After School Kids Program (ASK)

History

The ASK Program was created in 1987 when juvenile probation officers and the Honorable Justice Ricardo Urbina, then presiding judge of the Family Branch of the DC Superior Court, approached Georgetown University’s Father Harold Bradley, SJ seeking mentors for adjudicated youth. ASK’s first tutor was Dr. Daniel Porterfield (C ’83), who eventually became Georgetown University’s Senior Vice President for Strategic Development, then became the President of Franklin and Marshall College, and now serves as the President and CEO of the Aspen Institute. Under Dr. Porterfield’s direction, the ASK Program sought to empower adjudicated youth in the District of Columbia to make positive changes in their lives by challenging them with new learning opportunities and teaching them the necessary skills to successfully meet those challenges.

Mission

The After School Kids (ASK) Program serves at-promise pre-teens, teenagers, and young adults in the DC metropolitan area who are making positive strides in their lives and striving to be catalysts for change in their communities. Some of the young people we work with can be more adversely impacted by the school-to-prison pipeline and may experience obstacles to obtaining their high school diploma, exploring careers, advancing their postsecondary education, and/or navigating complex systems. Despite obstacles, our young people envision a brighter future through education, social action, and wellness. ASK provides support as they actualize their goals through culturally responsive mentoring and tutoring practices grounded in social justice.

Vision

For every young person in DC to receive the advocacy and support they need in their schools and their community to prevent involvement in the criminal legal system. If ASK cannot provide that direct support, we want to be connected to someone or something that can.

To support the resiliency of our youth, the ASK Program:

• utilizes a near-peer mentoring model, which pairs Georgetown University undergraduate students as tutors and mentors with DC youth;
• provides personalized, one-on-one academic tutoring, homework help, and standardized test preparation for GED and ACT/SAT;
• provides exposure to the college experience through workshops and community days at Georgetown University’s campus;
• promotes skills and behaviors that support lifelong-learning; 
• provides socio-emotional learning skills and activities; and
• supports social-justice education and our youth’s critical analysis of how they want to contribute to the formation of a just society.

Testimonials

• I wish I would have started [with ASK] earlier than I did. – ASK Advocacy Coordinator 
• My favorite part of ASK is definitely the tutoring…getting to connect [with the students] one-on-one. – ASK mentor/tutor at YouthBuild PCS
• Students love them. They’ve established some really good connections. – YouthBuild PCS staff member

Current Programming

Mentoring and Tutoring

Our mentoring and tutoring program supports youth with their academic work and long-term personal and educational goals. Youth participate in ASK programming 1-2 times per week and work one-to-one or in a group setting with their Georgetown mentors. In addition to improving academic performance, emphasis is placed on social-emotional learning and the importance of educational attainment. Our mentors and tutors work with youth in DC across core areas and grade levels, starting in middle school. Prior experience with mentoring or tutoring youth is appreciated, but not required. Students may serve as volunteers and can apply their Federal Work Study (FWS) award to a position in our program.

Our current partners and program times are: 

• Social Justice School (Mondays and Fridays from 3:00-6:15pm)
• Girls Global Academy (Tuesdays and Thursdays from 12:15-3:15pm) 
• YouthBuild Public Charter School (Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9:30-11:30am OR 10:30am-12:30 pm)

Committees

Our committees play a vital role in fostering connections between ASK, the Georgetown community, and the broader DC community by engaging in social justice work rooted in communications, outreach, and research and advocacy. Our Communications committee runs timely social media campaigns, strategizes ways to grow our social media presence, and creates engaging social media content for our followers across all social media platforms. Our Outreach committee identifies and/or creates opportunities for community engagement and outreach on campus, such as planning on-campus events for the youth we serve. Finally, our Research and Advocacy committee researches and connects with criminal and youth justice organizations outside of Georgetown with the aim of amplifying the voices of youth impacted by these issues.

Community Partnerships

Our program often partners with community-based organizations at Georgetown, within DC, and across the country to create academic and professional development opportunities for our coordinators, mentors, and youth. In addition to our site partners, our program has partnered with organizations such as the Detroit Justice Center, the Petey Greene Program, DC Justice Lab, and the Georgetown Women’s Center.

To learn more about the ASK Program and how to get involved, email askprogram@georgetown.edu. You can also follow us on Instagram!

The After School Kids Program falls under Georgetown University’s Protection of Minors policy.