LAKEWOOD — The Ocean County Library has been awarded $335,865 as part of a grant that will target both the educational and cultural needs of students participating in the Homework in Progress (HIP) after-school program at the system’s Lakewood branch. The award will be disbursed over a five-year period through the Lakewood School District.
The New Jersey Department of Education made the award as part of the 21st Century Community Learning Centers Grant in a collaborative project with lead agent, the Lakewood School District, and partners including the Lakewood Community Services Corporation, Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Ocean County, and Ocean County College. The entire grant totals $2.5 million over the five-year period.
“This is one of the largest program grants the Ocean County Library ever has received,” said Ocean County Library Director Elaine McConnell. “The incorporation of the grant into the Homework In Progress program is a unique opportunity to greatly enhance services to school children through this successful after-school program.”
The Homework in Progress program is at the center of the library’s outreach to all public school children who need homework help in the Lakewood community, said Jeffrey Kesper, Lakewood branch manager.
“The HIP program is an after-school homework learning center offering a safe environment, homework support in math and reading, one-on-one assistance, mentoring, encouragement of positive student behavior and help in locating and learning to use information and library resources,” he said.
The program currently reaches 12 to 20 students each day, according to a press release.
Through the grant, the library will hire a bilingual educator to interact between HIP students and their parents and schools and provide support to the current HIP staff and volunteers to assist with the program. The bilingual educator will provide a direct connection to the schools, the teachers and the curriculum. Translation services through the program also are available.
“This program directly connects the students, their parents, the teachers and the library educator to the challenges facing each student,” Kesper said. “Research shows that students participating in after-school homework centers show improvement in their academic performance and an increase in the confidence they have in their academic and social abilities.”
Additionally, school textbooks, workbooks and supplies will be purchased for the after-school and summer programs and the branch’s Spanish language and English as a Second Language book and audio collections will be increased. The grant will also fund youth programs and a movable language lab consisting of laptop computers, with sound and ESL language software and earphones, according to the press release.
“The language lab is a key investment because all the public-use computers at the branch are continually in use by our customers,” said Kesper. “This set of laptops will allow the students to use the computers in our meeting room or in the privacy of one of the library’s other three smaller quiet study areas.”
In the second year, a part-time certified teacher will be added to the HIP staff so the number of students the program reaches can be increased. Library programming also will increase with a significant number of new events, performances, exhibitions and library partners.
Once the program is operational, evaluation will be ongoing for each element of the program and used to redirect the program as needed.
“We want to be responsive to changes that affect the program and the relationships between our partner groups,” Kesper said.
McConnell sees the 21st Century Community Learning Center Grant as another example of how the Ocean County Library continues to create partnerships that connect people and build the community.
“We’re thrilled to be working with community groups and the consortium of social service and educational partners to bring a result that will have a positive impact on the community,” McConnell said. “With the addition of a bilingual educator and the enrichment to the Homework in Progress program we already provide, we reach the community in a responsive and supportive way.”