Clubhouses

Guiding Principles:
The means by which the Equal Footing Foundation carries out its goal of youth education and development is through funding, launching and sustaining Computer Clubhouses in partnership with local governments, businesses and other non-profit entities.

Computer Clubhouse programs are guided by current educational research that shows that adolescents learn most effectively when they are engaged in designing and creating projects rather than memorizing facts or learning isolated skills out of context. The Clubhouses foster a learner-centered, informal education approach that guides participants through a process of self-discovery, helping children bring their creative energy and ideas to life.

The Computer Clubhouse environment gives participants the opportunity to become designers and creators, not just passive consumers of technology. Activities in the Computer Clubhouses are guided by current educational research that shows that adolescents learn most effectively when they are engaged in designing and creating projects rather than memorizing facts or learning isolated skills out of context. The Clubhouses foster a learner-centered, informal educational approach that encourages participants to discover their interests and apply their own ideas. Rather than playing games with computers, young people learn how to use professional software for design, exploration and experimentation. Through this approach, youth develop the internal motivation to learn and grow.

Relationship to the Surrounding Community:
The six Clubhouses serve over 1,500 registered youths a week, and more than 30,000 adults and children visit the centers each year. Although the Clubhouses are our signature program, it is the educational and youth development initiatives that occur within individual Clubhouse environments that most impacts the lives of children 8-18.

The computer clubhouses we support are centrally located within established community centers in close proximity to schools and bus routes for easy after-school access. The result is an innovative and safe after-school learning center where children ages 8-18, many of whom do not have access to technology at home, work with adult mentors to learn, develop, and explore their potential. Both boys and girls attend the Computer Clubhouse programs in equal numbers. This is extremely important in the visibility of careers in the areas of science, math, engineering, and technology in the eyes of girls.

Though all of the clubhouses employ a consistent learning model, the unique quality of each individual clubhouse location is that the student make-up of each facility directly reflects the surrounding demographic diversity of the community.

The educational approach employed in the clubhouse program also emphasizes the importance of interpersonal relationships and community in the learning process. In our clubhouses, youth interact with adults and other young people who are enthusiastic about learning and are interested and invested in their work. As a result, Clubhouse members become part of the community that values and respects hard work and the pursuit of sharing ideas and knowledge.