One of the passions of Club 21 is providing foundational skills to school-aged children with Down syndrome. As individuals with Down syndrome increase their communication, social, and academic skills they will also develop greater self-esteem and confidence. This in turn will lead to increased independence as they mature. Core Classes help parents to better identify and understand their child’s learning strengths and challenges so they can develop appropriate expectations for learning and behavior.
All Core Classes are grouped by student’s ages and are supervised by professionals skilled in each field. Trained volunteers assist students and provide staff support. Currently Core Classes teaches foundational skills through the following programs:
Every Child A Reader
Every Child A Reader is a one-on-one literacy tutoring program focused on the development of reading and writing skills. It is based on the proven learning methods created by Patricia Oelwien, Susan Peoples, Sue Buckley, and other professionals. This program requires active participation by both the student and his/her parents to be successful. Skills are presented and taught in weekly tutoring sessions and mastered at home through daily repetition. Club 21 aspires to graduate an entire generation of capable readers with Down syndrome who will, as a result, be more independent and confident in their daily lives.
In addition to the individual instruction utilizing multiple educational mediums to respond to individual learning styles Every Child A Reader also includes monthly literacy nights to support families in making books for their children and regular parent-tutor consultations so that all members of the educational team are kept up to date on the student’s progress.
Club Connections
Club Connections focuses primarily on verbal communication and social skills development in small group settings. Classes include but are not limited to:
- Assistive technology classes
- Community recreational activities (i.e., swim classes, yoga, etc.)
To learn more about these programs or find out how your child can be involved, please contact our Executive Director, Nancy Litteken, at nancy@clubtwentyone.org or call our office at 626-844-1821.
