Prepared by
Liesa Stamm, Ph.D. Evaluation, Research and Planning Consulting
October 2025
OVERVIEW of the EVALUATION of the 2024-2025 IGNITE PROGRAM
In September 2024 the Rutgers Camden Schools Partnership initiated implementation of the third year of the IGNITE After School and Summer Programs for Camden children under the current five-year 21st CCLC grant from the New Jersey Department of Education. This 21st CCLC grant is the third five-year grant awarded to the Rutgers Camden Schools Partnership, a continued recognition of the effectiveness of the IGNITE Out of School-Time programs in supporting academic enhancement and youth development for Camden’s children.
The 2024-2025 IGNITE After School Program began operations on September 30, 2024 at the Program’s two school sites: Cooper’s Poynt and Dudley. At each of the school sites, the Program is provided for students in grades 3 through 8, although the numbers of students at each grade level varies by site.
Evaluation of the IGNITE After School and Summer Programs is an integral component of the IGNITE Program’s operations and was initiated in conjunction with the 2024-2025 IGNITE Program year. A primary purpose of the evaluation is to assess the effectiveness of the IGNITE Program in achieving the NJDOE mandated Goals and Objectives for the 21st CCLC programs that it funds. Additionally, the evaluation is designed to identify areas of Program strength for supporting student learning and academic enrichment; promoting Youth Development; and providing a range of activities that engage students in learning that are at the same time appropriate for Out of School Time programming. A further function of the evaluation is to recommend ways in which the Program can be adjusted and improved to better achieve its goals.
The methodologies utilized for the evaluating the 2024-2025 IGNITE After School and Summer Programs is detailed in Appendix A.
Key Evaluation Findings of the 2024-2025 IGNITE Programs
As detailed in Appendix A, a range of measures and methodologies were used in evaluating the 2024-2025 IGNITE Programs. Of particular importance is measuring the degree to which the After School Program achieved the New Jersey Department of Education’s Goals and Objectives for awarding 21st CCLC grants. The following 2024-2025 Annual Evaluation Report emphasizes these key measures.
The Staff Evaluation Survey instrument represents one of the chief methodologies for evaluating the IGNITE After School Program. The IGNITE Program staff, including Site Coordinators, Teachers and Facilitators, and Rutgers student Ambassadors, are directly responsible for providing the IGNITE After School Program to students enrolled at each of the IGNITE Program sites. For this reason, the assessments of the IGNITE staff about their experiences in working in the After School Program provide important data for evaluating the IGNITE Program. Of particular importance for evaluation of the IGNITE Program, the staff analyses of major components of the Program provide the basis for identifying Program strengths and areas in need of improvement.
To obtain their assessments of their experience working in the IGNITE Program, the staff were asked to respond to the Evaluation Survey on which they rated their experiences with a range of IGNITE Program components, structures and functions. The Staff responses to the Evaluation Survey are detailed in Appendix C.
As the targeted beneficiaries of the IGNITE Program, the students’ experiences while participating in the Program’s activities are critical for assessing its effectiveness at achieving its learning and youth development goals and objectives. The students’ assessments also provide data for making Program adjustments and improvements. Post-Program Evaluation Surveys administered to students represent one of the primary methodologies for assessing the impact of the IGNITE Program on student learning and youth development. The students’ ratings of their experiences in the After School Program are detailed in Appendix F.
1) Student Enrollment and Retention
The 2024-2025 student enrollment in the IGNITE After School and Summer Program is summarized in Table 1. In addition to measuring the total student enrollments in the After School Program, the evaluation focuses on measuring the level of student retention in the Program in relation to the 21st CCLC standard of a minimum of 90 hours per year or 30 days at three hours per day. This measure is important because in awarding grant funding for the Program, NJDOE sets a target Level of Service (LOS) for the minimum number of students participating 30 days or more in the IGNITE After School Program.
For the grant period starting in September 2024, the NJDOE Level of Service (LOS) established for the IGNITE was 201 students participating 30 days or more in the After School Program. The student enrollment data detailed in Table 1. demonstrate that the IGNITE After School Program not only met but exceeded the NJDOE determined level of student retention in the Program for 30 days or more.
