Beyond the Classroom

Beyond The Classroom is a year-round K–5 after-school enrichment program that offers weekly field trips, hands-on projects, creative exploration, and real-world learning experiences such as visits to museums, farms, theaters, and gardens. Children take part in weekly projects that use different mediums, including traditional art materials and recycled or reused surpluses from factories, along with various activities and games that foster connection, community, and friendship. The program also includes scavenger hunt walks around the neighborhood, daily campfire stories, child-led project-based learning, character-building activities, and opportunities for campers to earn badges and prizes, including Brain Badges for remembering facts from special guests.

• Ages: 5–11 years old
• Schedule: Year-round program with Monday–Friday options, generally open 8:00am–6:00pm and during most school holidays and local school vacations such as spring, winter, and summer breaks

Beyond The Classroom describes itself as “a home away from home” and includes BTC Summer Camp as part of its offerings. The program has been enriching children’s minds for over a decade and was founded by two South Pasadena moms and former educators, with materials noting it was made with love by Christina Valdivia. Its mission is to provide a safe, loving, and nurturing environment while cultivating children’s Emotional Intelligence, to create an enriching play-based environment that fosters a passion for learning and encourages children to take ownership of their education, to increase parental awareness of childhood development and foster stronger parent-child relationships, and to strengthen the community and establish partnerships among its members for the betterment of children and families. Monthly parent education meetings offer guidance on childhood development and help strengthen the home-to-program connection.

Community involvement is reflected in the program’s stated goal of strengthening the community and establishing partnerships among its members for the betterment of children and families, and in descriptions of Beyond The Classroom as a beloved place in the South Pasadena community. Testimonials from parents and former participants describe long-term involvement with BTC, returning to volunteer, strong connections with teachers and staff, and core values of kindness, empathy, and community involvement.

Last updated March 13, 2026.