By Courtney Dentch
Students at PS 30 in South Jamaica this week received a brand-new computer lab stocked with 20 new terminals, all courtesy of the U.S. Dream Academy.
Students will have a chance to join the Dream Academy’s after-school mentoring program to learn more about computers.
The U.S. Dream Academy is a non-profit organization that has established seven learning centers around the country to help supplement the technology curriculum in schools, especially in low-income or minority areas where children may not have access to computers.
PS 30 at 126-10 Bedell St. is the seventh center opened by the organization, which was founded in 1998, and the first in the New York area.
“Each and every one of you has been blessed with a gift,” said Wintley Phipps, president and chief executive officer of the U.S. Dream Academy. “It’s important that we, as adults, do everything in our power to help you find your gift, to develop your gift and to use your gift, because when you don’t, you could get in trouble.”
The program originally was aimed at helping children of incarcerated parents or relatives by giving them an opportunity to learn computer skills, but it has expanded to include all children who do not have equal access to the technology, said Neil Kreinik, superintendent of School District 28, which includes PS 30.
“We have to empower at-risk children to maximize their potential,” he said. “We have to give all children an equal opportunity. This gives them an opportunity they may not have had.”
The Dream Academy program is centered around the after-school tutoring sessions, said Diane Wallace Booker, executive vice president of the Dream Academy. About 120 students in grades three through five will be able to participate in the program, which includes computer time, healthy snacks and mentoring sessions that feature activities such as games and craft projects.
The curriculum for the after-school sessions is focused around the Dream Academy internal communication system, which allows students to talk to and e-mail other program participants and create a home page. Some activities will link students to the Internet. The activities for each day will be determined by a short quiz in which the students identify skill gaps, said DeAnn Brady, national program director for the Dream Academy.
The program, which costs about $200,000 per year, is funded by donations to the Dream Academy, Booker said. The funds cover computer maintenance and three part-time Dream Academy staff members to run the after-school program.
Denise Rapalo, a fifth grader in the school’s student council, is looking forward to joining the program, she said.
“It’s new and it looks like it will be exciting,” the 10-year-old said.
During the day, the computers will be available to the rest of the school.
“It’s starting as an after-school program, but because it’s here in the building the principal can use it for students during the day,” said Etta Carter, deputy superintendent of School District 28. “It’s absolutely wonderful to have this in the building.”
Reach reporter Courtney Dentch by e-mail at TimesLedger@aol.com, or by phone at 229-0300, Ext. 138.
