Education & Mentorship

The Boys and Girls Club of Marion County is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing young people with a safe and positive environment where they can learn, grow, and develop into responsible and caring adults. The organization serves children and youth from ages 6 to 18 in Marion County, Florida.​

The Boys and Girls Club of Marion County offers a variety of programs and services to help young people develop the skills, values, and confidence they need to succeed in life. These programs include academic support, character and leadership development, health and wellness, arts, and sports and fitness. The organization also provides a safe and supportive after-school environment where young people can socialize, have fun, and learn from positive adult role models.

The Boys and Girls Club of Marion County is funded by donations from individuals, businesses, and community organizations. The organization relies heavily on the support of volunteers who serve as mentors, tutors, and coaches for the young people in their programs

Administrative Offices
800 SW 12th Avenue
Ocala, Florida 34471
(352) 690-7440 (Press 5)

Dr. H.L. Harrell, Sr. Youth Center
800 SW 12th Avenue
Ocala, Florida 34471
(352) 690-7440 (Press 1)

Silver Springs Shores Branch
Silver Springs Shores Presbyterian Church
674 Silver Road
Ocala, Florida 34472
(352) 690-7440 (Press 3)

Dunnellon Branch
20077 SW 110th Street
Dunnellon, Florida 34432
(352) 690-7440 (Press 2)”

The Early Learning Coalition of Marion County supports families through access to quality early learning programs that nurture children’s learning potential while preparing them for educational success. Our FREE services include Child Care Resource and Referral, School Readiness childcare financial assistance for eligible families, Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten (VPK), children’s developmental and behavioral screenings, parenting workshops, emergency family resources, and more.

The Florida Diagnostic & Learning Resources System (FDLRS) provides diagnostic, instructional, and technology support services to district exceptional education programs and families of students with disabilities. Service centers include 18 centers that directly serve school districts in the areas of Child Find, Family Services, Human Resources Development (HRD), and Technology. In addition, the FDLRS Network also includes 6 Multi-disciplinary Centers who focus on in-depth evaluations and several statewide projects offering specialized services.

Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY). HIPPY is an evidence-based, home visiting program that partners with parents of children ages two through five to help prepare parents and children for school success.

Each week, HIPPY delivers curriculum, books, and materials to families and, through peer-to-peer mentoring, provides parents and guardians with the confidence, tools, and strategies for engaging their child in the HIPPY activities for that week. Parents who enroll in HIPPY all four years will engage in 105 hours of home visits and can choose to attend more than 240 parent group meetings. The children of those parents will engage in at least 120 weeks (600 days) of high-quality, language-building, self-regulating developing, and fun-filled school preparation!

HIPPY does not replace preschool but is meant to work in collaboration with children’s early childhood educational experiences, bridging the school and home. The HIPPY curriculum is meant to provide important opportunities for parent and child to interact around educationally enriching activities. These 15 – 30 minutes spent together on 5 days-per-week across 30 weeks each year develop the adult caregiver’s confidence to act as their child’s first advocate while also building the child’s love for learning, language, and social emotional skills required for school success.

Fun 4 Ocala Kids is your local resource for family friendly events and activities in Ocala and surrounding areas. Listings include kids events, children programs and classes, youth sports, kids eat free directory, birthday party resources, rainy day activities, free fun for kids, summer camps, and MORE fun things for kids and families to do in and around Ocala.

The Leadership Ocala Metro Youth (LOMY) program is for students entering their junior year of high school and is modeled after the adult Leadership Ocala Metro program. This nine-month program seeks to develop young individuals to be the next generation of community leaders; preparing them for constructive and responsible involvement in community affairs, while also thinking seriously about career pathways in Ocala and Marion County.

4-H is the nation’s largest youth development organization. There are 6.5 million young people enrolled in the 4-H program across America and approximately 230,000 within the State of Florida. This non-formal, practical educational program for youth is the youth development program of Florida Cooperative Extension – part of the University of Florida IFAS.

4-H is open to all youth, ages 5-18, determined as of September 1 of the current 4-H program year and open to all counties in the State of Florida. 4-H serves youth from all backgrounds and interests. It reaches youth through 4-H clubs, special-interest groups, short-term projects, school aged child care, camping, and school enrichment.

The Marion County Literacy Council is a non-profit organization focused on making sure all adult citizens in Marion County have access to the resources available to help them improve their lives by improving their literacy skills.

Marion Technical College seeks to serve a broad and diverse range of students, based on both individual and employer needs.
It seeks to provide students with appropriate successes tailored to meet their individual goals while ensuring that all students and employers receive consistently high-quality services, programs, training, and instruction.

Marion Technical Institute is a vocational school in Marion County. The school offers nine courses in information technology, building sciences, robotics, culinary arts, automotive technology, business & finance, law and government, career academy, and global logistics