Significantly, this is the third year in a row that IGNITE has achieved the NJDOE designated LOS. The Project Director is commended for this accomplishment after the Program’s history in past years of not achieving the LOS.
Table 1. Student Enrollment in the 2024-2025 IGNITE After School and Summer Programs
2) IGNITE Program Staffing
Engaging appropriately qualified staff to provide the range of the IGNITE Program’s student activities and experiences is essential for ensuring Program quality, student retention, and outcomes for students. It is also important to employ a sufficient number of staff to maintain an adequate staff to student ratio. Unlike many previous years of the IGNITE Program, the Project Director did not face major challenges in appointing qualified Program staff. Most of the staff providing the 2024-2025 IGNITE After School Program have worked in the Program in previous years which has strengthened Program delivery. In addition, the level of staffing achieved at the two After School Program sites was appropriate for providing the requisite staff to student ratio of approximately 1:15.
During the 2024-2025 IGNITE After School Program the Project Director successfully appointed an adequate number of appropriately qualified staff at each IGNITE Program site. Information on the level and range of staffing is detailed in Appendix B. To provide greater oversight and administrative support for the IGNITE After School Program, the Project Director established a new position of Co-Site Coordinator. The Co-Site Coordinators work with the Site Coordinator at each Program site to better ensure appropriate program implementation. Program staffing was further augmented through utilization of the institutional resources of Rutgers Camden which administers the IGNITE Program. The staffing resources provided by Rutgers contribute to and expand the offerings of the IGNITE After School Program, as well as serving as a cost saving measure.
Further evidence of the Project Director’s success in appointing an adequate level of appropriately qualified staff is provided through IGNITE staff responses to the Staff Evaluation Survey. To obtain insight on the potential impact of the level of staffing on staff ability to support students in the IGNITE Program, on the Evaluation Survey staff were asked to assess whether currently there are enough staff at their site to provide a range of activities appropriate for students at each grade level. A majority of staff at both Program sites indicated that there was an appropriate level of staffing at their site.
Additionally, staff at both sites specified that they had the appropriate level of knowledge and experience for providing learning activities to IGNITE students. Staff were also asked to assess the effectiveness of the support that they receive from the Site Coordinators for their work with students. Staff at both sites gave high ratings on this measure. Staff further indicated that the Site Coordinators regularly assessed the program’s effectiveness and made appropriate adjustments for program improvement. This is an important finding since regular assessment of
Program effectiveness and implementing measures for Program improvement is a hallmark of good program management. Staff also corroborated the effectiveness of their communications with each other for providing the Program’s activities, including the IGNITE GroupMe, and cited the value of the staff debriefing meetings for problem solving and making Program adjustments.
Partnering with community organizations to support and enhance the IGNITE After School Program, as well as utilizing the Rutgers and student resources further expands the expertise of staff for providing Program activities. The incorporation of Community Partners and Rutgers Resources into the IGNITE After School Program responds to the NJDOE Mandated Objective to “establish and maintain partnerships and collaborative relationships with … the community to enhance students’ access to a variety of learning opportunities.” The Community Partners and Rutgers Resources that contributed to the 2024-2025 IGNITE Programs are detailed in Appendix B.
The Project Director is commended for successfully appointing an adequate number of appropriately qualified staff at each Program site. She is further commended for drawing on the institutional resources of Rutgers Camden which administers the IGNITE Program to contribute to and expand the offerings of the IGNITE After School Program.
The following areas of IGNITE Program staffing were also highlighted by staff for improvement.
School Principal. Support for the IGNITE After School Program from the Principal and other school leadership at the school sites at which the IGNITE Program is held is important for effective use of school resources. The mandated objectives for 21st CCLC grant funded programs, requires, among other things that: “The grantee will establish and maintain partnerships and collaborative relationships with schools” among other community partnerships. Staff ratings at both of the IGNITE After School sites have consistently indicated that support from the school principal is low.
Staff Support for Each Other. Staff responses on the Evaluation Survey indicate a need to improve the level at which staff support for each other in providing the Program activities and engaging students in the IGNITE Program. This finding differs from staff responses on this evaluation measure in previous years.
