21 st Century Community Learning Center

1. 21st Century Community Learning Center Smalley School & Lafayette School Bound Brook, NJ

2. The Afterschool Hours in America • More than 15 million school-age children (26 percent) are on their own after school. Among them are more than 1 million are in grades K through 5. (Afterschool Alliance, 2009) • More than 27 million parents of school-age children are employed, including 23 million who work full time. (U.S. Department of Labor, 2010) • The hours between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. are the peak hours for juvenile crime and experimentation with drugs, alcohol, cigarettes and sex. (Fight Crime: Invest in Kids, 2002) • Currently, the federal government contributes only 11 percent of the cost of afterschool while 29 percent of the children in afterschool meet the federal government’s definition of low-income and in need of federal assistance. (Afterschool Alliance, 2009)

3. Afterschool Programs Benefit Youth, Families & Communities • Teens who do not participate in afterschool programs are nearly three times more likely to skip classes than teens who do participate. They are also three times more likely to use marijuana or other drugs, and are more likely to drink, smoke and engage in sexual activity. (YMCA of the USA, March 2001) • Early childhood education expert James Heckman concludes that a compliment of early education and participation in afterschool programs can reduce initiating drug use among youth by nearly 50 percent (45.8) while reducing the likelihood of them skipping school by half. (Investing in Our Young People, University of Chicago, 2006) • The Promising Afterschool Programs Study, a study of about 3,000 low-income, ethnically-diverse elementary and middle school students found that regular participation in high-quality afterschool programs is linked to significant gains in standardized test scores and work habits. (University of California at Irvine, 2007)

4. Mission Statement • The mission of the Middle Earth 21st CCLC program is to provide a safe and nurturing environment for fourth through eighth grade students from Bound Brook and South Bound Brook who are in need of and can benefit from an after-school program. Youth will have opportunities to choose activities designed to promote their intellectual, physical, mental, social, and emotional development in an atmosphere of mutual respect and encouragement.

5. Program Serves • Lafayette School • 60 Slots • 4th and 5th grades • Smalley Middle School • 60 Slots • 6th, 7th, and 8th grades

6. Program Offers • Academic Enrichment and Remediation • Positive Youth Development • Cultural and Artistic Enrichment • Physical Activity • Parental Involvement

7. Academic Enrichment and Remediation

8. Academic Enrichment and Remediation • 60 minutes per day • 1 certified teacher for every 15 students • High school student helpers • Students receive help with their homework • Students work on the Study Island Computer Programs for math and language arts

9. Positive Youth Development • Character Counts • Girls Circle • Boys Council • F.I.L.M.

10. Girls Circle

11. Cultural and Artistic Enrichment • Culinary Arts • Art • Screen Printing • Functional and Found Art • Video Production • Educational Field Trips • Drama • Photography • Cartooning

12. Culinary Arts

13. Screen Printing

14. Art

15. Trips • Intrepid Air and Space Museum • Academy of Natural Sciences Museum • Camden Aquarium • Bronx Zoo • Patriots Stadium • Raices Cultural Center

16. Patriots Stadium

17. Physical Activities • Recreational Sports • Dance • Soccer • Basketball

18. Dance

19. Soccer

20. Other Enrichment Options • Water Science • Newsletter • Technology • Lego Tech • Party & Event Planning • Crime Scene Investigations • Game Show

21. Lego Tech

22. Technology

23. Water Science

24. Parental Involvement • Family Fun Nights • 4 through out the year • Student presentations and art work displays • Guest Speakers • Dinner provided • English as a Second Language • Offered to parents of students in the program • Provided by The Jointure • Guiding Good Choices for Spanish Speaking Parents • Dinner provided • Helps improve communication between parents and children

25. Family Fun Night

26. Program Layout • Fall Cycle: October – December • Winter Cycle: January – March • Spring Cycle: April – June • Summer Cycle: July

27. Daily Smalley Schedule • 2:50 – 3:30 Snack & Game Time • 3:30 – 4:50 Academic Remediation – Homework & Tutoring • 4:50 – 5:50 Club/Enrichment Time • 5:50 – 6:05 Students are picked up or walk home

28. Daily Lafayette Schedule • 2:40 – 3:15 Snack & Game Time • 3:15 – 4:00 Academic Remediation – Homework & Tutoring • 4:00 – 5:00 Club/Enrichment Time • 5:00 – 5:30 Quiet Recreation • 5:30 – 5:45 Students are picked up or walk home

29. Staff • 1 Full Time Project Director • 1 Part Time and 1 Full Time Site Coordinator • 1 Part Time Administrative Staff • 12 Certified Teachers • 15 High School Youth Workers • 10 Non-teacher Club Leaders

30. Collaborators • Family & Community Services • 2 days/week • Offer individual and group counseling • Bound Brook Police Department • 1 day/week • Allow kids to have positive interaction with police officers

31. Collaborators • 4-H • Character counts staff training • Science Workshops for students • EmPower Somerset • Guiding Good Choices for Spanish Speaking Parents • Guest speakers for students • Girl Scouts • Club activities

32. Guest Speakers • Robert Wood Johnson • EmPower Somerset • Vo-Tech Tap-n-Toe Dance Group

33. Partners • Bound Brook Board of Education • South Bound Brook School District A Special Thanks to the Bound Brook Board of Education

34. Summer Program • 120 students • 8:00 am to 1:00 pm Monday – Thursday • Friday is Trip Day • 3 hours academic time • 1 hour rec time • ½ hour breakfast, ½ hour lunch

35. Facts about the last 4 years • Middle Earth has brought in $1.5 Million to Bound Brook District • We have served 421 youth • We have hired 27 Bound Brook High School Students • We have hired 39 teachers from Bound Brook

36. Hispanic Population After School Care Arrangements • • Hispanic children are more likely to be in afterschool programs than other children. 21% (2,365,860) of Hispanic children are enrolled in afterschool programs – at schools, community centers, churches or elsewhere. By comparison, 15% of all children participate in afterschool programs. Economic Impact • • Hispanic parents are feeling the impact of the economic downturn more severely than parents in general. More Hispanic parents agree that the current economic conditions have impacted their after school care arrangements, with 55% reporting that the economy has impacted how they care for their children after school (compared to 41% overall) and 60% stating that it has affected their ability to pay for care (compared to 46% overall). Need or Demand for Afterschool • • Demand for afterschool programs is great in the Hispanic community. Parents of Hispanic children not currently in afterschool programs are much more likely than other parents to say that they would enroll their children in quality afterschool programs, if programs were available. 47% of Hispanic parents (4,218,666) say they would enroll their children if programswere available compared to 38% of parents in general. • • Hispanic parents are also more likely than the general population to say that there should be “some type of organized activity or place for children and teens to go after school every day that provides opportunities for them to learn.” 96% of Hispanic parents agree compared to just 91% agreement in general.

37. The Coming Year • 115 students currently enrolled • Waiting lists for 4th and 5th grades • Introducing new theme of civic engagement • Hosting Lights On After School Event October 20th

38. Funding was provided by the New Jersey State Department of Education. We would also like to acknowledge the Bound Brook and South Bound Brook Municipal Alliance for their contribution.