AFTER SCHOOL PROGRAM
NAAF is the only nonprofit to provide an After-School program to communities within the Tohono O’odham Nation. It is the hope of NAAF that moving forward other Districts will partner with the organization and implement their own After-School programs based on the GuVo model.
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Community members from the District develop and manage the program, which includes extracurricular activities designed to keep students scholastically engaged as well as physically fit. Students begin each daily session with study hours where instructors provide tutoring in reading, math, science, and even the study of computer programming and robotics.
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Arts and crafts classes are also part of the curriculum including painting, sewing, ceramics, and beading – skills that are incorporated into the making of traditional Tohono O’odham clothing, medicine pouches, jewelry, pottery, and holiday handicrafts such as cascarones. Also offered will be instruction in dance, pottery, cooking, language, and gardening. The idea is to teach students subjects such as math and science, but also focus on the history and practices of the Tohono O’odham Nation.
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The Healthy O’odham Promotion Program (HOPP) offers fitness clinics and wellness counseling to the students. In September of 2012, HOPP was nationally recognized by the American Diabetes Association for its work towards the prevention of diabetes and obesity. Their approach is culturally based and engages the students in physical fitness and nutrition. Nutritional dinners are prepared daily using The Mayo Clinic Kids’ Cookbook.
Team sports, such as flag football, soccer, softball, and the O'odham game toka are played to build character, boost self-esteem, and further teach the students to come together and work as a group. The goal of the GuVo Youth After-School Program is to establish a safe, fun, active learning environment for the students, giving them the support and incentives they need to remain enrolled in school, improve their study skills, and increase their grade point averages.
Ce:ce:m A’al o O’odham Ñeñok
Ce:ce:m A’al o O’odham Ñeñok (“Ce:ce:m A’al”), translated “The Little Children Speak O’odham”, is NAAF's early childhood O’odham immersion program servicing children ages 24 months through 4 years old on the Tohono O’odham Nation. Through an immersion language setting, where Tohono O’odham is the primary spoken language, children are equipped with the foundation of O’odham himdag (“way of life”), O’odham language, and prepared for entry into elementary school. The program provides healthy meals and snacks, an outdoor garden space for program use, and emphasizes traditional O’odham foods, planting, harvesting practices, and STEM education.
SUMMER ACADEMIC ADVENTURE
The goal of the GuVo Summer Adventure is to promote education, build our youths’ self-esteem, spark curiosity, and shape strong, healthy, contributing members of society. The program focuses on teaching reading, math, technology, and health education. Also incorporated are the teaching and development of traditional Tohono O’odham art, handicrafts, language, gardening, and cultural history.
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Through the use of Cubelets (robotic building blocks that behave differently depending on how they are assembled), the children are taught beginning Robotics and Programming as they build and experiment. Between class periods, students will break for healthy snacks and exercise. Each day will provide the students with an active schedule that will enrich them both mentally and physically.
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The students will take field trips to educational hotspots such as Kitt Peak, The Pima Air & Space Museum, Biosphere 2, as well as important locations on the reservation such as the historic village Ku:kaj—ancestral lands where the kids learn respect for elders and basic survival techniques.
General Education Development (GED)
Working with the Tohono O'odham Nation's One Stop Program, NAAF's GED program helps people return to the workforce by providing instruction and support while they earn their GED. Classes are offered three times a week, and NAAF provides transportation, laptops and internet services. This program also coordinates testing preparation, administration and transportation to the official GED testing site at Tohono O’odham Community College in Sells, AZ.​
