teen programs
YOUTH-CENTERED APPROACH
Camp Fire’s Teen Programs reach every student where they are, uplift their self-empowerment, and support them in building a place where they absolutely belong.
Where their dreams matter. Where their voice is heard.
Camp Fire’s Teen Programs provides over 360 students with individualized support, culturally responsive curriculum and mentoring, while engaging with students’ families/support networks that collectively provide a framework for self-directed goal-setting and goal achievement.
Teen Programs are driven by the Developmental Relationships Framework. Our partner, Search Institute, defines developmental relationships as, “close connections through which young people discover who they are, cultivate abilities to shape their own lives, and learn how to engage with and contribute to the world around them.” Our onsite, school-based staff build developmental relationships with students by expressing care, challenging growth, providing support, sharing power, and expanding possibilities.
Multi-Year Programs:
Equitable student success is a core value of Camp Fire Columbia as we address the needs of our community. As such, we believe building and maintaining consistent relationships is an integral part of providing equitable, transformative programs.
Mentors in our Teen Programs support students in cohorts throughout middle and high school, building multi-year relationships in which students experience reliable support, encouraging growth challenge, and consistent care. This structure allows mentors to best support individual student needs. Through these multi-year programs, mentors capitalize on incremental but compounding student growth while maintaining a trusting and reliable relationship throughout critical transition points in the students’ lives.
No one cohort within our Teen Programs is the same across schools or year-to-year because each mentor designs program elements to meet the specific needs and interests of their students in preparation for their post-secondary pursuits.
Programs: