On the first day of after school programming, elementary students and the mayor played Duck, Duck, Goose.
Celentano fifth graders Kaiden and Camille rolled game dice on Wednesday afternoon and then added, subtracted, multiplied, and divided the numbers to show Mayor Justin Elicker how to play NBA Math Hoops.
That was the scene at the 400 Canner St. public school on the first day of the New Haven Afterschool Initiative, a new effort to provide free and low-cost afterschool programming across the city, five days a week.
Elicker heralded the start of the new program at a press conference alongside Youth and Recreation Director Gwendolyn Busch Williams, New Haven Public Schools (NHPS) Chief of Youth, Family, and Community Engagement Gemma Joseph Lumpkin, New Haven Counts lead and retired Celentano Assistant Principal Lisa Pietrosimone, Boys and Girls Club of Greater New Haven CEO Tameika Miller, and Community Services Administrator Eliza Halsey.
So far, 686 students have enrolled in the city’s afterschool programming, including 325 with the New Haven Afterschool Initiative. The city program’s lead partners are the Boys and Girls Club and New Haven Counts.
The New Haven Afterschool Initiative is being offered at 20 school sites which each have a capacity to serve up to 100 students, for a total of up to 2,000 students citywide.
Speakers shared that the program focuses not only on academic support like math and reading tutoring but also on athletics and social-emotional learning. The program runs each week day from school dismissal through 5:30 p.m.
In addition to supporting students’ needs, Elicker said, the initiative also supports families who need child care. “The focus and goal is to make it comprehensive so it’s really easy for families,” he said.
At Celentano, two programs are run by New Haven Counts and the Boys and Girls Club with 45 students enrolled in total. The Boys and Girls Club programming targets kindergarten through fourth graders and has 34 students enrolled at Celentano. New Haven Counts targets fifth through eighth graders and has 11 students registered.
“You can still enroll in the program,” Elicker reminded New Haven families. “We want to make it accessible to everyone.”
The programming is either free for families or $25 a week. More information can be found here. To register and see if sites have open slots click here.
Busch Williams said the kick-off of the new initiative is more than the beginning of another program. Instead, it “represents an investment into our young people, their families, and the future of our community.”
She promised parents that the program will offer students a safe space to continue to learn, build meaningful relationships, and discover new interests. “We thank you [parents] and we recognize the responsibility that we are taking on,” she said. “Please know that we are committed to the young people that are in our environment, and we’re going to make sure that this environment continues to be safe and welcoming and warm and engaging and enriching.”
She concluded with thanks to the programs partners and Elicker for his vision that recognizes what many parents are experiencing: a desire to put their youth in safe and secure programs that feel like home.
Pietrosimone, the program director for New Haven Counts, said the three components of programming are learning, building confidence, and having fun.
“We want students to see themselves as mathematicians, as problem solvers, and not just as students who are completing a worksheet,” she said.
New Haven Counts also plans to introduce an “Empower Soccer League” to participating after school students to bring athletics, competition, fun, and teamwork directly to students.
In one classroom Wednesday, New Haven Counts had several supervisors, interns, and tutors working one-on-one with students.
In another area of the building, K-4 students played games like Duck, Duck, Goose in the school’s gymnasium.
Miller added on Wednesday that New Haven families deserve the best after-school care “and that’s what we intend to give them.”
The Boys and Girls Club programming, Miller said, aims to bring evidence-based methods of learning, development, and support to its students.
“After-school care is not a luxury,” she concluded.
When officials stopped into classrooms Wednesday, students attempted to explain how to play a NBA Math Hoops game. One group played a basic version of the game while a second used more advanced instructions.
When student Camille rolled a zero and six she subtracted the numbers on her board. When Elicker noticed a small error he helped guide Camille through subtracting six from zero to then get negative six.
“I bet you guys will be experts by the end of the day,” Elicker told the group.
One student told Elicker, “I learned about you in the fourth grade.”
Boys and Girls Club counselor Chris Battle took a break from facilitating a game of Duck, Duck, Goose Wednesday afternoon to guide a few students to the restroom.
Battle, 19, said he’s worked for summer camps for the past five years after having great experiences himself while attending summer camps and after school programming.
“When I got to be around kids my age it encouraged me to talk, laugh, and learn all at once,” he said. “Even the little impacts can change how you become in the future.”
Therefore his goal is to build students’ confidence and provide them with a safe space to be themselves.
Schools participating in the New Haven After School Initiative include Nathan Hale, Barnard, Benjamin Jepson, Bishop Woods, Celentano, Clinton Avenue, Conte West Hills, John C. Daniels, Davis, East Rock, Edgewood, FAME, Hill Central, Lincoln Bassett, LW Beecher, Martinez, Mauro Sheridan, Ross Woodward, Troup, and Truman.
Boys and Girls Club student mentor Chris Battle.
Elicker and Miller play Duck, Duck, Goose with after school students.
At Wednesday’s presser.