Bio
Sixth Street Youth Program is a dynamic after school program that offers New York City youth (ages 5 and up!) quality after school workshops in an intimate class setting. With a limited enrollment of up to 30 students per day and an average staff to student ratio of 1:5, each child receives thoughtful guidance and support that is needed to foster their individual and creative growth. Our program is committed to developing strong community, expressive creative skills, mindfulness, and social and environmental awareness and activism among our youth. Our mission is to cultivate a warm and inclusive atmosphere that honors each student’s unique strengths. Sixth Street Youth Program has quality enrichment in the arts, urban gardening, urban sustainability, and community activism. From the start, we teach the kids about the history of the Lower East Side, housing rights, food justice, and climate justice! We creatively engage them through kid-led, inquiry-based projects with local businesses and organizations. The curriculum is centered around empowering young people to be change-makers in their communities. We teach urban sustainability and food justice through experiential education at 5th Street Rooftop Farm. During afterschool, we go to the garden weekly and during the summer we are the primary caretakers of the garden! This year our youth program took on a big challenge, working to become the first zero-waste after school in the Lower East Side.