The Mi Casa Neighborhood Center is located at Lake Middle School in northwest Denver and serves the youth and families at Lake with out-of-school time enrichment programs, including evening classes for adults.
Mi Casa serves 300 youth annually during 40 weeks of afterschool, evening and summer programming focused on these core areas:
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Academic Enrichment
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Technology
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Arts and Culture
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Recreation
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Leadership
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Entrepreneurship
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Career Exploration
The Mi Casa Neighborhood Center adheres to the Beacon Center model that utilizes a public school as a community center, offering a range of activities and services for children and their families during out-of-school time.
Key to Mi Casa’s approach to youth development is involving the entire family, and Mi Casa Neighborhood Center offers programs for adults that make it a rich resource for parents as well as their children:
In addition to the Homework Zone, which youth are required to attend, activities at the Neighborhood are structured around clubs that allow students to choose a primary activity that piques their interest.
Typical afterschool club offerings at the Mi Casa Neighborhood Center include:
Mad Science helps students develop an increased understanding of the environment and basic scientific principles and procedures.
Mouse SQUAD introduces students to computer programming via user-friendly programs; students create animated stories, video games and robots they program themselves.
Young Money is an entrepreneurship club that teaches students how to start their own small businesses, such as dog-walking or lawn-care services
Paint the Town is a club where students practice artistic expression through the hands-on compilation of a mural, as well as legal graffiti art
College 4 You introduces middle schoolers to higher education, including frequent field trips to local universities and information about the admissions process, financial aid, and career paths.
Upstanders teaches students about current events, world affairs and global development through study of the UN Millennium Development Goals.