In future Program planning, it is recommended that the Project Director work on mechanisms for improving these Program components.
3) Staff Professional Development
One of the State’s Mandated Objectives for the 21st CCLC programs it funds is to adopt practices to support the orientation, training, and development of afterschool staff in the adoption and use of intentional strategies and research-based practices to ensure program quality.
To address this requirement, the IGNITE Management Team scheduled a series of Professional Development trainings and planning sessions during the 2024-2025 program year to orient staff to the expectations of the IGNITE Program for supporting student learning and social emotional development. Additional training sessions were provided periodically for staff to enhance their skills at working with the IGNITE students, as well as to support coordination among staff and to engage them in problem-solving for Program improvement. The IGNITE staff supporting the 2025 Summer Program received a number of orientation sessions and trainings for implementing the Children Defense Fund’s Freedom School model, which was utilized during the Summer Program. The Professional Development sessions provided to IGNITE Staff during the 20242025 Program year are detailed in Appendix D.
In addition to arranging a series of Professional Development trainings and sessions for IGNITE staff, the Project Director regularly participated in a range of professional trainings, meetings and conferences designed to support and broaden her knowledge and skills for designing, planning and supporting the ongoing IGNITE After School and Summer Programs and Program staff.
As previously indicated, IGNITE staff assessments of various components of the IGNITE Program represent one of the primary measures for evaluating the IGNITE After School Program. Staff ratings on the Staff Evaluation Survey instrument included assessing the relevance of the IGNITE Professional Development trainings and sessions for supporting their work with students in the Program. These assessments are detailed in Appendix C.
Staff ratings of the Professional Development provided during the 2024-2025 IGNITE Program year offer strong evidence that the State Mandated Objective in this area was met.
A majority of staff rated highly the relevance of the IGNITE Professional Development sessions for supporting their instruction and engagement with IGNITE students. The staff also indicated that additional professional development in specific areas would enhance their work in the IGNITE Program. These included techniques for positive discipline; working more effectively
with special needs students; better understanding of the specific needs of Camden children; and communication assistance with bilingual students and families.
4) Promoting Family Involvement
One of the NJDOE goals for 21st CCLC programs is: To implement activities that promote parental involvement with their children’s education. The NJDOE objectives for achieving this goal include:
• Parents participating in grant-funded activities will increase their involvement in the education of children under their care.
• Grantees will adopt intentional strategies to communicate to parents and adult family members about program goals and objectives, activities, and their child’s experience in the program.
Programs and Events for Families.
The Program Director recognized that maintaining strong connections with families is important for ensuring the success of students’ participation in the IGNITE After School Program. To achieve the NJDOE goal and objectives for families, the IGNITE Management Team provided a number of special activities and events for families to participate with their children. The programs and events for involving the families of IGNITE students during the 2024-2025 year are detailed in Appendix E.
The Program Director is commended for including engagement with families as a key component of the IGNITE Program. The range of activities and events provided to families during the IGNITE After School and Summer Programs were well-designed to encourage family interactions with their children that were fun as well as educational.
Communication with Families is also an important part of the IGNITE Program’s initiatives to promote family involvement with their children who participate in the After School Program IGNITE staff try to make weekly check-in calls with families to update them on their children’s attendance in the Program and to inform families about the special events planned for families that focus on interacting with their children. While regular check-in calls with families by IGNITE staff is an important Program goal, staff responses on the Staff Evaluation Survey suggest that this is an area for Program improvement (See Appendix C) These data support the continued need to develop and implement better mechanisms for communicating with families about their children who participate in the IGNITE Program.
5) IGNITE Program Activities and Learning Experiences.
The primary goal of the IGNITE Program as mandated by NJDOE funding is: To provide highquality educational and enrichment programs that will enable students to improve academic achievement and promote positive behavior and appropriate social interaction with peers and adults.
Among the NJDOE mandated objectives for achieving this goal is: to adopt intentional strategies and research-based practices designed to support student skill building and mastery, both academically and from a youth development perspective.
