As students went back to school Wednesday, many of them also headed back to the Harriet Tubman Academic Skills Program.
With the announcement that it recently secured a $40,000 grant from the Dyson Foundation, the program, now in its 10th year, can continue to provide academic help to 65 elementary school children. Most of the students (85 to 95 percent depending on the year) are also residents of Tubman Terrace, a low-income housing complex at 29 Jefferson St.
The funding commitment from Dyson Foundation is spread out over two years, and represents an increase of $10,000 over the foundation’s previous grant.
As one of four recipients of a City of Poughkeepsie Youth Initiative Grant, Harriet Tubman Academic Skills Program recently obtained a $10,000 funding commitment from the city, as well.
Children are required to spend nearly all their time poring over books and finishing homework because it is registered with the state as an academic program.
After they arrive by 3 p.m., the youths help themselves to a healthy snack provided through a state-funded food program.
Then, it’s time for homework and a mandatory 20 minutes of reading everyday. Those who have no assignments or complete their work take part in themed lesson plans.
Up to 40 volunteers tutor the children, including parents, retirees, Vassar and Marist college students, IBM employees and congregants from local churches.
But the need to supervise 60 children daily after school and throughout the summer months means there is demand for additional volunteers, who are asked to make a two-hour commitment each week.
The program’s director, Christine Arnfield, said that while it’s sometimes difficult to keep 65 elementary students on-task, “The kids know what they’re here for. The snack gives them some downtime, and then they seem to want to get their homework done.” That way, “when they get home, they don’t have to worry about it,” she said.
As a teaching assistant at Clinton Elementary School, attended by many of the children, Arnfield has the advantage of knowing many of the children’s teachers, and she has permission from parents to contact them.
Arnfield said she was particularly grateful to the foundation for funding salaries. In addition to Arnfield, three other part-time employees work for the Harriet Tubman children’s programs, and their salaries are the program’s greatest expense. Few private groups are willing to fund human resource needs, said Arnfield, despite the fact that they are generally the greatest cost to operating any company or agency. “(Dyson Foundation) has been so supportive of this program,” she said.
One teacher, Kathleen Seyfert of Clinton Elementary School, said she has noticed the positive impact the academic skills program has had on her students.
Seyfert said that Arnfield worked closely with her “in preparing my students for the new social studies standardized test. As a result, my students scored very well, and continue to score higher than those not enrolled in the program.”
For parents trying to make ends meet, the program provides an essential service: free child supervision. “As a parent of four children, this program has been a tremendous asset,” said Maria Feaster, who has three children in the program.
Tubman Terrace is owned by two churches, the Poughkeepsie United Methodist Church and AME Zion Church.
The afterschool program operates on an annual budget of $60,000, which primarily covers the cost of four part-time employees. To make up the remainder of the operating costs, Arnfield applies for various other private and public grants.