Education | Educación
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A total of 63 students from John I. Smith K-8 completed this program
KAPOW instills in the children the importance of work Executives from the KAPOW program thanked City of Doral Directors and the Doral Police Department for their job as volunteers during this year.
Edda Pujadas
T
Agosto/August 21, 2016
@ epujadas
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he goal of the KAPOW program, “kids and the power of work” is to instill in the children the importance of work and to link them up with different work markets, 63 children from John I Smith K-8 Center participated in this program this year. John Casbarro, president of Learning for Success, the company that manages the KAPOW program, informed this when he explained that this important group of children were able to complete this experience thanks to the voluntary collaboration of Code Compliance Officers from the City of Doral and the Doral Police Department. Casbarro explained that thanks to the support of these departments and also the one received from local businesses, the exposure of these students to the work force was a success, they learned about discipline and the necessary abilities to be successful in the job and in life itself, which is the essence of the KAPOW program. During the event in which they were recognized at the City of Doral, Casbarro especially thanked Officers Debbie Guzman and Yvette Gomez from the Doral Police Department and Ricardo Alarcon and George Lazo from the Code Compliance Department. He also highlighted the support that companies like Publix, Anta’s Fitness and Self Defense, Golden Flowers, Citibank and First Investors have provided to the schools. This year, the participants on KAPOW also visited the facilities of the City of Doral, this represented a valuable experience for the students of John I. Smith K-8 Center, as they learned how our City Government works. For these activities, the students counted with all the support of the administration and teachers of the school. Casbarro also mentioned that two new schools in Doral are also going to be participating this year in the KAPOW program, Eugenia B. Thomas K-8 Center and Downtown Doral Charter School. He also highlighted that new volunteers are getting into the program, Lt. Daniel Muñecas and Officers Michael Rodriguez and Erwin Fernandez from the Doral Police Department and Victor Camps from the Code Compliance Department. Debbie Guzman, one of the officers that received a recognition and that has participated as a volunteer
in the KAPOW Program, stated that is it a privilege for her to be able to be part of a project of this kind because it teaches the children how to keep good labor habits, to develop their communication skills and it instills in them the importance of Team Work. “To me, to see the smiles of the students when they get excited learning all that they can do in the job and the success that they can have, is priceless”, stated Officer Guzman when she indicated that this program is an eight month program and she is happy to know that every day there are more officers that get involved in it, this will allow more children to participate in the KAPOW program. “Definitively, communication and organization are the keys for a successful partnership and through KAPOW we achieve both, because schools and companies work together with the goal of creating work awareness in the children.” added Officer Guzman.
COMPANIES AND SCHOOLS WORKING TOGETHER
In reality, KAPOW is much more than a learning program. KAPOW is a national network of businesses and elementary schools that introduce concepts and work experiences to children in their elementary academic years, and these get reinforced in time. The company Learning for Success manages the KAPOW program in South Florida. KAPOW
was founded in 1991 by Grand Metropolitan and the National Child Labor Committee, a private, non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the rights, dignity, well-being and education of children and youth as they relate to work and working. The first KAPOW association was between Burger King Corporation and Cutler Ridge Elementary. Today, 70 elementary schools, 423 teachers and administrators and more than 400 volunteers of 90 companies from South Florida participate in the program that attends 6 thousand students. KAPOW and their business, community and school partners help students discover new and different jobs and what is needed to conduct those jobs, at the time that they understand how the school is helping them get prepared for their job, social and family life in the future. The work of KAPOW is very professional and detailed and they use pedagogic and motivational tactics such as the visits from experts in different areas to the school classrooms and field trips to the companies and workplaces, which increases the interest and curiosity of the children. For more information on how to participate in this program, you can visit their webpage at: https:// kapwlfs.wordpress.com. Remember that one of the main goals of KAPOW is to make the children and youth understand that the reason to study is: The Future.