By Tim Seyfert

A new after-school study program at the Boys and Girls Club of the Peninsula is giving at-risk youth a shot at making the grade.

In an effort to help disadvantaged students catch up on their math, reading and spelling skills, the club last month launched the Enhanced Academic Program at its East Palo Alto facility.

Blending interactive software, human-tutored assistance and hands-on projects, the individualized course of study gives participating elementary and middle school students the chance to bone up on basic subjects at a pace tailored to their abilities.

“This program is intended to support our public schools in economically challenged areas,” said Board President and Los Altos Hills resident David Lenehan. “It’s an investment in our youth.”

The program was birthed out of a $1.4 million grant donated by software giant Oracle and its Help Us Help Foundation, a non-profit organization that assists K-12 public schools and youth organizations in disadvantaged areas.

For one hour, twice a week, students get schooled through computerized lessons, homework assistance with a staff of tutors, creative learning projects such as a Harry Potter reading club, group science projects and various field trips.

The idea behind the program, according to Lenehan, is to make learning fun and interesting for children whose scholastic abilities are below standard for their grade levels.

“We have to attract the child and get them to want to come in,” Lenehan said. “We can’t force them to sit down and learn.”

One thing Lenehan hopes comes out of the program is higher scores on the California Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) tests for schools in the Peninsula’s low-income areas.

Schools in more affluent areas typically score dramatically higher on the basic skills assessment test than schools in disadvantaged neighborhoods, according to data from the STAR Web site. For instance, last school year Egan Intermediate School in Los Altos had only 5 percent of its students score below basic levels in English and 6 percent in math, while Flood Elementary School in East Palo Alto had 31 percent of its students score below basic levels in English and 25 percent in math.

Lenehan said the Enhanced Academic Program is designed for students to make an average of two months’ progress in math for every four individualized instructional hours, and two months’ progress in language arts for every two hours.

The youth organization is planning to expand the program to all three of its chapters (East Palo Alto, Menlo Park and Redwood City) and hopes to ultimately accommodate up to around 400 students.

“We’re trying to change the poor statistics we see in low-income areas,” Lenehan said. “We want to improve (the students’) confidence and self-esteem and inspire them to learn.”

Founded in 1958, the Boys and Girls Club of the Peninsula is a youth development organization offering academic, physical education, science and art programs to disadvantaged youth. For more information, logon to www.bgcp.org.