School Age Program

School’s Out

School Age Program 2024-2025

New Family Registration dates/information for 2025-2026 School’s Out After School Program to follow.

Licensed by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care, the School’s Out Program @ Bresnahan grew out of women’s economic needs for safe, world-class programs to serve their children while they pursue their professional goals.  We responded by providing a warm, caring atmosphere where children are accepted unconditionally.  The program is inclusive, open to all children regardless of color, race, economic status, religious background, or family composition.  Staff members strive to create an environment, which is a careful balance between reliable security and stimulation that fosters exploration and growth.

Our Philosophy

School-aged programs improve academic performance, social and developmental outcomes, contribute to healthy lifestyle options, and prevent many risky behaviors. The key factors in supporting positive outcomes include access to and sustained participation in quality programming with strong partnerships with schools, families, and the community. In collaboration with Newburyport Youth Services, the YWCA’s after-school program draws on the 40 Developmental Asset Model.  This model helps young people grow up healthy, caring, and responsible and engages all the adults in children’s lives (parents, youth staff, and school personnel) in that process.  

Our program is designed to:

• Promote a sense of self-worth:  A positive self-concept is the bedrock of all learning and growth.
• Foster independence and self-discipline: These two elements are necessary ingredients for problem-solving and achievement.
• Provide opportunities for success: This encourages risk-taking and appropriate expansion of parameters.
• Meet each child’s unique needs whenever possible:  A concept that builds trust and respect for others.
• Create a caring, respectful community:  This sense of community grows from the individual program to the school, family, and the community at large.

Young people build skills, acquire passions, come to understandings and take on responsibilities for changing their world as they grow, learn and develop. Practice suggests that young people are most likely to develop these strengths when they are connected to programs and organizations that have effective youth engagement strategies explicitly designed to address these core needs. Our Activities & Curriculum

Our multi-age program offers a rich, engaging array of activities and experiences within a fun developmentally appropriate program model.  Our philosophy along with our mission drives our curriculum and program environment from the books we feature in our reading lounge to the carefully planned themed activities that are offered each week.  Our staff team works to create experiences that will engage the diverse group of young friends that makes up the program each school year.  With staff guidance, youth hone their choice-making skills at their various levels and journey towards becoming more independent. Activity choices include outdoor play, gym time, free play, social enrichment, cooperative group games, and themed activities. A snack is offered each afternoon.

The YWCA offers EPIC Programming for some of the early release days and vacation days based on staff and space availability.  All EPIC offerings will be published throughout the school year as the logistics are ironed out.