To accomplish the NJDOE goal and objectives, the IGNITE After School and Summer Programs provide a weekly schedule of activities with a variety of structured learning experiences to enhance students’ knowledge with a particular focus on improving students’ math, reading comprehension and writing skills. In addition, the IGNITE Program activities are designed to support students’ social and emotional development with an emphasis on team building and respect for others.
As an Out of School Time program, the IGNITE activities are planned to be fun while students are learning at the same time, and not to be repetitious of their in-school curriculum. In this spirit, the Program offers students a range of co-curricular choices that assist them to explore their areas of interest and to build skills in these areas. Many of these co-curricular activities are provided by the Program’s Community Partners.
THE IGNITE AFTER SCHOOL PROGRAM OFFERINGS vary by Program site based on the number of students participating in the Program, their grade levels, and the availability Program staff. The range of Program activities that are detailed in Table 2. include:
• Academic Support and Enrichment Activities. Reflecting the Program’s emphasis on student enrichment and academic enhancement, the IGNITE Program provides a range of learning experiences for students in math and literacy (reading and writing), as well as science. Homework assistance is an integral part of the IGNITE After School Program and is provided to students daily at the beginning of the program. Reflecting the specific needs of students, the IGNITE After School Program also provides students with academic remediation sessions, as needed.
• Recreational and Creative Activities. As an Out of School Time Program, IGNITE provides activities for recreation in sports and physical fitness, as well as creative experiences.
• Youth Development. The IGNITE Program promotes students’ engagement in school and their commitment to fulfilling their required school assignments. The Program’s learning activities emphasis students working collaboratively with each other and learning through these collaborations, as well as building positive relationships with others
Table 2. IGNITE After School Program Activities and Learning Experiences: 2024-2025
Academic Support and Enrichment Activities
Homework Assistance and Remediation
Center for Aquatic Sciences Presentations
Magnetic Reading
Recreational and Creative Activities
Youth Development
Basketball Woke Wednesdays
YMCA: soccer, volleyball, bike riding Harambee
Physical Fitness
Team Building
Media Explorers Photography Holiday Showcase
iReady
Field Trips
Cooking
Family Fun Fridays
Visual Arts and Performing Arts Generation Citizen
Chess Club
Inter-After School Volleyball Games (Dudley_
End of Year Showcase at Rutgers Camden
The primary methodologies used for evaluating the extent to which the IGNITE After School Program achieved the state mandated goals and objectives included the assessments of IGNITE Program staff and those of the students in the After School Program. Data for these evaluation measures were obtained through the Staff Evaluation Survey instrument and the After School Student Evaluation Survey.
STAFF ASSESSMENTS OF THE AFTER SCHOOL PROGRAM
Reflecting the critical role of Program staff in ensuring the effectiveness of the IGNITE After School Program at achieving its goals for enhancing students’ academic achievement, a number of Evaluation Survey questions were specifically designed to gain insight into which features of the Program achieve its goals and what changes or improvements would strengthen the Program. As previously indicated the staff assessments of the IGNITE After School Program are detailed in Appendix C.
On the Staff Evaluation Survey, the IGNITE staff were asked to rate their experiences with providing a range of IGNITE Program activities and learning experiences. Staff responses were predominantly very positive on the Survey questions measuring the effectiveness of the IGNITE learning activities for promoting student achievement. These responses included positive assessments of the design of the learning activities for each student’s grade level and an appropriate range of activities to engage students in learning.
Overall, staff rated highly the effectiveness of the IGNITE Program’s learning activities for supporting students’ academic achievement. They also rated highly the extent to which IGNITE learning activities are well designed for each student’s grade level and academic preparation. In addition, staff gave high ratings to their level of experience and expertise for providing the Program’s learning activities. Among the highest staff ratings were the importance of the daily homework assistance provided by the Rutgers Ambassadors for enhancing students’ academic achievement.
