The City of Philadelphia is funding free, quality out-of-school time opportunities for middle and high school students this year. Out-of-school time (OST) programs are a great way for students to discover a passion, learn new skills, and even earn a stipend.
You can find all participating programs on the City’s OST Program Locator.
Programs listed below currently have several openings. All students in grades 7-12 are eligible regardless of where they go to school. Contact programs directly to learn more and register.
All programs are free, and will only offer virtual programming until the City’s COVID-related restrictions allow for hybrid (in-person and virtual) programming.
Virtual OST Programs
Program Name: Shane Victorino Foundation Boys & Girls Club Program
Provider: Boys and Girls Clubs of Philadelphia
Grades Served: 6 through 12
Address: 4000 Clarissa St., 19140
Phone Number: 215-229-2008
Email: johnsons@bgcphila.org
Description: Boys & Girls Clubs of Philadelphia enables all youth, especially those who need us the most to reach their full potential as productive, caring, responsible citizens. We engage middle and high school youth in activities that develop their educational and career aspirations through use of research based Boys & Girls Clubs programming including career Launch and Diplomas to Degrees. Youth identify their own passions and interests, and create personal plans to achieve their goals. By creating a home away from home for Club members we are able to foster positive adult and peer relationships, with ample opportunities for formal and informal mentoring.
Program Name: PHA Community Facilities at Vaux HS
Provider: Philadelphia Hospital & Health Care District 1199C Training & Upgrading Fund
Grades Served: 9 through 12
Address: 2300 W. Master St., 19121
Email: ehall@1199ctraining.org
Description: The STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Medicine/Math) Scholars model fuses health-inflected STEM with project-based, inquiry-driven learning activities that enable and encourage students to express themselves creatively and artistically. Programming based in a new “VauxCITE Center” – a collaborative makerspace, built out on a model developed by the Training Fund in partnership with the Drexel University ExCITe (Expressive and Creative Interaction Technologies) Center – reflects new research into scientific exploration and discovery, lateral thinking, and the importance of creative approaches to learning across the disciplines. Our aim is to help students – our STEAM Scholars – not only to succeed in passing their high school math and science courses, but also to come to think of themselves as scientists and researchers in their own right.
Program Name: PCDC Teen Club
Provider: Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corporation
Grades Served: 7 through 12
Address: 1001 Vine Street, 19107
Phone Number: (215) 922-2156
Email: ryang@chinatown-pcdc.org
Description: The PCDC Teen Club is an Out-of-School-Time program that aims to close the academic resource gap for Philadelphia’s low-income, minority, and limited-English proficient students. Established in 2001, the program provides free SAT prep, college trips, leadership events, and internships. Uniquely, the program offers bilingual English-Chinese capability. Every year, the Teen Club serves approximately 200 students in grades 7 to 12.
Program Name: Entrepreneurship and Technology OST Program
Provider: Diversified Community Services
Grades Served: 6 through 12
Address: 1529 S. 22nd St., 19145
Phone Number: (215) 336-5505
Description: DCS offers participants access to today’s latest technology, and teaches entrepreneurial thinking and financial literacy. Once completed, each child enrolled into our program will be offered a paid internship at one of our 7 company owned Rita’s locations. As interns they will have the opportunity to learn all facets of business operations first hand, the positions available range from scooping to management. Participants will be taken out into the field to explore local business and tech facilities on a monthly basis. Those required to complete community service hours can do so through our program as well.
Program Name: Norris Square Neighborhood Afterschool Program
Provider: Norris Square Neighborhood Project
Grades Served: 6 through 12
Address: 2141 N. Howard St., 19122
Phone Number: (215) 278-2495
Email: evelyn@myneighborhoodproject.org
Description: The Norris Square Neighborhood Project’s mission is to unite and inspire youth and families using the strengths of our community: shared cultural wisdom, creative energies, and environmental spaces and experiences. Our programs consist of arts programs of all types and urban gardening.
Program Name: College Access Program at Hickman Learning Center
Provider: Project H.O.M.E.
Grades Served: 9 through 12
Address: 1936 N. Judson St., 19121
Description: The College Access Program is a college preparatory program that seeks to efficiently prepare teens and families in previously underserved areas to achieve college success through the mediums of career and college readiness, college access, and successful college retention with the goal to prepare students for, and ensure they succeed in, post-secondary education and employment.
Students participate in academic support courses and specialty programs. These provide an out-of-school creative outlet while simultaneously developing technology and academic skills. Students choose from a variety of offerings, all of which utilize Project Based Learning, which strengthen academic skills through the integration of core standards which indicate if a student is “college ready”.
