Table 5.

Examples of Quotes from St. Louis Public School Student Focus Groups by Theme

Theme	Sample quote
Engaging Learning Environment
	I would do it again because it was educational. I liked all the field trips, the activities. They were just so much fun. I enjoyed this program and I'd love to do it again
	[Before the program] we used to do these [lessons] in our workbooks. Just doing work, being bored… When they came we did activities and stuff like that. They made learning fun.
	We were exploring things, and we got to see things that we don't see, usually
	I like how the field trips relate to what they talk about
Promoting Environmentally Conscious Decisions
	I started recycling more and stopped wasting food
	I started recycling more and I started reusing water bottles and stuff
	We live in environment, so we should, like, take care of our environment, like pick up trash and stuff
Family Engagement
	My momma she was trying to plant this plant and I showed her how to do it, how to prepare, how to plant those… I showed her how to water and stuff to grow it
	Like we have soda cans in those little plastic thingies, the rings and stuff like that. My mom doesn't buy those anymore… She buys the one with the cardboard, and then she reuses it to make art projects and stuff like that. Then metal straws. We use metal straws [now].
	I told her [my mom] an interesting fact we learned, ‘cause I like to learn facts ‘cause it makes me seem smarter than her, so I just told her
Promoting Healthy Behaviors
	We learned the difference between vegetables and fruit and that they have… calories and fat
	I learned to read the nutrition thing on the back of foods to see how much calories you are eating
	They were talking about calories and some good foods that we can eat to keep us healthy
Promoting Physical Activity
	To go to the store, instead of—if it's a short distance we just walk instead of taking the car all the time
	I would say put down the screens and go outside and enjoy what's around you instead of staring at your screen
Leadership and Team-Building Skill Development
	I learned how to work with people, and the thing is you could actually learn from
	We had to learn about a specific topic and then teach sixth-graders about the topic we learnt about
Academic Support and Mentorship
	They were nice, and they helped us with our work, and if we didn't want to do it, they would talk to us and see what happened or a bad day or stuff like that
	They were sweet and respectful to us, and… every time we need their help, they would always come and help us when we needed it.
	Something that I liked most about the… program was that they helped us understand things that if we didn't get it, they would help us slowly figure it out and give us chances to figure it out ourselves before they just told us what the answer is
	If we have something to do and they'll actually help us make it, turn it into a fun lesson so that we can understand