STUDENTS’ ASSESSMENTS of the IGNITE AFTER SCHOOL PROGRAM
As the targeted beneficiaries of the IGNITE Program, the students’ experiences while participating in the Program’s activities are critical for assessing the Program’s effectiveness at achieving its learning and youth development goals and objectives. The students’ assessments also provide data for making Program adjustments and improvements. Post-Program Evaluation Surveys administered to students represent one of the primary methodologies for assessing the impact of the IGNITE Program on student learning and youth development. A Post-Program Evaluation Survey was administered in May 2025 to a sample of the students participating in the IGNITE After School Program during the 2024-2025 year. Because of time constraints, students’ assessments of the IGNITE Summer Program were not obtained. The Summer Program was evaluated through Site Observations and interviews with staff.
The findings from analyzing the students’ responses on the Post-Program Evaluation Survey of the After School Program are summarized in Appendix F.
Students’ Ratings Of Academic Support And Enrichment
To evaluate the effectiveness of the IGNITE Program’s activities for enhancing students’ learning, students were asked to rate on the Post-Program Evaluation Survey the extent to which specific IGNITE activities had helped them to improve their learning.
Overall Program Ratings:
• A significant percentage of students (78.1%) rated their overall learning during the IGNITE Program at the two highest levels, either a lot (40.6%) or a medium amount (37.5%).
• Almost all students (93%) of the students rated how much they liked the IGNITE After School Program as either a lot (75%) or a medium amount (18%).
Impact of the IGNITE After School Program on School Achievement
Enhancing students’ academic achievement is a major goal of the IGNITE Program. To measure the extent to which the Program met this goal, students were asked to rate the degree to which the IGNITE After School Program helped them to do better in school. While students’ ratings varied by discipline as detailed in the following analysis, a majority of students gave the highest ratings on all measures to how much the IGNITE Program helped to improve their school performance.
• 93.8% of students rated highly how much Homework Help with Ambassadors helped them do better with their school work.
• 71.9% of students indicated that the IGNITE Program helped them do better with Math in school.
• 62.6% of students gave the highest ratings to how much Imagine Math helped them do better in school
• In contrast, 51.7% of the students who received extra help in math during the IGNITE program rated this as improving their math learning in school
• 67.8% of students gave the highest ratings to how much the IGNITE science projects helped them do better in science in school.
• 62.5% of students gave the highest ratings to how much the IGNITE Program helped them do better in reading and writing in school.
• 64.5% of the students who received extra help in reading indicated that it helped them do better in school.
• A somewhat lower percentage of students (59.4%) indicated that the extra help in writing helped them improve in school.
• 54.% of students indicated the IReady helped them do better in school.
Ratings of Learning in Specific Subjects/Activities during the IGNITE Program
• A very high percentage of students (83.3%) gave the highest ratings to how much they liked the Field Trips and 81.3% gave these ratings to how much they learned during the Field Trips.
• A relatively low percentage of students (45.2%) rated their learning about Science during the IGNITE Science activities as either a lot or a medium amount This contrasts with their much higher rating of how much the IGNITE Science activities helped them do better in school: as previously indicated, 67.8% of students indicated that the IGNITE Science activities helped them do better in school.
• Students’ ratings of their Math learning during IGNITE is similar to their ratings of how much the IGNITE program helped them do better in Math in school:73.3% of students gave their Math learning during IGNITE the highest ratings and 71.9% of students gave these ratings on how much the IGNITE Program helped them do better in school.
• The students’ ratings for how much the IGNITE reading activities helped them improve their reading were the same as for how much the IGNITE activities helped them do better in reading and writing in school: 62.5% of students rated both of these measures at the highest levels.
• In contrast, a somewhat lower percent of students (56.3%) indicated that the IGNITE writing activities helped them improve their writing skills.
• Students who participated in the extra help in math, reading and writing gave relatively similar ratings to how useful they found this extra help: 59.4% gave the extra help in math the highest ratings; 56.2% in reading; and 56.7% in writing
• Students also rated their learning through IReady and Imagine Math at similar levels:
o 56.3% of students gave the highest ratings to how much they learned using IReady and o 58.1% gave these ratings to their learning from Imagine Math.
