What We Offer
Educational Programs
How it works: Consistency is key. This is why IAA students have requirements to access athletic incentives within our program. Students are required to maintain a B average in both Math and English; if the student fall below that benchmark, the student will be placed on an improvement plan and will be required to attend 60-minute tutoring sessions before each workout. Tutors and teachers must sign off to allow lower-performing students to attend workouts. Every student that successfully completes the workout sessions and finishes with at least a C average will have a portion of our scholarship funds deposited into a 529-college savings plan. Additionally, participation in the reading programs enters students for the chance to win prizes such as books, gear, and school supplies.
Tutoring Program
Tutoring is offered during the academic year and summer. This program is available to the West Meck High basketball team in math and language arts during their study hall.
Understanding the complications of COVID-19, we have expanded the scope of our services, offering online tutoring to select groups of students outside of West Meck. Our team of top-notch tutors is comprised of UNCC interns and graduate students (one per semester) as well as both certified and retired teachers.
Reading Program 1
Knowing the prominence of social media in today’s culture, we host weekly live readings on our social media channels. This encourages students (and their families) to tune-in and read-along, which provides an opportunity to keep students actively engaged in literature while promoting community surrounding relevant and relatable topics. We work to find engaging stories from self-published authors who grant us permission to read their stories online. We are in the process of launching a mobile library that will be at all of our athletic training sessions, further encouraging students to dive into literature beyond academic requirements.
Reading Program 2
We also have Guess the Book which is a weekly contest we promote on our social media channels to encourage students to engage with literature. After we post a 1-3 sentence synopsis of the book, students have the opportunity to send us their guess of the book title based on the provided hint. Participation grants students entry into a weekly contest for school supplies.
Coming Soon
We will be launching a brand new online reading support program this fall. Students who need assistance in the areas of reading and comprehension can schedule a 15- to 30-minute session with our volunteer tutors to address their reading needs. During this customized support session, tutors will work with students to identify their specific needs and create and facilitate a one-on-one plan aimed at strengthening current, and acquiring new, reading skills.
A similar program will be beginning for online math support with the same guidelines.
Athletic Training
How it works: Students who participate in any of our educational programs receive free athletic training from former collegiate athletes and/or school supplies.
In-person Basketball Sessions
Our in-person basketball sessions are broken down into skill-based groups to better meet students’ athletic needs. With both our beginner and intermediate level groups, our sessions focus on basketball skills such as dribbling, passing, shooting, and defense. Each instructor is an accomplished basketball player or coach and is required to complete training designed to incorporate life-learning skills into basketball skills, these sessions incorporate lessons on teamwork, management, and responsibility.
Dr. Dish
Students who participate in our tutoring and reading sessions will have access to our Dr. Dish basketball training equipment this fall. The Dr. Dish shooting gun provides world-class training equipment that students won’t be able to wait to get their hands on. By working to improve their academic skills, they will earn access to this highly-rated technology.
Online Training Sessions
Our online training sessions (available this fall) are geared towards athletic drills that students can do at home. Through our website, students have access to a library of training videos they can follow along. We have partnered with a former professional athlete to record him and his student athletes as they run through various basketball drills. We are working on expanding our library of training videos to incorporate athletic interests other than basketball.