Rachel Cobb

Abraham House operates an intensive After School and Summer program one-on-one tutoring program for children (aged 5 to 17) of inmates and ex-inmates. With a focus on basic skills, especially literacy and competency in all subjects, we provide academic assistance and individualized tutoring to identify and remediate areas of weakness and to strengthen and broaden natural talents and abilities. The majority of the children in the After School Program come from immigrant families—primarily Latino—where there has been little focus on education. Parents have had minimal education and many are illiterate even in their first language. To ensure success for the children and their families, Abraham House staff works with the entire family and gives access to the fundamental components needed for strong and healthy relationships and economic independence and stability.

The children face drugs and AIDs in the household, physical abuse, overcrowded housing, and parental imprisonment, all of which inhibit their development and ability to learn and cause stress and anger. The staff grapples with these realities as we seek to provide in a safe environement structure in their lives. The program is open six days (20 hours) weekly. On weekends, more than 80 children attend literacy activities. A 35-hour-a-week Summer Program also is held.

Our After School and Summer Program is another facet of our mission to halt the cycle of crime in families. An August 2000 study by the Bureau of Justice Statistics profiled parents in prison: The majority (70%) did not have a high school diploma, 60% indicated they had used drugs in the month before their offense, 77% had a prior conviction, and more than half of these offenders expected to serve six years in state prison, and had not had a personal visit with their children since their incarceration. Without Residential and Family Programs like those at Abraham House, the cycle of intergenerational incarceration will continue.

After-School Martial Arts Class: Rachel Cobb

Harvard psychologist John Coles put his finger on an essential element in our program. He wrote: "We grow morally as a consequence of learning how to be with others, how to behave in this world, a learning prompted by taking to heart what we have seen and heard. The child is a witness; the child is an ever-attentive witness of grown up morality—or lack thereof; the child looks and looks for cues as to how one ought to behave, and finds them galore as we parents and teachers go about our lives, making choices, addressing people, showing in action our rock-bottom assumptions, desires, and values, and thereby telling those young observers much more than we may realize.

We at Abraham House—the founders, staff, volunteers, and program participants—agree that we each have within us the power to change and to better ourselves, our families, and our community. Together, we work to learn new skills and to discover, nurture, and embrace the best that we can be.

Kids Corner: The Student's After-School Newsletter Kid's Corner is part of the Abraham House After School Program. We—the kids in the program—write and produce a newsletter, which you can see archived here. To create the newsletter, we work with professional journalists, photojournalists, and layout editors. We hope you like what you see. And, Kid's Corner is always looking for more Pen Pals for our students. If you are interested, please contact us at (718) 292 9321. We'd like to hear from other kids and learn about your lives. In return, we'll tell you about living in the Bronx . Our e-mail address is: KidsCorner@abrahamhouse.org or write by U.S./postal mail to: The After School Program Abraham House P.O. Box 305 Bronx , New York 10454

Lunchtime: Rachel Cobb

Stories from the Program This story tells you a little bit about what we did in our summer program. It is from August 2004.

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