HOST INTRO: As students have returned to school since the start of the pandemic, afterschool programs have also since resumed their services to families in need across the city. Melissa Chauca, a journalism student from Baruch College, speaks to some staff members and other individuals from a Queens middle school, I.S. 141, who have experienced the benefits of free childcare.
TRACK: Johnny Flores, who has been working in childcare for approximately 12 years, discusses how essential after school programs are to families and how they are pivotal to the development of young children.
ACT: JOHNNY: These-These programs are much needed uhm everywhere in the city, but, you know, you know, if i were to say maybe more would be needed in the inner city, but all these these programs are needed for parents- working parents, you know, even stay at home parents that are with their kids and uhm, their kids just need other places to grow- its, its awesome to see just, you know, the work that you, and the parent, and the school, you know, what you all got done together to make this kid grow.
TRACK: Most parents that put their children in after schools do not think of it as a luxury. It is a need for families across the board, especially low-income, immigrant, and minority communities.
*SOUND BITE OF PARENT TALKING*
TRACK: Sharon Redding, I.S. 141’s event coordinator who has been working for the DOE since 1984 and has been working in childcare ever since, tells her story about the impact of after school programming on her life as a single mother.
ACT: SHARON: So the afterschool programs for me, living in Brooklyn, East New York, it was very important because, one thing, I had three children and one thing I would say I didn’t want my babies in the street. After school programs is definitely a life saver, it was a life saver because I couldn’t do what I do without them and I didn’t have to worry about my children not being safe.
TRACK: Sharon Redding continues her story about how beneficial after-schools were to her daughter’s education.
ACT: SHARON: This was a young girl that was getting 55’s-60’s. She was with this young girl in the after school program for about two months. She started getting 80’s and 90’s.
TRACK: Not only do these programs offer academic tutoring and homework help, but they offer a place for children to be children. Angelo Alberico, the Recreational Coordinator, Group Leader, and Basketball Coach that has been working at I.S. 141 for over four years discusses making the program a second home for its students.
*WALKIE TALKIE SOUND BITE*
ACT: ANGELO: Uh it’s definitely essential because a lot of parents don’t have time for their kids after work to give them the affection and and love and care so thats what we try to provide them here and we try to provide them extracurricular activitieslike basketball uh artsand ping-pong and other stuff like that to kind of give them a feeling of home.
TRACK: Matthew Caballero, a 12-year-old student describes his enjoyment of these extracurricular activities.
ACT: MATTHEW: Yea well obviously the sport program is the best, right? It helps me physically, mentally and emotionally because the people there, such as Angelo, help me cus when I’m beating someone he hypes me up and then they get sad which is good for me, right?
TRACK: Sharon Redding also attests to the importance of Basketball programs for her sons and how they gave her peace of mind knowing her boys were safe. In fact, 85% of parents with kids in afterschool programs feel as though having their kids in afterschools gives them piece of mind.
ACT: SHARON: They put them into uhm competitions with other schools. Other after school programs played against the other. They had trophies, they had shirts, he was excited. Not only did they have uhm that gym once a week, they also had it on a Saturday. So I knew where he was on a Saturday, he was in that gym. It was wonderful, it was amazing.
TRACK: These programs are a safe-haven for children. They are places that allow families to thrive and grow. Without these programs, a lot of families would simply not be able to get by. In fact, in 2009, 10.2 million children were attending after school programs and 21% of children in New York State attended after-school programs.
ACT: SHARON: We talk to our children, we embrace our children, we-we counsel our children, we help our children, we protect our children. We give them a part of our heart, we really do, and we treat them as though they were family.
TRACK: For Baruch College, I am Melissa Chauca.