In addition to academic support, enrichment, SAT prep and college access guidance, the program offers electives in the areas of:
- Culinary Arts
- Film
- Photography
- Digital Music
- Digital Media
- Computer Technology
- Robotics
Program Name: Hip Hop Heritage After School Program at William Sayre
Provider: SEAMAAC
Grades Served: 9 through 12
Address: 5800 Walnut St, 19139
Phone Number: (215) 467-0690;ext.184
Email: MCaban@seamaac.org
Description: SEAMAAC’S Hip Hop Heritage (H3) After School programs’ mission is to build and support a multi-racial, multi-ethnic community of Philadelphia youth. H3 supports youth in identifying and pursuing access to educational and employment opportunities in the creative and performing arts. H3 is a project-based learning program focusing on the hip hop arts, including instruction in breakdancing, music production, graffiti arts, and youth leadership development. Our curriculum addresses life skills, civic responsibilities, academic enrichment, and college/career readiness. Youth build cross-cultural bridges through community projects and civic engagement using hip hop arts as vehicles to effect social change and tell their stories of the urban experience.
Program Name: University Community Collaborative of Philadelphia at Temple
Provider: Temple University Community Collaborative
Grades Served: 6 through 12
Address: 1115 W. Berks St., 19122
Phone Number: (215) 204-6276
Email: bferman@temple.edu
Description: The Collaborative Continuum is designed to keep youth engaged at different levels, capacities, and ages within our organization over an extended period of time. Each program culminates in a final project, either a video or youth-organized workshop or training.The programs are Temple Youth VOICES, POWER Internships, & POPPYN.
Program Name: The Attic Youth Center After-School Program
Provider: The Attic Youth Center
Grades Served: 6 through 12
Address: 255 S. 16th St., 19102
Phone Number: (215) 545-4331
Description: Engaging groups and activities to foster and empower LGBTQ+ youth, their experiences and needs are at the center of the programming; program open to LGBTQ+ youth and youth allies.
Program Name: Village Youth Programs at The Village of Arts and Humanities
Provider: The Village of Arts and Humanities
Grades Served: 6 through 12
Address: 2544 Germantown Ave., 19133
Description: Teaching artists nurture creative problem solving and expression. Our ultimate goal is to support the creative power of more than 550 youth per year, and to help young people make healthy, prosperous and engaged transitions to adulthood.
Village Youth comprises two main programs: Village Industries and Open Studios. Courses include, but aren’t limited to, topics like:
- Music Production
- Hip Hop Dance
- Songwriting + Recording
- Fashion Design
- Urban Agriculture + Sustainability
- Photography + Film
- Graphic Design + Event Production
Program Name: United Communities at Furnace H.S.
Provider: United Communities of Southeast Philadelphia
Grades Served: 6 through 12
Address: 1900 S 3rd St. 19148
Phone Number: (267) 266-3247
Description: High School Club model, providing activities in the arts, fitness, and mentorship. For older youth, the program also has offerings in career readiness and college prep support.
Program Name: University Assisted Community School Program (UACS)
Provider: University of Pennsylvania
Grades Served: 9 through 12
Address: 4901 Chestnut St., 19139
Email: coreyj@sas.upenn.edu
Description: The University Assisted Community School(UACS Program) provides academic and enrichment activities to youth grades 9 through 12 exploring college and career readiness, dance, sports, digital media, and drama programming.
Program Name: Project BUILD
Provider: YOACAP
Grades Served: 6 through 12
Address: Multiple locations
Phone Number: 215-851-1857
Description: Project BUILD provides after-school activities to improve a youth’s life-skills, academic performance, and prepare them for post secondary education opportunities using structured and unstructured activities from 3 pm to 7 pm. YOACAP uses a club model to help youth develop certain assets and improve skills. Youth are challenged to become critical thinkers, be able to problem solve and make better decisions. Youth attend the following weekly clubs: Book, Computer, Cooking, Social Media, Health Awareness, Life-skills, Job Readiness/Academic Preparedness, Computer Science, Financial Literacy, Chess, STEM, Art, Spoken Word, Youth Council, among others.
Program Name: VietLead’s Our Roots at Howard Furness High School
Provider: VietLead
Grades Served: 9 through 12
Address: 1900 S. 3rd Street, 19148
Email: duong.ly@Vietlead.org
Description: VietLead’s OurRoots is an after school leadership program with the mission to leverage and engage with the collective knowledge, multifaceted histories, and lived experiences of the youth in our community—especially Southeast Asian youth—to develop their leadership and engage them in community building
Program Name: Steppingstone Scholars Inc. OST Program
Provider: Steppingstone Scholars Inc.
Grades Served: 9 through 12
Address: Various locations
Description: Steppingstone Scholars creates access to educational and workforce opportunities for talented, underserved students in the ity of Philadelphia.
