Where it all began…
OPEX Park Inc. was officially founded in 2020 during the height of the pandemic. As we sat around wondering what the world would be, we knew we wanted to effect great change amongst the youth. We had to combat the challenges the pandemic presented and make the changes to education that we wished for our younger selves. We immediately recognized the inequities and the sever lack of opportunities particularly in communities of color and correlated it to the lack of exceptional experiences in education that help shape the mind of our youth. As we understand there are many other factors which contribute to youth development, we believe that making education exciting, memorable, and correlative to everyday life is one of the most effective ways to contribute to youth education and community betterment. Since, it’s been our mission to propel our learning model further and to extend it to schools everywhere.
While partnered with Albert M. Greenfield School in Philadelphia, OPEX Park extended its existing LEO program (Learning, Experiences & Opportunities) into a fully operating education based nonprofit organization. Extending our model beyond the classroom, into an organization which could replicate the benefits that Greenfield School received. While not only replicating Greenfield’s success, but improving upon our work, understanding that there were other critical areas to focus on. While we believe in the importance of fostering an exciting and impressionable classroom, we also grasped the significance of the application of education to real-life. It is of our belief that when students find what they enjoy in learning and seek more of it, their chances of future creativity and productivity will increase.
Our LEO program originated upon these principles; Creative play, Maker culture, Building and Technology. Creative play included active sports/games, integrated with social, leadership and cultural skills. Maker culture involved making at small scale, integrating science, art, and engineering. Building immersed students in constructing at larger scale, incorporating design, architecture, and engineering. Tech, revolving around the digital scale, combined with play, making, designing, and art culture. These principles built upon STEAM curriculums, however we believed we could take this further and broaden our work to incorporate our values and principles into education, especially in the communities who suffer most.
OPEX Park has 3 goals; what we ultimately strive to accomplish
Create life-long learning experiences that stimulate more equitable opportunities
Be a resource for all youth improvement and development in school and out of school
Teach and instill financial literacy to improve economic growth in marginalized communities
