June – August

Monday – Friday

Tournament Training Group

Tennis Practice: 

9:00-12:30 Mon. – Thu.

9:00-11:00 Fri.

In office Academics and Enrichment:

12:30 Mon., Wed., and Thu.

JR Champs and Future Stars Groups

In office Academics and Enrichment:

9:00-11:00 Mon. – Thu.

Tennis Practice:

11:30-2:30 Mon. – Thu.

11:00-1:00 Fri.

Summer academics and enrichment:

For seven weeks students attend the office and work on an in- house math curriculum specifically developed for each age group as well as a personal Khan Academy account that we monitor. We also partner with the Danbury Public Library’s Summer Reading Program and have a mandatory reading requirement of at least 30 minutes per day. In addition, students work on their summer assignments from school, in house reading logs, penmanship and spelling, grammar, study skills, and other supplementary work we give them.

Summer tennis and fitness:

For seven weeks from all students are on court at practice and working out. DGA competes against sister Grassroots programs and local clubs. Each tennis practice includes 30 minutes of fitness and exercise and training for the 1 Mile and 5K race in August.

December – April

Winter Tennis

Select students participate in winter tennis 1 day a week. They are selected based on grades, effort, behavior, attitude, and attendance in the summer.

Year-round

Throughout the year we attend trips to several College Fairs, The U.S. Open, The Museum of Modern Art in New York City, the Hickories Farm, the Peabody Museum, Ridgefield Playhouse, New Pond Farm, Candlewood Beach, CT Science Center, New York Hall of Science, the Bronx Zoo, Walkaway on the Hudson, music concerts, the Wolf Conservatory, local farms, and hikes at local parks.

Partnerships

Finding Our Way

A program through WCSU, a year-long program getting students involved in the environmental sciences of their surroundings and fosters lifelong interest in protecting our environment, gain a firm start in understanding environmental stewardship while learning about careers in STEM fields, Science Saturdays in the biology labs at WSCU, an overnight in Virginia’s touring a NASA facility participating in scientific activities.  

Ridgefield Young Entrepreneurs Academy (YEA!)

YEA! is a “fun and exciting class that guides students through the process of starting their own REAL business, and teaches them how to make a job – not just take a job! Students learn as much about self-esteem, personal potential and leadership skills as they do about budgeting, planning and production, and have an opportunity to work directly with, and learn from local business leaders.”

Ms.President U.S.

Our MS. President girls are enjoying the monthly and year round workshops in Ridgefield as of September 2017. They have been focusing on civic engagement leadership skills, public speaking, diplomacy, state & federal government, and women’s history. They are  given the opportunity to run for President in a local mock election and visit and get a private tour of the State Capital!

Nutrition and Health

We serve a variety of healthy snacks, and often lunch, every day, year round. Lynn provides hands on cooking lessons including soups, sandwiches, smoothies, jams, lunches, ‘Grassroots Granola’, salads, wraps, chili, and more. We discuss ingredients, highlight cost, nutritional value and content, healthy eating habits, caloric intake, and exercise with our kids. We created the “Unhealthy Sugar Shelf” in our kitchen that displays 8 sugary drinks such as soda, Gatorade, Capri Sun and more. We have a “zero sugar and fast food” policy in the office and within the entire program.

We perform 1 mile run time checks every week in the summer and help our kids set goals to prepare participants for the 1 Mile or 5K race they are required to run every year. We have doctors, nutritionists, and other volunteers who discuss the significance of healthy eating habits, caloric intake, and exercise with our students.

Once a month Lynn works with our parents educating and counseling them on a variety of nutritional matters and information. They take a grocery store tours to learn how to shop on a budget, make healthier choices, the correct way to read food labels, and more.

Daily

• Math Facts Practice with Joe (all students)

Weekly

• Writing & Grammar (all students)
• School Pressure & Life Stress (select students)
  • one on one sessions 
• Yoga with Susie (all students)
• Art & Creativity with Pam (all students)
• Dance Classes (middle school girls)
• Coding, Programing, & Robotics with Greg (twice a week, all students)

Monthly

• “Girl Power” talks & discussions
• Drug and Substance Abuse Prevention (8th- 12 graders)
• College Prep Workshops/Information Sessions/SAT Prep (bi monthly, high school students)

Other Workshops

• CT School Finance with Erika Haynes- Equity and equality in schools
• ASML: All students work with a group of very bright, fun and kind employees from ASML in Wilton. They break up into groups, designed and built their own robots, and programmed them to follow a path. Our kids are able to work on intellectual curiosity, inquisitiveness, logical reasoning, creativity, problem solving, teamwork, and communication skills.
• Healthy relationships and body image workshops with the Woman’s Center (all students