Working with the NEC Education Subcommittee and the Central Ward Leadership Team of the Newark Public Schools, RCOPC will design a comprehensive after-school program to provide safe haven and structured activities for children attending the 14th Avenue School, the Community School within the West Side Park Community.

· After-School Program
· Directory of West Side Park After-School Programs

After-School Program
Partners: Newark Center for Families and Communities (NCFC), West Side Park public schools, New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT)

NCFC piloted two after-school programs during the Spring 1999 semester that paired twenty-four Rutgers students with about 70 public school children. The program has a health emphasis and focuses on healthy diets, regular exercise, and decision-making skills. The curriculum includes basic skill development in reading, math, and science.

NCFC coordinates the America Reads program (http://www.ncfc.rutgers.edu/nar.html) on the Rutgers-Newark campus. In conjunction with the New Jersey Institute of Technology and the Newark Literacy Campaign, more than 70 undergraduate students at these two Universities have been trained as America Reads tutors. Tutors spend 12 hours a week, on average, working one-on-one with public school children in grades K-3. The national aim of the American Reads program is to ensure that all third graders read independently, at grade level, by the end of third grade.

Directory of West Side Park After-School Programs
Partners: Center for Urban Policy Research (CUPR), Neighborhood Empowerment Council (NEC)

CUPR worked with the NEC to develop a brochure listing after school programs available to children in West Side Park. Contact information, hours, and activity information are provided.

Program Description | Project Activities | Reports & Publications | Rutgers University Partners | Community Partners | Advisory Committee | West Side Park Data | West Side Park Bibliography | Links