Statewide after-school program folds; Morristown’s Neighborhood House scrambling again

Students from the STARS afterschool program listen to circus artist Jill Maglio earlier this year. STARS is cutting back on cultural enrichment programs because of tight funding. Photo by Kevin Coughlin
Students from the STARS afterschool program listen to circus artist Jill Maglio earlier this year. STARS is cutting back on cultural enrichment programs because of tight funding. Photo by Kevin Coughlin
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New Jersey After 3, a nonprofit that has supported afterschool programs across the state since 2004, is shutting down next week after losing state funding.

The Morristown Neighborhood House is struggling to keep its STARS afterschool program going without the $100,000 that New Jersey After 3 provided last year.

“The need is greater than ever,” said David Walker, executive director of the Neighborhood House. He warned that youth crime could spike without programs like STARS. “We have more working parents now, so for many of our children, we are the most consistent force in their lives, after their schools…The absence of high-quality afterschool programming is a great concern to this community.”

Students from the STARS afterschool program listen to circus artist Jill Maglio earlier this year. STARS is cutting back on cultural enrichment programs because of tight funding. Photo by Kevin Coughlin
Students from the STARS afterschool program listen to circus artist Jill Maglio earlier this year. STARS is cutting back on cultural enrichment programs because of tight funding. Photo by Kevin Coughlin

The Neighborhood House has been assisting immigrants and low-income families for more than a century. STARS –short for Smart Talented Athletic Responsible Students–is in its seventh year. At its height, it offered tutoring services, musical instruction, sports and field trips to more than 200 middle-school kids from mostly low- and moderate-income families who otherwise would be unsupervised at home between 3 pm and 6 pm.

But as state budget cutbacks squeezed New Jersey After 3 over the last couple of years, the Neighborhood House has scaled back STARS while trying to ramp up its own fundraising. Based at the Frelinghuysen Middle School, the local program now subsidizes only 50 students.

STARS has just one certified teacher today, instead of four. Violin instruction is gone. So is African drumming, and artistic programming from ARTS! By the People. Sports and field trips have been cut back. Staff from the Neighborhood House help students with their homework, and Morristown High School students still provide mentoring. A cooking class also remains.

David praised New Jersey After 3 for creating a “strong, evidence-based model” for after-school programs that the Neighborhood House strives to replicate. Five areas are emphasized: Academics, arts/culture, civic engagement, leadership skills and sports/health/fitness.

“It was a remarkable program that created a blueprint for successful afterschool services throughout New Jersey,” David said of New Jersey After 3.

New Jersey After 3 Executive Director Mark Valli, who visited the Neighborhood House in January, announced his program’s closure via email on Wednesday:

“This difficult decision follows the loss of State funding and the subsequent loss of private and matching funds in the context of an uncertain economic environment. After exploring virtually every option, and following much thoughtful discussion, it was determined that New Jersey After 3’s business model– and the benefits of its economies of scale that relied on a robust public/private partnership– are no longer sustainable.”

More than 400,000 children in New Jersey lack access to afterschool programs, according to a report by the Afterschool Alliance. Mark said the number of dual-income and single-parent families is rising, and the hours between school closing and suppertime are the most dangerous for kids.

“Students, particularly those in under-performing schools, need more learning time and more exposure to new ideas, music, arts and sports in order to be successful in school and competitive in a global 21st Century workforce,” he said.

HAPPIER TIMES: Mark Valli of New Jersey After 3 visits the Morristown Neighborhood House STARS afterschool program in January 2011. He is pictured with Arlene J. Lester of State Farm Insurance. Photo by Kevin Coughlin
HAPPIER TIMES: Mark Valli of New Jersey After 3 visits the Morristown Neighborhood House STARS afterschool program in January 2011. He is pictured with Arlene J. Lester of State Farm Insurance. Photo by Kevin Coughlin

Wednesday’s announcement saddened but did not surprise the Neighborhood House; the writing was on the wall for New Jersey After 3 when Gov. Chris Christie axed it from the state budget earlier this year, David said.

With the help of the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, private donations, community development block grants and a gala earlier this month, the Neighborhood House has raised about $75,000 to keep STARS afloat this year.

That’s $25,000 short of the Nabe’s target.  An annual fund drive will try to close that gap–and raise another $100,000 to replace the lost funding from New Jersey After 3 and restore STARS programs that have been slashed or pared, David said.

STARS presently serves children on a first-come, first-served basis; need also is factored in and there is a sliding fee scale, David said.  For anyone else to enter the program, the fee is $100 per week.

David said he is confident that STARS will survive; it is too vital to die.

“We’ve had this call to action before,” he said. “Every time, the community has risen to the occasion for our children. We’re certain this will happen again.”

READ MORE ABOUT THE STARS PROGRAM

READ MORE ABOUT NJ AFTER 3 SHUTDOWN

Video about STARS from 2010:

 

 

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