In Summary: In aggregate the statistics on student’s Academic Learning during the IGNITE After School Program confirm that the After School Program had a definite impact in supporting students’ learning in the range of academic disciplines provided through the Program. These findings are very significant for assessing the effectiveness of the IGNITE Program in achieving the State Mandated Goal: To provide high-quality educational and enrichment programs that will enable students to improve academic achievement. The
range of evaluation data demonstrate the extent to which the academic enrichment activities provided through the IGNITE After School Program achieved this important goal
Of particular significance are the students’ ratings on the extent to which IGNITE helped them do better in school. On all evaluation measures of school improvement with the exception of extra help in math, writing and IReady, over 60% of students rated the IGNITE Program activities at the highest levels. These ratings ranged between 93.8% for homework assistance to 62.5% in reading and writing.
Students Ratings of Recreational and Creative Activities
Reflecting the 21st CCLC objectives as an Out of School Time program, in addition to academic enrichment and support activities, IGNITE provided opportunities for students to engage in recreational and creative activities as part of the regular weekly schedule. To assist with future Program planning, items were included on the Evaluation Survey to document the extent to which students liked these co-curricular activities. The students’ responses to these evaluation measures are summarized in Appendix F.
It is recommended that future planning for the IGNITE Program’s recreational and creative activities take these student ratings into consideration. These evaluation findings clearly suggest the priority of planning a range of sports and physical fitness activities as a regular Program component, as well as the possibility of expanding the range of creative options for students.
Student Ratings on Youth Development
One of the NJDOE objectives for 21st CCLC programs is that: The grantee will adopt intentional strategies and research-based practices designed to support student skill building and mastery from a youth development perspective
The IGNITE Program promotes youth development throughout its program activities to: a) increase students’ engagement in school and their commitment to fulfilling their required school assignments; b) students’ skills at working collaboratively with each other and learning through these collaborations; c) building positive relationships with others; and d) learning to contribute to their community. Measures for evaluating the IGNITE After School Program’s impact in promoting youth development included:
• Academic Motivation
• Collaborative Learning and Positive Relationships
• Civic Engagement
The students Post Program ratings on sYouth Development are summarized in Appendix F.
Students gave very high ratings on all measures of youth development.
Academic Motivation. The measures of students’ academic motivation included how much they like learning new things; how much the IGNITE Program helped them feel better about learning; and how good the help from teachers or family is for doing well in school.
Students’ ratings on the measures of academic motivation were the highest of all measures of youth development:
• 78.1% of students gave the highest ratings to how much they like to learn new things;
• 74.3% indicated that IGNITE helped them feel better about learning; and
• 91.5% rated highly the help that they get from teachers or family for doing well in school.
These data suggest that regardless of their actual school achievement, the students have a high level of motivation for learning. In this context, the students’ ratings of how much the IGNITE Program helped them feel better about learning is particularly significant:
These ratings further confirm the IGNITE Program’s effectiveness at achieving its goals for enhancing students’ academic achievement.
Collaborative Learning and Positive Relationships. Promoting collaborative learning and positive relationships with others is a major objective of the IGNITE Program. The IGNITE Program engages students in working with other students on projects and encourages respectful interactions as a way to build positive relationships with others. Students’ assessments of their collaborative leaning in the IGNITE Program and their relationships with others were measured in terms of working with other students on projects; how much they learned about getting along with other students during the IGNITE program; and how much they felt that other students listened to them when they were working together.
Over 75% of students gave the two highest ratings to all measures of collaborative learning and positive relationships.
• 81.3% of students rated at the highest levels how much they liked working with other students doing projects during IGNITE;
• 75% of students gave high ratings to how much they learned about how to get along with other students during IGNITE.
• 78.2% rated at the highest levels how much they feel that other students listened to them while working together during the IGNITE Program. These findings verify the IGNITE Program’s success in fostering students’ ability and respect for building collaborative relations with other students.
Civic Engagement. Encouraging students participating in the IGNITE After School Program to learn more about and engage in ways to improve the community is a goal of the Rutgers Camden Schools Partnership’s current 21st CCLC grant. The major Civic Engagement activities during the 2024-2025 After School Program included the building cities project; Generation Citizen; and the Black History Program and Projects.
Students were asked to rate their learning from these Civic Engagement activities:
• 71% rated very highly their learning from the Black History Program and Projects
• 62.5% rated highly their learning about community through Generation Citizen
• 58.3% of students who participated in the building city project rated their learning about community through this project at the highest levels.
