NJSACC Afterschool FLASH

Growing Stem for Girls in The Garden State   

Kickoff Event is Full To Capacity!

Registration is Closed

April 18th, 2012

The vision of the National Girls Collaborative Project is to bring together organizations throughout the United States that are committed to informing and encouraging girls to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).

The National Girls Collaborative Project maximizes access to shared resources and disseminates research-based promising practices that advance the work of existing and evolving girl-serving projects. The goals are to:

• Strengthen the capacity of girl-serving STEM programs to effectively reach and serve underrepresented girls in STEM by sharing promising practice research and program models, outcomes, and products.
• Increase the effectiveness of Collaboratives by providing professional development focused on sustainability, organizational effectiveness, and shared leadership to more effectively deliver services to girl-serving STEM organizations.
• Maximize K-12 school counselors’ access to and use of relevant, high-quality resources that increase awareness of barriers to girls’ interest and engagement in STEM.

NJSACC: The Network for NJ’s Afterschool Communities is proud to be the convening agency for the Garden State Girls STEM Collaborative.

We will bring together organizations and individuals that are committed to informing and motivating girls to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics to encourage collaboration and improve inter-program communication.

Our goal is to strengthen capacity, increase continuation of girl-serving STEM programs and create a wider audience for gender-related STEM issues.

This project, funded by the National Science Foundation and administered by the Garden State Girls STEM Collaborative, offers the chance for schools, informal educators, programs that offer expanded learning opportunities, business and industry that are committed to informing and motivating girls to pursue classes and careers in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) to come together to share best practices, develop new collaborations, and share resources.

The successful career transition of students and the economic future of
New Jersey are tied to increased participation of all students in careers that rely on STEM skills and competencies.
Mini-grants may be available to organizations that collaborate in the development and delivery of programming that share this vision.

The Garden State Girls STEM Collaborative will be holding our

“Kickoff Event” on Wednesday, April 18th from 10-3pm in

Monroe Township, NJ. Look for  future events -posted on
Afterschool FLASH

For PRESS  questions  and additional information, please contact the Collaborative Lead,

Mike MacEwan at mmacewan@njsacc.org or 856-701-3960.            

HADDONFIELD CHILD CARE AWARDED SECOND ARTS GRANT

Haddonfield Child Care, the non-profit organization which has provided before and after school care for children and youth attending the Haddonfield public schools for twenty five years, was recently awarded a grant for spring 2011 by AIE, the Artists-in-Education Consortium of NJ.� The grant will provide funding for a twenty day artist residency, as well as a three day visiting artist, at Haddonfield Child Care�s afterschool program, located at the Central/Middle School.

�Ms. Jeanne Jablonski, a working artist and former art teacher from Williamstown, NJ, was chosen by the HCC team and AIE representatives to be the artist-in-residence for the project, which will run from February 15 through late April.

�HCC Executive Director, Denise Sellers, announcing the grant to program parents this week, �emphasized that Haddonfield Child Care will be � doing our best to use this wonderful opportunity to the greatest advantage�� for the children.� While recognizing the primary value of the artistic process, Sellers also commented, �We can�t wait for you, the school, and the community to see the end result!�
�Sellers and HCC staff members, Lydia Brown and Sharon Vogel, who will assist with the project, also introduced Ms. Jablonski to the children at the program this week, and the response was overwhelmingly positive to the artist and her plans.

�The project, which will be centered on the artwork and quilts of writer/illustrator Faith Ringgold and particularly her short story �How the People Became Color Blind,� will include visual, as well as musical, theatrical, and literary arts components.� Under the guidance of Ms. Jablonski, the children will design and create paper quilts, depicting the charming but poignant story of a world in which Ringgold describes how people came to recognize the �inner beauty of good deeds,� rather than “use color to separate one people from another.�”�

The children will journal throughout the project, including illustrations, thoughts, and poems about the experience. Lessons on basic quilt making, and a visit to a local quilt store, The Little Shop, will enhance their understanding of Ms. Ringgold�s use of quilting in her art. Actor and musician Barry Moore, who was the artist-in-residence at Tatem Elementary School�s afterschool program last year, will return for a three day visit to create the musical/theatrical component.�
Shelley Benaroya, the Arts Education Administrator speaking on behalf of the AIE Consortium, stated that AIE � valued� the continued partnership with� Haddonfield Child Care,� and�� added, � We congratulate [HCC] not just on the award, but also for your efforts to make the arts a basic part of education. By bringing a professional artist into your program, you are offering afterschool students at Central School a unique resource and approach to learning.�� The grant, valued at over $6000, is made possible by generous support from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a partner agency with the National Endowment for the Arts and the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation.

Anyone interested in learning more about the grant, or the programs of Haddonfield Child Care, can visit the HCC website, www.haddonfieldchildcare.org, or contact Denise Sellers at dsellers@haddonfield.k12.nj.us

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