In West Philly, new after-school opportunities are available for Philly kids — thanks to Tiger Woods

The Philly kids took it all in: a brand-new learning lab stocked with 3D printers and drones, a music studio, and a wellness room, with views of an in-progress golf course — all for them to use, for free, year-round.

People have a lot of negative things to say about Philadelphia, said Saniyah Brown, a senior at Girls’ High. But Brown felt differently eyeing the just-opened TGR Learning Lab on a recent field trip.

“You come here and you start to see that good things can happen in Philadelphia,” said Brown, 18.

The learning lab is years in the making, offering any city student year-round, cutting-edge programming — science, technology, engineering, math, college prep, career readiness, and more — at no cost. It’s powered by the TGR Foundation, golf superstar Tiger Woods’ charitable organization.

The educational facility sits at 74th Street and Lansdowne Avenue, part of the historic Cobbs Creek Golf Course — which was for decades one of the nation’s premier public golf courses, especially important because it allowed golfers of color at a time when many courses barred them.

But the course fell into disrepair and was deemed unplayable, and it closed in 2020. The Cobbs Creek Foundation, a nonprofit, formed, promising to raise millions not just to reopen, but also to create a new campus with the education center in addition to a two-story driving range, museum, community event space, restaurant, short course, nine-hole course, and 18-hole course.

Philadelphia’s TGR Learning Lab becomes just the second such facility in the country; the original, in California, has operated for 20 years.

Woods was mentored by Charlie Sifford, the trailblazing golfer who was the first Black player on the PGA tour. (He named his son Charlie in Sifford’s honor.)

Cobbs Creek was Sifford’s home course, and it made sense to Woods to locate the next learning lab there, said Meredith Foote, executive director of the TGR Learning Lab Philadelphia.

“Tiger is excited about the partnership, and the ability to bring a TGR Learning Lab to Philadelphia,” Foote said.

The site is still a work in progress, with a mass of dirt, heavy equipment, and construction workers. But the 30,000-square-foot educational facility opened on April 1, offering after-school and weekend programming.

Eventually, it hopes to serve 4,500 students annually, with some living close enough to walk to the site. Foote and her team spent more than a year on outreach before the center opened — visiting schools, meeting parents at report card conferences, taking their show on the road.

They talked about Woods’ vision: empowering students to find what inspires them via education and hands-on experiences, exposing them to all kinds of opportunities, and guiding them to build solid postsecondary plans.

“We are a safe place to inspire students to discover their passions,” said Foote, an energetic former Philadelphia School District principal. “There’s not a lot in this geographic area of the city where kids can learn and grow and chase after their dreams in a safe place that’s free.”

Programming is in full swing: after-school programs in forensics and rocketry, music production, neuroscience, and weekend community sessions where kids can use 3D printers, make T-shirts, or practice yoga and mindfulness. There’s a college readiness program, workshops for teens to polish communication skills and build resumes, and professional development opportunities for educators.

On a recent day, Mayor Cherelle L. Parker swung by to tour the Cobbs Creek campus. Parker was promised a prime view of the city from the golf course, but seemed even more delighted by what she found inside.

“There’s a lot of hope and pride and potential here,” Parker said.

The clock was ticking.

In a large meeting room with tables set out in two rows, groups of students from Girls’ High were tackling a time-management challenge: Given a complicated set of obligations and rules, use logic and planning skills to arrange a hypothetical schedule — the kind of fast-paced, hands-on, real-world activity the learning lab uses to keep kids engaged.

It took Foote, who holds a doctorate in education and manages more than a dozen employees, 27 minutes to complete the challenge when she first tried it, she said.

A group of students from Girls’ High was at 14 minutes, and they were on the brink of finishing the puzzle, fitting in classes, presentations, work shifts, homework, and more into their grid.

“The office hours have to be between 2:00 and 5:00, right?” junior Kyla Graves asked Brown, a senior she was working with on the activity.

“Yep,” Brown responded. “Did you get the homework done?”

Brown, Graves, and teammates Geeia Mahoney and Jayla Cheely checked their work. They were done — the first group to finish the challenge, at just over 15 minutes.

Van Nguyen, a TGR program coordinator, congratulated the group. It felt daunting, the girls said, but confidence-building, like a challenge they would actually have to face in real life, in college or at a job.

“Sometimes it looks big and scary, but you’re doing this already in your life, in a different way,” Nguyen said. “We’re here as a staff to be there for you and to remind you you can do this.”

Meeting the mayor, in a lesson about rocketry, touring the facility, and peering at the green, the Girls’ High students had a perpetual sense of wonder.

“It smells rich here!” one student said. “$25 million!”

Graves explained. Growing up in the city, attending an under-resourced Philadelphia public school, kids are used to bare bones. Stepping into the learning lab hits differently, she said.

“To be in a place that offers these opportunities, it’s amazing,” Graves said.

Foote wants that for as many Philadelphia students as possible.

“This,” she said, “is a dream come true.”