August 16, 2012
New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) Executive Vice President
for Community Operations, Sharon Myrie, recently visited the St.
John’s Queens Campus in late July with a cadre of her Executive
Team colleagues (Deidra Gilliard, Vice President for Community
Operations; D’Andra Van-Heusen Thomas, Manager, Educational
Services & Community Operations; and Delaney Cole, Co-Director,
Community Resource Exchange – CRE) to evaluate and observe the
University’s After School All-Stars/CampUs program for Inner City
NYCHA youths.
These programs cater to 500 students annually as students get
exposure at a major university to work, learn and play in a
captivating atmosphere – one that most, if not all, have never
experienced before.
The NYCHA officials were accompanied by St. John’s senior
administrators Rev. James J. Maher, C.M., Executive Vice President
for Mission and Student Services, Alan Fields, Executive Director
of After School All-Stars of New York and Dr. Richard Sinatra,
Associate Dean of Academic Affairs for St. John’s School of
Education; and Deanne Southwell, Executive Director, Vincentian
Institute for Social Action (VISA).
After-School All-Stars (ASASNY) is a comprehensive after-school
program provider. CampUs has just completed their 16th season in
conjunction with St. John’s. The organization currently serves more
than 80,000 children in 12 cities throughout the U.S. The New
York Chapter of After School All-Stars offers programs at three
middle schools in Queens. St. John’s University and its School of
Education has successfully partnered with ASASNY in this
venture.
CampUs (two cohorts of a one month program sponsored by ASASNY)
accentuates both academic and athletic programming and is conducted
by St. John’s University faculty, administration, student
counselors and After School All-Stars staff. The sessions began on
July 9 with the first cohort made up of students from Manhattan,
Queens and Staten Island) and ended on August 3 with the second
cohort from the Bronx and Brooklyn). Both camp graduation
ceremonies were held at St. John’s Queens Campus.
The NYCHA Executive Team visited classrooms, computer labs, were
given a tour of “CampUs Academic” program initiatives with this
year’s theme centering on the “Envirionment.” In addition, the new
“Eduss Math Program” specifics were introduced to students this
year with a brief introduction given to the NYCHA team, as well as
a tour of the athletic fields and courts to interact with students
and their counselors. Each student receives a per-person math
program license for the Eduss program for one year that they take
home with them to measure the success they have achieved throughout
the school year.
As an added incentive at the graduation ceremonies, 36
scholarships of $1 thousand each are given to top deserving camp
members which are renewable each year if the student enrolls at St.
John’s University.
For more information contact Dominic Scianna, Assistant Vice
President for Media Relations at St. John's University by calling
(718) 990-6185 or e-mail inquiries to sciannad@stjohns.edu.