HILLSIDE, N.J. - Twelve-year-old Anjel Ponte is just one of the 155 students in the Kean University Learning Adventures (KULA) afterschool program at Walter O. Krumbiegel Middle School, but she has a question that seems to be common among the children when their parents arrive before closing time: "Why are you picking me up so early?"
"She never wants to leave," said Ada Ponte, a 48-year-old teacher who commutes to work in the Bronx everyday. "I honestly don't know what we would have done without KULA. She has grown so much in the last year - socially and academically."
In October, Kean launched KULA in collaboration with Hillside Public Schools after receiving a five-year $1.75 million grant through the 21st Century Community Learning Center, a federally funded and New Jersey Department of Education supported program that provides educational and social opportunities for economically disadvantaged and educationally challenged children.
KULA provides the school's sixth through eighth graders at the Hillside Avenue school with a structured afterschool program that supplements the classroom experience while opening their lives to artistic, career, creative, cultural and social opportunities to go along with daily homework support. Every child has their favorite piece of the program and for Anjel Ponte, it was a storytelling segment that spurred her creativity. "We made up stories and posters, it was a lot of fun," the sixth grader said. "My favorite story was about a haunted house."
KULA incorporates Hillside's Title I goals of improved mathematics achievement, increased use and integration of technology, and increased numbers of Hillside graduates who attend college. The program was also designed to help prepare students for the New Jersey Assessment of Skills and Knowledge (NJ ASK), a state proficiency exam given each spring to all students in grades 3 through 8.
"The program has had a tremendous impact on the students and their families," said School Principal Alphonsus Platt, a Hillside educator for 32 years. "The students have responded well to KULA and the program really solves a community problem of how to support these children in their educational and social development after the school day ends. In large part these were latchkey kids, but they are experiencing more with KULA than they ever would have by locking themselves in at home until their parents returned from work."
Dr. Gail Hilliard-Nelson, Site Coordinator of Kean's Garden State Partnership for Teacher Quality, said that, in addition to providing a valuable community service, the university launched KULA to provide students in the College of Education with the opportunity to experience working with middle school children. As a result, one intern and eight team leaders in the afterschool program are Kean undergraduates. Additionally, KULA has 10 certified teachers, three of which are Kean graduates. Team leaders supervise the students during recreation and activity periods, while certified Hillside teachers provide enrichment and remedial instruction.
"Through connections with Kean faculty and facilities, students have explored careers in sustainability science, education, communications, the arts, healthcare and business," said KULA Director Sharon Towler. "The students have worked to develop specific career-related skills in oral and written communication and the use of technology for leisure and business."
Self-awareness, physical fitness and socialization are a big part of the KULA experience. The first two hours of the daily program focus on homework and academic enrichment. The last hour is focused on physical fitness and game play and the decibel level in the school basement and playground changes considerably when it's time to put the books away.
"The first year has definitely been a learning experience for the program staff, parents and students," said Towler. "The student enthusiasm has grown and we have worked to respond to student and parent needs while being a true partner with the school. I think it's a very good sign that there is a lot of interest in the upcoming summer program."
KULA's summer program will kick-off on July 7th with a focus on career interests, academic enrichment, computers and field trips to Kean, TD Bank, Wells Fargo, Robert Wood Johnson Hospital and Seton Hall University.