The START Program, Inc.

Why START is essential?

West Coconut Grove as a community continuously vies with obstacles that hinder students from succeeding. Impediments include poverty, violence, segregation, and under-funded schools and programs. Additionally, the youth now must compete with a new foe as they experience the negative consequences of gentrification. These barriers to success also hamper the psychological development of our community's youth.

START strives to ensure success by generating an understanding of ideas that cut across disciplines and of the connections between different disciplines and their relationship to the real world. This is done while addressing individual differences and helping to develop important, transferable skills. Thus, our ambition is to cultivate the whole child. To do so, we have identified four values in which to provide support: academics, fiscal and social responsibility, health and wellness, and environmental responsibility.

Additionally, as a program we provide journeys for our participants in the form of trips that are either academic or cultural in nature. These adventures truly enrich their lives!