 80% school attendance. More than 90% of our school-age children attend the DISCOVER Program regularly. 
Over 80% are involved in youth development activities and in excess of 50% completed community service projects. More than 90% of DISCOVER students exhibit healthy behaviors and only 2% ever had a documented case of at-risk behaviors (such as skipping school, smoking, etc.). Finally, School District of Philadelphia records indicate that school attendance by program participants increased an average of 16%.
