Located on the bottom floor of a housing project in one of the wealthiest counties in the country, a small after-school program is helping low-income students flourish.

Without activities, such as sports or the arts, that typically attract students to after-school programs, Bridge the Gap College Prep draws them in by offering one-on-one academic and emotional support. The program, which operates out of the Golden Gate Village housing project, serves about 130 primarily low-income students, close to 40 percent of the students who attend public schools in Marin City, an unincorporated city of 4,000 in Marin County.

The 10 teachers involved in the after-school program work closely with the students’ public school teachers. The after-school teachers help the students with their homework assignments and create their own lessons that emphasize the skills – such as using academic language and thinking critically – they will need for college. Volunteers in the classroom tutor the students in small groups or one-on-one.

A recent issue brief by the Afterschool Alliance, an advocacy group based in Washington, D.C., noted that the program supports the Common Core State Standards, the new math and reading standards most states have adopted.

Read the full story on EdSource California.