Port Chester Carver Center Launches After School Care Program

The following announcement is from the Port Chester Carver Center:

Port Chester, NY, August 7, 2014 – The Port Chester Carver Center is thrilled to announce that starting in September, 460 Port Chester children will be receiving free after school care, thanks to a grant from the Dalio Foundation. The program will serve children ages 5-13 in three Port Chester schools – Thomas Edison, John F. Kennedy, and the Port Chester Middle School. The Carver Center will serve as lead education agency (LEA) for this program. Participating children, selected by the schools, will receive academic support, nutritious snacks and access to enrichment activities including, community gardening, online literacy, math instruction, and daily recreational activities. This effort could only be carried out with support from Carver Center’s dedicated community partners – the Port Chester-Rye Union Free School District, Port Chester Council for the Arts, One World, and Open Door, among others - who will all be intimately involved.

The program was developed in collaboration with The Port Chester Carver Center and the Port Chester School District in an effort to alleviate the gap in care caused by the loss of funding from the 21st Century Community Learning Center grant in 2013, which left approximately 800 children without care. This expansion of Carver Center’s after school services is greatly needed in our ever-growing community and was made possible by the generous support of the Dalio Foundation. After various conversations with key stakeholders and a period of program evaluation, the Dalio Foundation committed funds for Carver Center to launch a pilot After School Program (conducted this past spring) in partnership with the School District. We collectively began planning for a broader program after successful assessment of the pilot. Carver Center has garnered full support from the school district and laid out detailed program plans for each school with the full backing of the school principals and the district. This is an unprecedented opportunity for the Port Chester community and Carver Center.

Joseph Kwasniewski, Executive Director of The Port Chester Carver Center said, “Through the extraordinarily generous support of one of our long term funders [The Dalio Foundation], Carver Center and the Port Chester School District have the ability to fill a cavernous service gap by implementing this full-scale program that will improve the entire landscape of the education system in Port Chester. The Carver Center team is so grateful to have this opportunity to broaden its impact and provide programming for many more children. We look forward to expanding our wonderful initiative into the remaining Port Chester Schools - King Street, Park Avenue, and The Early Learning Center.”

“I’m thrilled to have a role in this great collaboration between Carver Center and the Port Chester Rye Union Free School District. The After School Programs at the schools will have such a positive impact in the lives of so many more families than the 120 we currently serve in our After School Program at Carver Center,” said Jacqueline Pezzullo, Director of Youth Programs at Carver Center.

“In a unique public private partnership using comprehensive community school strategies, the Dalio family, Carver Center and Port Chester Public schools have collaborated to meet the needs of children and reduce the achievement gap in educational expectations. This project represents a new model of private, public and community partnerships which build schools and communities from inside out and outside in. In an environment of diminishing resources and politically charged funding for needy schools the most needy communities are forced to compete against similar communities for temporary funding which has limited effect, this partnership represents a long term strategy for students, families and the entire community” said Frank Fanelli, Assistant Superintendent, Port Chester Public Schools

The registration dates are August 28th, 29th and September 5th at Carver Center from 5PM-6PM. Application forms are available at Carver Center, Port Chester, NY.

Carver Center is the primary community-based organization in Port Chester, offering educational, recreational, cultural and civic services for pre-school children, youth, adults, and seniors, with a particular focus on meeting the needs of underprivileged youth. The Center’s vision is to “build brighter futures” – that is, give people the resources and tools they need to lead productive, self-sufficient lives. To learn more about Carver Center, visit the website at www.carvercenter.org.

Carver Center After School Program Overview

After School Mission: The mission of Port Chester Carver Center’s After School Program is to provide educational programs and services to help children maximize their potential for growth and self-sufficiency as well as build support and resources for families and individuals in need.

After School Program Goals:

• To serve children ages 5 to 13/14 years old by providing safe, developmentally-appropriate and affordable childcare during after school hours.

• To complement the home and school by encouraging physical, social, emotional, and intellectual growth and positive feelings of self-worth of students in a group setting.

• To provide a warm, secure environment designed to encourage decision-making, problem solving, individual expression where children can respect and enjoy each other in a group setting.

• To provide a competent and caring professional staff who understand and meet the needs of the children in a group child care.

• To provide frequent and open communication with parents; this lends support and encourages parent involvement.

• To provide a healthy snack according to CACFP guidelines, homework help, and participate in a variety of recreation and enrichment activities.