In Summary: The very positive student ratings on all measures of Youth Development confirm the IGNITE Program’s effectiveness in achieving the state mandated goal on youth development.
IGNITE SUMMER PROGRAM ACTIVITIES
The IGNITE Summer Program was held on the Rutgers Campus for 4th through 8th graders. During the 2025 summer, the IGNITE Summer Program was able to return to its original 6 week model beginning on June 24th. With the award of a Freedom School grant received by the Rutgers Division of the Division of Diversity, Inclusion and Community Engagement in 2025, the 2025 IGNITE Summer Program fully incorporated the Children’s Defense Fund’s Freedom School model. The Site Coordinators for Summer Program and the Servant Leader Interns received training for implementing the Freedom School model at the Children's Defense Fund Ella Baker Child Policy Training Institute in June and all Sumer Program Staff subsequently were provided with an Orientation and Training for providing the Summer Program.
Evaluation of the IGNITE Summer Program was conducted through site observations and interviews with staff.
The Summer Program included the following activities and events:
Harambee. Each morning the Program started with a HARAMBEE session for all students to build support for everyone in the IGNITE Summer Program community. It included chants, shout outs, and read-a-louds followed by collaborative discussions about the story. During the Harambee period students are introduced to leaders in the Camden community with diverse backgrounds. All the Harambee activities are designed to promote collaboration with and support for others as the best way for accomplishing anything.
Specific Daily Program Activities were provided for each age group. These combined literacy activities, civic learning and creative arts and included the following:
• Children’s Defense Fund Freedom Schools Integrated Reading Curriculum (daily) with 4th-8th graders
• 4th & 5th grade Math Remediation
• RU Fit (physical fitness and sports programming including flag football, basketball, soccer, races and more)
• RU Fit Basketball Clinic
• Dance (students learned African dances and Cotton Club dance routines)
• Creative Arts (Jewelry Making, Photography/Artivism)
• RUC Recording Studio (students learned from faculty how to make and record voice narrations for a play)
• Girl Scouts (girls learned about etiquette and financial literacy such as budgeting
• Boys 2 Men (students learned how to tie a tie, proper seating and utensils to use at the dinner table, in addition to being mentored by other RUC alumni
Fields Trips which included families were held at least once a week:
• Asbury Park, NJ Statewide CDF Freedom School Beach Day
• Smithsonian Museum of African American Culture Museum (DC)
• National Day of Social Action
• Corson’s Inlet Ocean City, NJ with Aquatics (students drudged the water with nets)
• SkyZone Trip
• Fun Plex Trip
• North Camden Community Center Pool
• Kayaking at Pyne Poynt Park with Aquatics
• Fishing at Cramer Hill Waterfront Park
End of Program Showcase at Rutgers University Camden campus
Evaluation of the IGNITE Summer Program included site observations and interviews with Program staff. Observations of a number of different classroom sessions verified the Program’s
effectiveness in providing a range of learning opportunities for the students in a context that was instructive as well as fun and interactive. The Program staff demonstrated a clear understanding of how to provide learning that involved students’ responding to and questioning the content as an important approach to learning. The classes utilized media, as appropriate for instruction, as well as involving students in creative activities, including writing. Importantly, the staff maintained appropriate behavioral oversight of students to eliminate class disruptions, something that can occur during Out of Schooltime programs. The Summer Program schedule included a number of field trips including to Washington D.C. and the Jersey shore. Data from students’ responses on the After School Evaluation Survey substantiate the degree to which students appreciate and learn from the IGNITE Program field trips.
• A very high percentage of students (83.3%) gave the highest ratings on the After School Evaluation Survey to how much they liked the Program’s Field Trips and 81.3% gave these ratings to how much they learned during the Field Trips.
During the IGNITE Summer Program the families of students in the Program were invited to participate in the field trips and contributed to oversight of this activity.
The classroom observations and interviews with staff confirmed IGNITE’s effectiveness in promoting student learning and engagement in learning through designing and implementing the Summer Program to incorporate the Children Defense Fund’s Freedom School model, as well as the providing staff training for implementing this model.