SchoolRooms™ is now being used by thousands of Philadelphia-area schoolchildren participating in after-hours programs in America’s fifth largest city. Since November 2006, K-12 students in Philadelphia Safe and Sound’s (PSS) afterschool and youth development programs have had access to thousands of online educational resources organized around school curriculum. As a leading nonprofit child advocacy and research organization, PSS manages a network of more than 200 programs in Philadelphia.
 
PSS programs, consisting of Afterschool, Beacon Programs and 21^st Century Community Learning Centers, contribute to improved school attendance and performance and provide safe places for children, youth, families and community residents, of all ages, to spend time interacting and to focus on learning. The addition of SchoolRooms to these programs also supports a violence prevention and reduction plan being conducted by the City of Philadelphia.
 
“Every child deserves the right to grow up healthy and safe and lead a life of unlimited promise,” said Gus Keirans, vice president of best practice for PSS. “These programs are designed to be a safe haven in our communities and to provide young people with educational assistance and enrichment, and SchoolRooms is a perfect fit with our mission and our vision. It provides education resources that have been hand-selected by teachers specifically for elementary, middle and high school students. Parents can also use SchoolRooms’ hundreds of pages of information to help their children learn better. Improved academic performance for our young people is a cornerstone of rebuilding our communities. SchoolRooms is an excellent way of helping us.”
 
About Philadelphia Safe and Sound
Philadelphia Safe and Sound is a leading child advocacy agency. Its mission is to improve the health and well-being of children and youth in Philadelphia. PSS manages 135 Afterschool programs, 24 21^st Century Community Learning Centers and 30 Beacon Programs. The agency fosters change and reform within major public systems that serve children and families. This is accomplished in collaboration with government, foundations, corporations and community groups through the integration and leveraging of resources, research, policy analysis and program development. For more information, please see www.philasafesound.org.