One of the programs that helps reinforce these skills is OAKTRACK, Admiral Oaks’ own family reading night. Made possible through the Literacy Council, every Monday night families gather together for a home cooked meal and to participate in fun reading activities.

OAKTRACK is unique in the sense that it is the only program currently offered at Admiral Oaks that brings parents and children together to read as a family. The program helps to give parents the confidence to be able to sit down and read with their children. It also reinforces the reading strategies taught in school and helps the children apply what they have learned outside the classroom. Most importantly, the program helps encourage families to have reading become part of their everyday lives.

OAKTRACK is in its second successful year and many of the residents who have participated in the 12-week program have gone out and re-entered the workplace.

Another program at Gateway is the Homework Club. This after-school program provides resident children with the help and support they need to complete assignments and maximize their potential in order to soar academically and succeed in school. After homework is complete, the children work and play on one of the state-of-the-art computers available at the Gateway. Each computer is equipped with current Microsoft applications and Internet access which gives the children an opportunity to learn the computer skills that are so vital in today’s job market.

The Gateway is open Monday – Thursday from 3:00 to 6:00pm.

Each day about twenty children ages 6 to 12 years old attend the after-school program. Currently there are only two staff people to work with all the children and Pat Ranney, a Literacy Council volunteer, who comes once a week to help the children. Many of the children enrolled in the program have special needs and need the one-on-one help. Unfortunately, the program does not have enough tutors to give the individual attention the children so desperately need. We are always looking for volunteers to work with the kids after school at the   Gateway.