Carver Center, Port Chester-Rye School District Earn $4.5M LEAP Grant

PORT CHESTER, NY — After-school programs in Port Chester will get a boost from an infusion of state money.

Officials say the funding will allow them to expand and enhance programs already in place.

The Port Chester Carver Center and the Port Chester-Rye Union Free School District were just awarded a NYS Learning and Enrichment After-School Program Supports (LEAPS) grant to provide a free, after-school program for students at Port Chester elementary schools.

The award is for five years of funding, totaling $4.5 million.

The Carver Center says that the LEAPS grant funding coupled with other funding sources secured by the school district will ensure that access to after-school programs will be equitable at all four elementary schools at an annual supply fee for the program of $100 per student.

"We are thrilled to be able to offer this robust after school program for our elementary students in partnership with the Carver Center. Due to our collaboration, we will be offering a myriad of exciting and enriching activities for our students for a high-quality experience, starting on the first day of school and ending on the last," Colleen Carroll, EdD, Deputy Superintendent at the Port Chester-Rye Union Free School District, said.

The after-school program will feature strong academic components (homework help, STEM projects, arts and crafts, recreational activities) and social-emotional learning (SEL) activities that include self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making. Carver Center’s food services department will also provide hot meals to each student participating in the program.

"We are excited to work closely with the Port Chester School District on this important programming. This funding will enable us to expand our high-quality educational programs which the Port Chester community has come to rely on. Our goal is to create a safe, and nurturing environment where students can thrive after the school day ends," Anne Bradner, CEO of the Carver Center, said.

NYS's Office of Family and Child Services (OFCS) awarded the LEAPS grant through a competitive, peer-reviewed process that supports nonprofit organizations in developing and/or continuing quality after-school programs in partnership with local schools/school districts where at least 50 percent of students are economically disadvantaged.

Find more information about the after-school program on the Carver Center website or contact Fallen Jean-Baptiste, the Director of School Age Programs at the Carver Center, at 914-305-6019.