When school is out, growth persists
Middle schools students explore wellness through city-funded after school program
For 14-year-old Zayonna Simpson, after school is a time to be herself. Simpson doesn’t particularly care for “typical girl stuff,” like hair, nails or makeup, but rather, for basketball, video games and just about anything involving R&B and Hip Hop music. Whatever activity she is doing, she loves doing it with her friends and those who accept her the way she is.
Simpson is one of 146 middle school participants in the Good Shepherd Services after school program that runs daily from 2:45–6 p.m. at Junior High School 292 Margaret S Douglass in Brooklyn.
According to data provided by the New York City Department of Youth and Community Development (DYCD), 36 percent of all after school programs funded by DYCD exist in Brooklyn — the most out of any other borough.
The Bronx ranks second with 21 percent of all DYCD after school programs, followed by Queens at 19 percent, Manhattan at 14 percent and Staten Island at four percent. Roughly six percent of all after school programs funded by DYCD exist in all five boroughs concurrently.
Of those after school programs offered, the largest type of program offered across all boroughs is Out-of-School-Time programs, which started in 2005 with an initial investment of 46 million dollars. Today, these programs fall under The Comprehensive After School System of NYC (COMPASS NYC), which is projected to serve 97,000 youth with a budget of 247.3 million dollars, thanks to the commitment of Mayor Bill de Blasio and his administration. See the key elements of all COMPASS NYC programs here.
Since 2015, COMPASS NYC has offered a middle school model specifically geared toward 6th, 7th and 8th graders, also known as SONYC for School’s Out NYC. The key to these programs is that they allow the student participants to choose how to spend their time and requires youth leadership through some sort of service.
For Jeffrey Caceres, 32, a program like this is exciting.
As the Director of Good Shepherd Services After School Programs at Junior High School 292 Margarets S Douglass in Brooklyn, Caceres is motivated to make the most out of his new position because he too, gained a great deal of confidence through an after school program he attended in The Bronx. It was there that he found a place in which he felt he belonged, and that is what he hopes to provide for all his program participants.
Good Shepherd Services’ after school programs runs daily, and student participants pick one activity from the following options to engage in for the whole term: sports, basketball instruction, dance, cosmetology, cooking, STEM/coding, fashion, chess and 30 for 30, an activity initiated by a group of boys that involves current events, entrepreneurship and sports.
Simpson chose to participate in the cooking activity this term because she wants to cook as well as her father, she says. Her favorite meal that the group has made thus far is tacos — she love sauteing the meat and vegetables.
When asked what makes her, her, Simpson replied with: “I am lovable.” She might act like she doesn’t want to participate in all the elements of the after school program — outside of music, sports or cooking–– but, as Caceres knows, once she sees other people doing it, she always participates.
Simpson is one of the program participants Caceres is most proud of, for the way she has grown and stepped out of her comfort zone. While he always thought he would have a manlier job, five months into it, Caceres also sees the greater responsibility he is taking on.
“I see the importance of a man role model in the education field,” Caceres says, “but I always thought it was more like a female job just because females are just naturally nurturing.”
Growing up, he thought a man was tough first and foremost. His father liked to watch professional wrestlers like Mike Tyson and, for years Caceres would lift and bench press more than he could hold because he believed, like the tattoo on his chest reads, “Pain is Weakness Leaving The Body.”
In his role as program director, Caceres is dedicated to his students — he always has been, and that is why he always speaks about his role with pride. He has accepted that he is fit for the job, and can help his program participants succeed. He may come off as quiet and closed off, but he says he has a “charm” that the after school participants are drawn to. He cares about the growth of each and every program participant, which is why he tries to incorporate success and well-being into his youth development portions of the program.
As mandated by NYC’s Department of Youth and Community Development, Caceres is incorporating seminars on mental health, group discussion time and fitness and nutrition activities into his Summer 2019 programming all under the theme of health and wellness.
In the future, Caceres wants to provide programming related to topics like financial literacy and community service as well as more personal ones like gender identity and handling conflict. His primary goal remains for program participants to feel accepted and fit for success.
“I’m looking forward to making a difference and seeing a change here,” Caceres says. “I want us [at Good Shepherd Services] to be known for making this community a better place.”
