Out of School-Time Programs

This past September, the Center was awarded $1.14 million by the National Science Foundation to run BRIDGES, an after-school science education program for 8- to 12-year olds. (The acronym stands for "Build, Research, Invent, Design, Grow and Explore through Science.") BRIDGES will be run in partnership with the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA). The grant runs for five years, and by the end of that time, the Center will have programs running in 25 NYCHA community centers; in addition, it will set up the program in several nearby cities as well as develop a curriculum guide that will be distributed nation-wide. You can read a brief description of the program on the NSF website. (The NSF links will open in a new window.)

The program will use real-world projects to help 8-12 year olds enrolled in NYCHA after-school programs improve their understanding of science, engineering, mathematics, design and technology. It will begin with 5 sites serving 150 children in its first year. Five sites will be added annually until, by the fifth year, BRIDGES will serve 625 children at 25 community centers. The Salvadori Center will compile BRIDGES’ best activities into a Project Book for distribution to urban after-school providers throughout the country, as well as an interactive after-school web page on the Salvadori website. BRIDGES' activities will be done in small groups co-taught by a Salvadori educator and a NYCHA community center instructor. The Center will train the NYCHA staff, then work closely with them throughout the year. As the program progresses, Salvadori educators will move to new NYCHA locations while NYCHA after-school instructors take over the teaching with on-going support/professional development from the Center. To measure the success of the program The After-School Corporation (TASC) will provide evaluation and assessment through surveys, questionnaires, focus groups, and interviews.

In addition, the Center has forged a new relationship with the Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning (JCAL), Queens, offering an Architectural Studies after school program as part of its Teen Spot offerings. Thus far, the program has been highly successful and has demonstrated the highest retention rate in the history of JCAL’s Teen Spot program.

Finally, the Center partners with TASC and the New York City Department of Youth and Community Development (DYCD) to provide after-school services to high-needs students in the Bronx and Staten Island through a program entitled "Your Community: Past, Present and Future." Participants investigate the neighborhood surrounding their school, inventorying architectural styles of its buildings, analyzing its green spaces, completing mapping activities, writing and illustrating neighborhood guides, and proposing better uses for vacant lots and abandoned buildings.