ASPiring Kids

Parents of children enrolled in the After-School Program (ASP) of Maplewood and South Orange gathered at Maplewood's Civic House on Wednesday evening, September 15, for "Back to ASP Night," an opportunity to learn more about the program from its director and staff.

For working parents, ASP is a very valuable resource. School-age children in the district can go to an aftercare program located on site at their elementary or middle school, where they are closely supervised while participating in a variety of organized activities. Older children also benefit from scheduled "quiet time" to get a jump on their homework. The program runs from the school's dismissal time until 6 p.m. (children can be picked up earlier). It operates as a coalition of three agencies: the Maplewood Department of Recreation, Parks, & Cultural Affairs; the South Orange Department of Recreation & Cultural Affairs; and the South Mountain YMCA.

"Back to ASP" was a bit of a misnomer; most of the parents in attendance appeared to be newcomers to the program. Irene Gallagher, executive director of the ASP, opened the event, remarking that she had been with ASP "since [its] first day" in 1982. She then asked the ASP staff in attendance, many of whom were site directors from the district schools, to introduce themselves. Parents would later have the chance to speak individually with the site directors to ask questions or make comments.

After a review of policies and rules, Gallagher spoke about some of the highlights of the program. She told parents that starting in October, the program would make tutors available at each site several times a week during quiet time to help with homework or address other academic issues.

She then brought up an extremely important facet of the program: snack time. "Our staff has gotten very good at snack," she remarked proudly. "Our offerings have become very creative while reflecting a high level of nutrition awareness."

She explained that a primary goal of ASP is promoting a healthy lifestyle. Accordingly, children can now select snack options including fresh fruit, carrots, cheese sticks, or raisin bread with cream cheese alongside the usual graham and goldfish crackers.

Adrienne Mtume, assistant director of ASP, then described for parents the activities that are planned to start at each site in October. The overall theme for the year is "Traveling the Continents," and children will have access to books, music, film, arts and crafts, and recreational opportunities with an international flavor. In addition, specialists will be rotating around the various sites to provide instruction in enrichment activities such as cartooning, double dutch, sewing, origami, and kite making. Gallagher added that glee club will be a new addition this year.

Parents with special skills or talents were encouraged to contribute their time and knowledge to ASP to add to the variety of activities available to children in the program.