Academic Enrichment
The academic curriculum includes Math, English, Social Studies, Science, and Art. The students attend class beginning at 9:30 a.m. and finish at 5:00 p.m. The teachers in the program are Greenville County master teachers and many of them have been selected as Teachers of the Year at their schools. Each year, the teachers create new and innovative curriculum that not only engages, challenges and accelerates students, but greatly enriches their knowledge and perspective in specific academic areas.

The curriculum for each class is designed so that students do not experience repetition in consecutive summers. For example, the Science curriculum rotates between Environmental Science, Physics, and Forensic Science; Social Studies includes: Family Budgeting, Current Events, Politics, World History, and Controversial Issues; English focuses on Writing, Grammar, Poetry, and Expression; Math covers all areas including Algebra, Geometry, Algebra II, Pre-Calculus, and Calculus; and Art includes art history, three-dimensional structures, watercolor, and personal portraits.

The teachers utilize innovative methods to engage the students in learning. For example, the students learn Physics by making race cars and racing them against each other. In Social Studies students research and study controversial topics and then debate those topics. The Math class exposes students to higher levels through interactive projects like the Math Scavenger Hunt where they take pictures of geometrical shapes in the environment and then make a poster to present to the class. Students have also done research on famous mathematicians, and utilized mathematical principals in activities like the “egg drop.” In Art, students are drawing, painting, and creating three-dimensional structures. Our Art teacher tells the students on the first day, “You are all artists!” The students spend the majority of their time in the classroom and they love it! They often note that it is very challenging but fun, engaging, and worthwhile.

In addition, we have guest lecturers to teach on special interest areas. In 2008, Dr. Cynthia King, a Furman Professor taught Public Speaking in the English Class and Sandra Yudice (Greenville County) and John Tynan (Upstate Forever) taught in the Climate Quest class. In the past, we have had Dr. Susan Munkres teach Sociology and Professor John Simpkins teach Government.

Each year, we host nationally renowned performance poet, Glenis Redmond to teach the students how to express their thoughts and emotions through poetry. This week ends with a poetry performance where every student in the program reads a piece of poetry they wrote. This is often a transformational experience for students as they learn to express themselves in healthy and creative ways.

Personal Enrichment
In addition to academic enrichment, the other fundamental aspect of Bridges to a Brighter Future is personal enrichment. Each individual’s personal development is addressed formally through workshops and experiences and informally through interaction in the residence halls with counselors, staff, and other program participants. The program components and activities address life skills, self-esteem, leadership, understanding differences, developing healthy relationships, healthy decision-making, coping skills, communication, anger management, career exposure, and assistance in the college admissions and financial aid process.

Leadership Development
The two older classes of Bridges to a Brighter Future participate in a two-day outdoor leadership retreat immediately following check-in. The two older classes are returning for their second and third summers in the program. Therefore the goal of the retreat is to increase their leadership within the program and get them thinking about their commitment and learning in the second and third summers. The students are challenged in the area of team building, leadership, communication, trust, goal setting, and mentoring. The two older groups of students also become mentors to the first-year students to help them transition to the Bridges program and make good decisions.

National Coalition Building Institute (NCBI)
NCBI is an international organization with a program model that introduces participants to diversity and oppression. First year students participate in a six-hour NCBI workshop that teaches them about their own identity, diversity, enlightens them on the oppression put upon others, and gives them an opportunity to express their feelings regarding negative life experiences. Young people rarely have an opportunity to express the hurt, pain, and anger experienced at very formative years. If the feelings are not dealt with, many young people turn to drugs, sex, and other unhealthy behaviors to deal with their feelings. NCBI offers these young people an outlet to communicate their feelings and the understanding that they are not alone.

Workshops
Workshops are held one evening a week and cover a variety of topics including career exploration, etiquette, college planning, college success, healthy decision-making and personal development.

Field Trips
One day a week first year students go on field trips in and around Greenville to learn about the community. The field trips change each summer. Annually, students visit the Warehouse Theater, participate in a downtown scavenger hunt, visit St. Francis Hospital, tour the Greenville County Museum of Art, Upcountry History Museum, and Bob Jones Museum and Gallery, and go to Pisgah National Forest.

College Campus Visits
One day a week, rising juniors and seniors visit colleges in South Carolina. Students are required to ask questions of the tour guides and have a quiz upon their return to campus. We visit approximately seven colleges each summer.

Community Service
On Saturdays, students participate in community service with local non-profit agencies. Community Service projects have been conducted with A Child's Haven, North Greenville Food Crisis Ministries, Diligent Hands Gracious Hearts, Central Community Ministries, and the Conestee Foundation. Each summer the Bridges students compete in a program-wide car wash to raise money for Bridges. In 2008, the students raised a record $2,365.00!

Positive Social Outlets
On Saturday and Sunday nights, students get to go off campus to participate in activities such as bowling, ice skating, roller skating, and Gattitown. Each summer we have a dance on campus and go swimming at the Furman President's House.

Physical Activities
Three nights a week, students participate in structured evening activities. Our goal with the activities is to engage them in physical movement that they enjoy and may not have been exposed to before. Some of our exposure activities include swim lessons, tennis lessons, dance, Furman fitness center, and ultimate Frisbee. We also do activities that they have been exposed to and enjoy like weight lifting, step-team, volleyball, basketball, and soccer.