MCC's College for Kids Offers New Expanded Programming

College for Kids at Middlesex Community College is not just for summer anymore. This fall, College for Kids has expanded to include after-school, weekend, and school-vacation programs. Programming includes the After-School Tutoring Center, as well as etiquette, writing, and organization courses for middle and high school students.

College for Kids is designed to provide children with fun and challenging opportunities to gain new knowledge, develop new skills, and boost confidence. “Our new year-round programs are a complement to our summer programming,” said Marci Barnes, Director of Lifelong Learning.

“Many of our new courses were developed as a result of the needs of our After-School Tutoring Program students. We still offer a safe space where learning is fun, but our after-school programming is a little more academically focused.”

Customized to fit individual needs and learning styles, MCC’s After-School Tutoring Center offers face-to-face tutoring sessions for students needing homework help or assistance with special projects. It can also provide assistance to students interested in working above and beyond grade level.

“Students who have used our tutoring program have seen improvements in their grades after just one session,” said Barnes.

MCC’s After-School Tutoring Center is currently taking appointments in math and language arts. All tutors are Massachusetts state certified middle and high school teachers. Rates for instruction begin at $40 per hour and can be purchased hourly.

Other College for Kids course offerings running this semester include “Etiquette for Middle Schoolers” and “Etiquette for Young Adults.” These courses cover age-appropriate topics, including basic manners, physical presence and poise, projecting confidence, leadership skills, improving communication with peers and adults, public speaking, building and maintaining friendships, dealing with bullies, and more.

College for Kids’ new writing courses include “How to Write a Research Paper” and “Common Application Essay Writing.” These classes can help students learn techniques to plan, develop, draft and revise research papers, and prepare responses to common college essay prompts.

Middle and high school students can also work on their organizational skills in “The Organized Middle School Student (Grades 5-8)” and “The Organized High School Student (Grades 9-12).”

“We noticed many of our students in the After-School Tutoring Center spent a lot of time just getting organized before they could get to work,” said Barnes. “These four-week interactive sessions teach students organization and time management skills so they spend less time organizing and more time learning.”

To learn more about MCC’s new College for Kids programming, visit https://www.middlesex.mass.edu/collegeforkids/ or contact Marci Barnes at barnesm@middlesex.mass.edu or call 781-280-3669.

Middlesex Community College meets the evolving educational, civic and workforce needs of our local and global communities. As one of the largest, most comprehensive community colleges in the state, we educate more than 13,000 students annually on our campuses in Bedford and Lowell, and online. MCC offers more than 75 degree and certificate programs, plus hundreds of noncredit courses. At Middlesex, everyone teaches, everyone learns.