Branchburg Man Named One Of 18 'Afterschool Ambassadors' In U.S.

Press release from the Afterschool Alliance:

Jan. 17, 2021

The Afterschool Alliance announced today that Darnell Scott, Director of Children’s Programs at the Jointure, has been selected to serve as an Afterschool Ambassador for the Afterschool Alliance in 2020-2021.

He is one of just 18 leaders in the United States chosen for the honor this year. Afterschool Ambassadors continue their work at local afterschool programs while serving the one-year Afterschool Ambassador term, organizing public events, communicating with policy makers and community leaders, and in other ways increasing awareness and support for afterschool and summer learning programs.

“We are so pleased that Darnell Scott will serve as an Afterschool Ambassador this year,” said Afterschool Alliance Executive Director Jodi Grant. “With the pandemic increasing the need for quality afterschool and summer learning programs so dramatically, we need strong advocates who have their fingers on the pulse of their communities. Darnell will do a terrific job mobilizing community and business leaders, parents, policy makers, educators and others to send the message that afterschool programs are vital to our recovery from COVID-19. Afterschool programs keep kids safe, inspire them to learn, and give families peace of mind that their children are safe, learning, and constructively engaged while parents are at work or looking for jobs.”

“I am extremely excited to work with the Afterschool Alliance to increase support for afterschool programs,” said Scott. “In my 18 years working in this field, I have seen the importance and necessity for our youth to attend an afterschool program. In normal times, afterschool programs help young people succeed in school and in life, and support working families throughout New Jersey. These days, we need to help children with academic, social and emotional needs created by the pandemic and support efforts to rebuild our economy. That makes these programs even more essential. I look forward to helping build support for the out-of-school-time opportunities all students need, now and over time.”

The Jointure is a nonprofit organization located in Somerset County, New Jersey. Pre-pandemic the Jointure served 600 students in afterschool programs in Bridgewater-Raritan, Branchburg and Manville as well as preschool and kindergarten at the Creative Campus in Branchburg. The Jointure currently serves approximately 75 students at the Creative Campus in four preschool classrooms, two full-day kindergarten classrooms and three virtual classroom for school-age
students. In the Jointure’s afterschool program, students work on homework, participate in recreational activities and community service projects and arts and crafts.

The Jointure offers a ten-week summer camp program at the Creative Campus for school-age and preschool students.

Each Ambassador will organize a major event for Lights On Afterschool, the Afterschool Alliance’s annual rally for afterschool, which will include events on or around Thursday, October 28, 2021.

The 2020-2021 Afterschool Ambassadors are:
• Delaware: Ray Taylor, 4H After-school Program, Newark;
• Florida: Nicole Carter, City of Hallandale Beach-Hepburn Center Afterschool Tutorial Enrichment Program, Hallandale Beach;
• Florida: Kwamara Thompson, Palm Beach County Boys & Girls Clubs, Palm Beach (and Classroom, Inc., New York, NY);
• Georgia: Tiffany Collie-Bailey, Girls Inc. of Greater Atlanta, Marietta: • Georgia: Dr. Janice Flowers, Bibb County School District, Macon;
• Illinois: Kenny Riley, Carole Robertson Center for Learning, Chicago; • Illinois: Teresa Dothard-Campbell, Lights ON for Learning – Glenview Middle School, East Moline;
• Maine: Barrett Takesian, Portland Community Squash, Portland;
• New Jersey: Darnell A. Scott, The Jointure, Rariton and Branchburg; • New York: Angela Todriff Mundy, Family YMCA of the Glens Falls Area, Glens Falls; • New York: Stephanie Graf, Cornell Cooperative Extension Association of Jefferson County, Watertown;
• North Carolina: Emily Neff, WAMY Community Action, Inc. / Avery County Afterschool Program, Boone;
• Ohio: Debbie Frison, 21st Century Community Learning Center Glenwood/Rosa Parks Elementary, Toledo;
• Oregon: Amber Lomascola, Expanding Horizon Youth Center, Myrtle Creek; • Pennsylvania: Chuck Inverso, Neshaminy Kids Club, Langhorne;
• South Carolina: Ray C. Funnye, The Village Group, Georgetown;
• Wyoming: Shannon Christian, Worland Youth Learning Center, Worland; • Wyoming: Tiffany L Wutzke, Youth Clubs of Park County, Cody.

The America After 3PM household survey of more than 30,000 families, commissioned by the Afterschool Alliance and released this month, finds that unmet demand for afterschool programs has reached an all-time high. For every child in an afterschool program in America today, three more are waiting to get in. The study finds significant inequities, with Black and Latinx children disproportionately without afterschool opportunities. Ninety-four percent of parents of afterschool students say they are satisfied with their child’s program.

A large and powerful body of evidence demonstrates improvements in grades, school attendance, behavior and more among children who participate in afterschool programs. Researchers have also found that students in afterschool programs are more engaged in school and excited about learning and develop critical work and life skills such as problem solving, teamwork, and communications.

This press release was produced by the Afterschool Alliance. The views expressed here are the author's own.