Secondary Education

Metro TeenAIDS

Metro TeenAIDS is an organization with individuals dedicated to the improvement of the quality of life for the youth of DC.  The organization was founded in 1988 with the initial mission of preventing new HIV infections among the youth of DC.  The organization has evolved since then and has committed itself to the improvement of the quality of life of DC youth affected or infected with HIV.  Metro TeenAIDS is an active member of the community today and offers a wide variety of activities for the DC youth.  The core of the program deals with the issues of AIDS/HIV prevention.  Another program, StreeTeam/Peer Education Program, trains local high school kids to travel around to local schools to educate others about HIV/AIDS.  Metro TeenAIDS also offers a “Freestyle” Drop-In Center for young adults between the ages of 13-24 to have a safe place to hang out, do homework, and acquire any sort of support that they need. 

Volunteer Opportunities

After school drop-in sessions:  This takes place from 4-6  during the weekdays.  You will be working with students on tutoring/mentoring/counseling.  You might also help them do research for colleges, and you are generally there to be a resource for students with any sorts of questions they might ask.

Programming aspect:  This can take place from Monday till Friday from 6-8 at night.  This may also require time on the weekends or other times during the week where you will meet with the professional staff as well as other volunteers to put together a presentation for the students on site.  You may deal with issues such as Aids and HIV education, problems with drug and alcohol abuse, gang violence, or any other issue that might face the youth of Washington DC.

Bell High School

Bell High School is committed to multicultural and multilingual academic and career education. Located in NW DC, Bell views education as a lifelong process and believe that everyone has the ability to achieve and excel regardless of their background. Bell strives to create a nurturing atmosphere that promotes creativity and self-expression. Bell views language development as a cornerstone of a curriculum which develops necessary skills in communication, interpersonal relationships, career development, health, problem solving, mathematics, science, and technology. Bell’s ultimate mission is that every student develops marketable skills which will lead to success in the world of work and post-secondary education.

Volunteer Opportunities

Tutoring Program: Students at Bell have mandatory hours of tutoring from 3:30- 5:00pm. Tutors can range from all different subject specialties.

Coaching: Bell High School has an extensive array of sports, including baseball, softball, basketball, volleyball, soccer, and dance.

After School clubs: Volunteers may be able to help out with different sorts of after school clubs, some of which include the Debate Team, Graphic Arts, Engineering Club, and Marching Band.

Classroom Assistants: students may be able to partner with teachers from Bell High school and be involved with their classroom during the course of the day, as a student teachers or in class helper.

Referees: Volunteers with knowledge about soccer are needed to referee games on Thursday afternoons. Locations are at elementary schools across the city.

Assistant soccer and writing coaches: Volunteers are needed to assist coaches at the elementary and middle school programs across the city  2-3 times per week from 3:30-5 pm.

Mentors/Tutors: Volunteers are needed to run writing and poetry workshops for the after school program from 3:00 - 5:00 pm . Volunteers would be able to recieve help in developing lesson plans for the workshops. This can be an ongoing volunteer opportunity or a one time volunteer opportunity.

Thurgood Marshall Academy is founded upon the belief articulated by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall that all children have the right to a first-class education and the opportunity to reach their full potential. Students learn substantive information about law, human rights, conflict resolution and democracy. TMA's faculty employs teaching strategies that promote engaged participation, fair and cooperative learning, respect for diverse perspectives, critical thinking, experiential learning and, when needed, activism for positive change.

Volunteer Opportunities

Tutoring program: which will be after schools from 4:30 till about 6 on Monday and Thursdays. 

Coaching: which will be based around the volunteers availabilities, as well as when the teams have practice.  It is generally in the afternoon after 3 PM.  Saturdays are also a possibility.

Mentoring program: this will take place during the afternoon hours as well, excluding Wednesdays.  This program could also take place on Saturdays.

Classroom Assistant: Volunteers may be able to partner with teachers from Thurgood Marshall Academy and be involved with their classroom during the course of day as a student teacher.

School Without Walls Senior High School

In 1971, School Without Walls Senior High School (SWW) was established to offer an alternative to conventional instructional programs, where students could develop "methods of learning outside the traditional classroom." SWW was created to provide a small school environment for students who had difficulty adjusting to the large traditional public high school. While the school has changed somewhat from its original mission, it has maintained its core vision to be one of the outstanding schools in the District of Columbia and Washington Metro area. The history of tapping community resources to enrich and expand upon textbook learning has remained a tradition at School Without Walls.

Volunteer Opportunities

Tutoring goes on every day in the afternoon, as early as 1 and as late as 7, depending on the person with whom you will work.  It is also possible to arrange meetings with the child during their lunch hours. 

Coaching, also possibly every day after school, and possibly Saturdays as well.  This is in the afternoon and will depend on the times the team meets. 

Youth Court

The Youth Court is authorized by the Superior Court of the District of Columbia to work with the courts in a ‘partnership for the purpose of jointly developing a diversion program that provides a meaningful alternative to the traditional adjudication format in juvenile cases.’  The Time Dollar Institute created the Time Dollar Youth Court in 1996 as part of its efforts to promote the development of strong, healthy communities in the DC and to address the growing need for an alternative to the juvenile justice system.  Youth court is a way for youth to avoid the juvenile system.  Instead the youth are put into a diversion program in which they may be able to build upon their strengths, and help deal with their weaknesses or past failures.  The individual is sentenced by a jury of their peers (all of whom have been through the same youth court system).  Through this, the program seeks to keep kids out of trouble and instead focus their energy in new and positive ways.  

Volunteer Opportunities

Office Work:  This will take place anytime from Monday until Fridays.  It will generally be in the afternoon, but volunteers could come in earlier, possibly from noon on, until 6 or 7 in the evenings.  Volunteers could work as few or as many hours as they want.  Positions include jobs that deal with database entry, case monitoring, and background information gathering. 

In the Courtroom: This takes place every Saturday from 9 in the morning till around 1 in the afternoon.  Advocate judge, note takers, and general court facilitators will work on Saturdays.