Youth Programs

Lamaya Smith, 12, and Leshaynet Velazquez, get ready to work on their poetry books at the after-school program at the Youth and Teen Outreach Center at Springfield Housing Authority’s John L. Sullivan Apartments in the Liberty Heights neighborhood.

It’s poetry time in the after-school program at Springfield Housing Authority’s John L. Sullivan Apartments, and 12-year-old Lamaya Smith is glad of it.

“I like writing poems and coming up with ideas,” said the fifth grader. “Sometimes it helps me understand things. I like to put the words together and then think about what I wrote.”

Lamaya is doing more than that. Using a data-driven model that targets individual children and their specific learning needs, the Youth and Teen Outreach Center at Sullivan is helping elementary and middle-school children improve their reading, writing, science and mathematics skills.

The after-school program is brought to the SHA by the YMCA of Springfield, running weekdays from 3:30 to 6 p.m. for the younger set, and staying open until 8 p.m. for teens. Upwards of 25 children take advantage of the program, according to Pedro Landrau, site director and YMCA employee.

Davyian Walker, 9, hams it up with an orange-section smile, as Melquisedec Santiago, 7, smiles behind him. In the background is program director Pedro Landrau of the Springfield YMCA.

“Our main goal is to keep them busy and keep them out of trouble during those after-school hours,” Landrau said. “We try to keep their minds stimulated and help them with their grades.”

This academic year, Landau and his staff are using data provided by the nearby Edward Boland Elementary School, where the younger children do their formal learning. That way, children who need a boost in any given subject are sure to get it.

“We try to implement games and activities that help them with what they’re learning in school,” explained Landau.

For the children, the program means good old fashioned fun.

“I come here a lot, almost every day,” said third grader Leeshaynet Velazquez, who is 10.

Assistant after-school program director Adrean Jacobs has her hands full with, left to right, Dasany Lester, 8, Christian Samuels, 7, Victoria Feliciano, 9, Talia Lee, 6,and Fergie Perez, 13.

“It helps me learn new things, and it helps me do better in school. Sometimes we do science,” she said.

Twin brothers Javier and Gabriel Reyes-Febrez, who are 10, nod their heads in identical unison when asked if they like the after-school program.

“It’s good,” said Gabriel. “We get to read books and see our friends and play games. There’s always something to do here.”

On a recent afternoon, children flocked around assistant program director Adrean Jacobs, who distributed poetry books for the day’s activity. Jacobs said the structured afternoons are meant to impact participants on several levels.

“We want to show them a good time, that life can be fun and positive and educational,” she explained. “They come here and they know they’re safe, and what they do is going to be good for them.”

Terrel Saunders works part-time at the program, organizing activities and helping children. The junior nursing student at American International College said he can see the good things as they happen.

Lizaundra Rodriguez, 11, Terrel Saunders, and Melquisedec Santiago, 7, at the after-school program at Sullivan.

“I love this job,” said Saunders. “The environment is so good. You can feel the positive atmosphere, and you know you’re doing something good for the kids who come here.”

That sentiment is also expressed by children like seven-year-old Christian Samuels, a first-grader at Boland School.

“Every day after school we come here. Somebody always watches us and helps us, and we do fun things. We play board games, do arts and crafts, stuff like that. I love it,” he said.