Parents Line Up for Afterschool Enrichment Programming at Jackson Magnet
Tuesday morning, parents began lining up in front of Jackson STEM Dual Language Magnet Academy in Altadena, as early as 5:30 am in hopes of signing their children up for one of 16 afterschool enrichment clubs that the school offers. By 7 am, over 100 families had formed a line to turn in their club forms, and the line weaved along the school’s walkways, along Woodbury Road, and around Spaulding Avenue. 3 0 0 forms had been turned in b y the start o f the school day a t 7 :4 5 a m.
One o f Jackson Magnet’s most popular programs, the a fterscho o l enrichment clubs started a s a n innovative offering funded b y the federal magnet grant that transformed Jackson Elementary into a STEM ( science, technology, engineering and math) federal magnet school. Clubs enable students to explore more focused topics in a fun, non-curricular setting, led b y classroom teachers, parent volunteers, and community partners.
Clubs have ranged from Origami and Zumb a to Lego Robotics and Coding. After the federal magnet grant funding, parents decided to keep the a fterscho o l enrichment clubs alive b y fundraising through the Jackson Annual Fund administered b y the Pasadena Educational Foundation. Clubs meet for a n hour once a week a fterscho o l for a period o f 8 -1 0 weeks, with 2 club sessions offered yearly, a s funding allows. The clubs are free of charge to participants and available to Jackson students o n a first-come, first-serve basis.
“Club is one of the highlights of my child’s week,” says Jackson parent Sarah Cole Dinsmore.
Jackson STEM Dual Language Academy is a public elementary school located in Altadena. Jackson started its Spanish dual-language program in the 2012 -2013 school year and was awarded the federal magnet grant in October 2013. In the 2019-2020 school year, Jackson serves approximately 650 students from grades K through 5 from Altadena, Pasadena, Sierra Madre and surrounding cities. For more information, please visit http://www.p usd.us/jackson/