ASAS Launches New Program in Newark

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Ted Deutsch – [email protected] – (609) 683-0700

After-School All-Stars
Launches New Program in Newark

With major funding from the New York Life Foundation,
national after-school program expands to Brick City

New York, NY (November 13, 2014) –After-School All-Stars (ASAS) and the New York Life Foundation announces that the formal launch of ASAS in Newark will take place on November 14th. The first school to host ASAS programming will be George Washington Carver Elementary School, with launch day events at the school and the Aljira Center for Contemporary Art.

Despite a dramatic increase in participation over the last decade, a household survey of 30,000 families released by the Afterschool Alliance finds that for every child enrolled in a program, there are two more who are not, but whose parents would enroll their child if a program were available. According to this America After 3PM survey, more than 231,000 New Jersey children (or 16 percent) participate in an after-school program, up from 12 percent in 2004. But the unmet demand for afterschool — parents who would enroll their child in a program, if one were available — increased to over 422,000 children (36 percent) in 2014. Demand is especially high among low-income, African-American and Hispanic families in urban centers like Newark.

Founded in Los Angeles in 1992, ASAS provides comprehensive school-based out-of-school time programs to nearly 90,000 participants at more than 360 schools throughout the United States.

WHAT: Launch events for After-School All-Stars Newark
• Student Business Competition
• VIP Reception

WHAT: Launch events for After-School All-Stars Newark
• Student Business Competition
• VIP Reception

WHERE/WHEN: 3:30-5pm November 14
George Washington Carver Elementary School
333 Clinton Place, Newark

5:30-8pm November 14
Aljira Center for Contemporary Art
591 Broad Street, Newark

WHO: Aaron Dworkin, President, After-School All-Stars National Network
Shana Burnett-Carter, Principal, George Washington Carver Elementary
Gainat Rufai, Principal, Dr. E. Alma Flagg Elementary School
Heather Nesle, President, The New York Life Foundation
Other leaders from ASAS, New York Life Foundation, City of Newark, Newark Public Schools and other guests

“Afterschool is a wise investment but, unfortunately, we’re not investing nearly enough,” said former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, founder of After-School All-Stars. “These programs help kids with homework, teach them teamwork, engage them in community service, pair them with mentors, help them to be physically fit, involve them in activities like rocketry and robotics, and much more.”

“We are thrilled that the New York Life Foundation has invested in the expansion of After-School All-Stars programs into Newark,” said Ben Paul, president of After-School All-Stars. “Although there are many excellent providers in the city, Newark is exactly the kind of urban center experiencing the unmet need described in the recent America After 3PM study.”

The America After 3PM survey noted that 43 percent of New Jersey children in an afterschool program qualify for the Federal Free and Reduced Price Lunch Program, the demographic targeted by ASAS.

After-School All-Stars recently named Dax-Devlon Ross, Esq. as Executive Director of After-School All-Stars New Jersey/New York. Ross is a New York City Teaching Fellow who has taught at the middle and high school level, oversaw instructional design at Bank Street College of Education and managed site expansion at the Posse Foundation. A graduate of Rutgers University, he is also the author of five books, and has been published in Time Magazine and the New York Times.

ASAS Newark has hired more than a dozen Newark residents as part-time program leaders and also partnered with NJIT to bring STEM-focused college students into its afterschool offerings. In addition to Carver Elementary, ASAS is also serving nearly 90 seventh and eighth graders at Dr. E. Alma Flagg Elementary School.

Added Paul: “We have an excellent team in place and a wonderful partner school for this launch. We look forward to implementing best practices gleaned from more than two decades of after-school experience in cities across America.”

Earlier this year, ASAS announced a $4,000,000 grant from the New York Life Foundation supporting expansion to serve middle school youth in six new U.S. cities, beginning with Newark and Philadelphia.

“Research indicates that boys and girls who are properly prepared for ninth grade are more likely to graduate high school and go on to college. We see After-School All-Stars as a model program that not only reinforces, but augments middle school curricula after regular school hours and during summer months,” said Heather Nesle, president of the New York Life Foundation. “Investing in After-School All-Stars’ programming was a natural fit because it directly aligns with our priority of helping middle school students get the most out of those critical education years.”

About After-School All-Stars
Founded in 1992, After-School All-Stars (ASAS) is a leading national provider of year-round, school-based, comprehensive afterschool programs. The organization’s mission is to keep children safe and help them succeed in school and in life. Every school day, students in low-income communities have access to free programs that offer academic support, enrichment opportunities, and health and fitness activities. Nearly 90,000 children from 13 U.S. regions benefit: ASAS serves Atlanta, Chicago, Hawaii, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, New York, North Texas, Ohio, Orlando, San Antonio, San Diego, South Florida and Washington, D.C., and, beginning in Fall 2014, Newark and Philadelphia. For more information, visit www.as-as.org.

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