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Youth Programs

After School, There’s Fun and Learning at Reed Village

After School, There’s Fun and Learning at Reed Village

After school, there’s fun and learning at Reed Village First comes the homework. Then comes the fun. That’s the routine, every weekday afternoon at six Springfield Housing Authority family developments, where after-school programs bring structure, a safe place to be, and a warm, caring atmosphere for hundreds of young participants.

At Reed Village, 13-year-old De’zyre Clark visits the spacious Community Room behind the maintenance office pretty much every day, as she has for the past year. There she finds help with her homework and much camaraderie among new and old friends. “I like the people here a lot. We do arts and crafts, and we always get our homework done. When I can’t figure out my math, I get help from the people here,” said De’Zyre, an eighth-grader at Kennedy Middle School.

After School, There’s Fun and Learning at Reed VillageReed after-school coordinator Kevin Allen works out of the nearby Springfield Girls Club and Family Center on Acorn Street, where services reach out to youth of all ages as well as their families. The partnership at Reed is a match made in heaven, with children benefitting on either end. The priority is always the same, Allen noted. “The number one thing is always to improve their grades in school,” Allen said. “The first thing we do is the homework, and work on those skills. If they don’t have homework, we have a small library, and we have them read a book.”

SHA Resident Service Coordinator Candra Cripps said there are now six after-school programs, serving children of all ages at the following developments: Reed, Pine James, Riverview, Marble Street, Duggan and Moxon apartments. She called the programs, all of them collaborations with outside agencies, “extremely important. “This gives the children a safe, exciting learning environment, a place to come after school where they are in good care, with mentors and peers,” Cripps said. At Reed, children are greeted by Allen, and staffers like Mary Gaskins, better known as ‘Miss G,’ and Whitney Dudley, a student at Bay Path College in Longmeadow who works part-time helping children with homework, and organizing activities.

“I like it here,” said Dudley, who is 19. “It gives the kids something good to do after school. It gives them a sense of community here. It’s really like a family.” The large room includes tables for homework and art projects, a pool table, a foosh ball table, a computer area, a library, and even a small kitchen for cooking projects. There is also a television, complete with a computer game that was donated.

On a recent afternoon, along a bank of four computers, sat Marquis Owens, a 17-year-old junior at Central High School. Owens is beyond the age where he needs after-school care, but he still comes by three or four afternoons a week. “It’s fun,” said the defensive tackle on Central’s football team. “We always get our homework done first, and I like getting that done right away. I like playing with the kids, too. There’s always something going on here,” he said.

Luis Velazquez, 14, said he also appreciates the focus on homework. But there’s more where he’s concerned. “It’s better than being outside on your own – you can get in trouble out there,” said the Kennedy Middle School eighth-grader. “In here, it’s fun.”

Allen said the program includes mentorships with the older students, like Owens. There are also afternoon trips to places like museums, farms, and Yankee Candle. During summer months, programs at Reed and the other five developments expand to full day, giving children more options when school is out. “We know what we’re doing here is working for these children,” Allen said. “We can see it.”

4538 days ago / Youth Programs
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