District shines the light on afterschool programs

By: Sara Peters
   After-school programs in South Brunswick, and nationwide, opened their doors last week to show the world how important they are to children, parents and the community.
   The event, Lights On!, was sponsored by Afterschool Alliance, a national organization based in Washington, D.C.
   After-school programs throughout South Brunswick invited parents and community leaders to special activities to showcase all that the students have accomplished during their afternoons.
   "This event is important because across the nation, many places don’t have after-school programs," said Cathy Kujawa, manager of School Age Care in South Brunswick. "This event calls attention to the importance of this service."
   Ms. Kujawa explained the purpose of these programs is to provide children of working parents quality after-school care in a safe environment where mutual respect exists between students and instructors. She describes them as "enrichment programs" that provide a supplemental education and recreation, rather than merely baby-sitting.
   The Afterschool Alliance is an alliance of public, private and nonprofit groups committed to raising awareness and expanding resources for after-school programs, which keep children safe in the hours between the time the last school bell rings and the time working parents get home.
   According to the Alliance’s Web site, those hours can be a dangerous time for unsupervised children. Many are abused, injured or abducted and often have the opportunity to experiment with smoking, drug use, crime, and sexual activity. The mission of after-school programs is to keep children safe from these dangers, help working parents and improve students’ academic performance.
   South Brunswick schools showed their devotion to this mission Oct. 12 by organizing events at each elementary school, as well as at the Upper Elementary. Each school had a different Lights On! celebration, from an ice cream social, to a Tae-Bo demonstration, to a masquerade ball.
   Monmouth Junction School celebrated Lights On! with an under-the-sea theme.
   "This is the children’s chance to show their parents all the work they’ve done," said Patricia Olsen, organizer of the Monmouth Junction event.
   Over the past few weeks, children in the program created construction paper sea creatures to decorate the auditorium, and made snacks like "fish cookies," "blue sea-water juice" and "sand pudding." Children gathered around to watch Disney’s "The Little Mermaid" while munching on goldfish crackers, or tried catching metal fish with magnetic fishing lures.
   "We have about 125 after-school students in a school of about 500 students, so this program is very important to us," said Ms. Olsen. "It’s a time for the kids to socialize, and a time when they actually can get homework done. Between soccer practice and religion schools, kids hardly have time for that."
   Parents at the event were very appreciative of the service the teachers and volunteers provide.
   John Perawski, father of kindergartner T.J., said the programs "definitely" help his family.
   "My son’s really responded to it," he said. "He gets along much easier with other kids. And it’s easier for my wife and I too."
   "They have a lot of respect for our children," said Amy Gunison, mother of second-grader Ellie. "They don’t see it as just baby-sitting; they teach our kids. I can’t tell you how important that is to me."
   Registration for after-school programs is always open. Acceptance is based upon the student-instructor ratio for each school. Tuition rates vary marginally by school. For more information, call the Community Education Department at (732) 297-7800 extension 269.