Priorities

Education
Pressing Challenges: Majority of Newark Public Schools are performing far below the state and national proficiency standards. Ten of the lowest performing schools in New Jersey are in Newark. All seven schools in the Newark Global Village School Zone (NGVSZ) have failed to meet adequate yearly progress (AYP), and Central High School is ranked as the 10th lowest performing high school in the State of New Jersey.

Initiative: Brick City SERVES is partnering with the Newark Mentoring Coalition and the NGVSZ to launch the Newark Global Village School Zone Mentor Passport Program. This initiative will mobilize 200 volunteers to serve as literacy and/or middle school mentors to 480 elementary students. Mentors will partner and support school leaders and faculty to provide Newark students with high-quality instruction and a holistic delivery of social services.

Overview: The Newark Mentoring Coalition and its mentoring agencies will recruit and train 180 literacy mentors to provide one-to-one academic assistance to the lowest performing 2nd and 3rd graders in the NGVSZ. Mentors will work with district literacy coaches to address their students’ particular challenges in reading. Mentors will also promote positive values, serve as a caring friend, and encourage their mentees to develop a love of reading. In addition to the 2 hours (30 minutes per week) per month that mentors spend with their mentees at school, Newark Mentoring Coalition will require mentors to volunteer 2 hours outside of school for a total commitment of 4 hours per month. Newark Mentoring Coalition will also recruit and train 40 middle school mentors to provide group mentoring to all 300 5th graders in the NGVSZ. Mentors will partner with the 5th grade class advisors to lead discussions and activities focused on conflict resolution and character education.

Brick City SERVES is currently developing a NGVSZ Passport Program that will provide mentors and their mentees with 13 different low- cost or free educational and enrichment activities to attend throughout the City and its neighboring communities.

Goals: For 180 second and third grade students, the goals of this initiative are to increase language arts scores, increase the number of books read, and increase the number of students who read for 20 minutes per day outside of school. For the 300 fifth grade students, the goal of the initiative is to support a successful transition to middle school.


Healthy Living and Wellness
Pressing Challenge: Sixty-seven percent of American adults under 20 years old are overweight or obese. One in four Newark Children are obese and their Body Mass index (BMI) falls at or above the 95th percentile.

Initiative: Brick City SERVES will partner with Playworks to engage 4,000 youth (grades K-5) through Playworks’ signature School Recess Program and new Let’s Move! Play Nights. “Play Nights” will be held after school at various recreation centers throughout the city.

Overview: The Playworks Recess Program assists local schools to increase children’s physical activity by introducing games that are designed to build leadership, self-esteem and foster teamwork. This program will serve 3,000 students in 8 schools throughout the 2010-11 school year. Playworks will also launch a new initiative — Let’s Move! Play Nights, targeting 1,000 students at local Newark community recreational centers and eventually expanding to Newark Public School’s Extended Day Programs by the summer of 2011. Brick City SERVES will recruit 200 volunteers to actively participate in both in school and after school programs

Inherent to this initiative, are the themes of personal commitment and friendly competition. In an effort to promote healthy living as an everyday goal, Brick City SERVES will encourage young people to create healthy habits. Students can sign a Let’s Move! Pledge, outlining a specific goal that he or she would like to attain throughout the year. Students will also receive Score Cards that allow them to better gauge their progress each month. Participants will be encouraged to track their efforts and submit their cards, which allows them to become eligible for prizes. At the end of the year, the Let’s Move! “Play Night” site with the highest program participation will host an awards ceremony for youth participating in the challenge.

Goals: By increasing physical activity and promoting healthy choices, Brick City SERVES seeks to reduce childhood obesity in Newark.