Junior Education (JR. ED.) is an after school program for children aged 4 to 8, with a curriculum that balances arts, academics, athletics and enrichment. Classes vary every semester and reflect each instructor’s areas of expertise. Past and current offerings include swimming, chess, step dancing, international studies, "cheers and chants", music composition, and cooking.

Throughout the semester, students show what they’ve learned through bulletin board presentations, culminating with a presentation that displays what they have retained and wish to share with others.

Theme-Based Curricula

Each semester our students partake in theme-based curricula that heighten our students learning in several subject areas. In these studies, which include diverse topics such as, "Values", "World Cultures", "Animal Studies" and "Natural Disasters", children may learn about foreign languages or do surveys of family members to get answers about the role of honesty and love in their households. These projects always end with a final presentation that demonstrates the students’ increased aptitude for the subject they have studied.

Community Connections

New York Cares

Our children do monthly projects on history, holidays and community awareness with New York Cares. During these sessions, teenagers from the city’s high schools assist our students in projects that culminate with a visual representation of what they learned.

New York Junior League

The Cultural Arts Program, run by the New York Junior League, teaches our students about theater arts and then takes about 15 students to trips on Broadway and other live performance venues. Our connection with the Junior League has lasted for approximately 13 years and keeps our children eager to experience theater life outside their communities.

Winant Clayton

Every summer the Jr. Ed. program has the pleasure of having the assistance of two Winant Clayton Volunteers from Europe to help instruct classes and supervise on trips. This interaction gives the students exposure to other countries from actual people and broadens the knowledge of the volunteers to the lives of children living in a United States urban community.

Program Coordinator – Asadah Kirkland