Before & After School
For questions about our After the Bell (before & after-school) programs in Norwalk’s elementary schools, please contact our Director of Elementary School-Based Programs, Tricia Massucco, at (203) 838-4305; ext 115; tricia@carvercenterct.org.
For questions about middle and high school after-school programs operating in schools, please contact our Manager of School-Based Programs, Mary Martini, at (203) 838-4305; ext 118; mary@carvercenterct.org.
For questions about Jr. YDP at the Carver Community Center and the Carver After School Program for Education and Recreation (CASPER), please contact Waid Ramsubhag - Program Manager, (203) 838-4305, ext 120; waid@carvercenterct.org
For all other questions, please click here.
About our before and after school programs
Carver before- and after-school programs operate in Norwalk’s public elementary, middle, and high schools, Side By Side Charter School, Carver Community Center, and the Classical Studies Magnet Academy in Bridgeport.
Carver’s highly collaborative programs improve student academic achievement, socio-emotional functioning, school engagement and attendance. Non-academic objectives include developing positive self-perceptions, school bonding, and positive social behaviors.
Carver programming aligns with in-school curricula, takes place within the students’ respective schools, and is led by the school’s daytime certified teachers. Recreational, wellness and cultural components enhance a variety of skills for children. Implementation includes family engagement, structure, and constant evaluation.
Each school calls its Carver after-school and summer program by its own unique name. Our students are seen by their peers as being motivated, capable, success-oriented, and having the school spirit — because they are all these things.
Our programs are infused with Project-Based Learning in the STEAM subjects that sometimes involve international projects.
Students typically participate in Carver after-school and summer programs throughout their K-12 school years. Carver removes barriers to participation (e.g., free transportation) and designs its programming with a focus on students achieving successful transitions to the next grade.
By providing a safe haven and supervised time after school, teaching and promoting new skills, and offering opportunities for positive adult and peer interaction, Carver's before and after-school programs positively impact youth developmental outcomes both short and long-term.
Our Approach
Carver maintains an agile educational experience for our students. Our after-school programming is designed to innovate, bend, and stretch to meet the needs of every student, including our most complex learners.
Examining data helps us to identify which students aren’t getting what they need. We are constantly inventorying community-based learning opportunities and resources, as well as the extent to which they are accessible to our students and families.
Carver maintains a minimum 10:1 student-to-staff ratio. Each Carver school-based after-school program is led by certified teachers (Lead Program Coordinators) hired from within each participating school in consultation with the school’s principal. Additional certified teachers are hired to provide specialized academic support during the Academic/ Homework Hour each day. Select additional certified teachers are hired to conduct project-based activities, especially in STEAM subjects. Non-certified Carver staff help facilitate.
We use the Scientific Research-Based Interventions (SRBI) three-tier learning framework.
Carver programming is organized around six core principles: high expectations with the final goal of graduating high school on time and college-ready; academic rigor focused on project-based learning and individualized learning; building healthy relationships; Student Voice and taking responsibility; building community through defined structures of cooperative decision-making; and a youth development approach to instruction that recognizes individual strengths, needs, and learning styles.
Providers such as the Maritime Aquarium and Mad Science provide Project-Based Learning projects and enrichment. Professional volunteers (e.g., IBM experts for robotics) support hands-on learning opportunities.
Offering so much choice and support is one of many reasons why Carver's before and after-school programs achieve such excellent attendance.
Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) is woven into every aspect of Caver programming resulting in improved social and emotional competencies, including prosocial behavior, intrinsic motivation, better concentration efforts, and a higher sense of self-worth. SEL advances educational equity and excellence through authentic school-family-community partnerships to establish learning environments and experiences that feature trusting and collaborative relationships, rigorous and meaningful curriculum and instruction, and ongoing evaluation.
Three Carver students attended the 2019 Jeter’s Leaders Leadership Conference in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, accompanied by Carver CEO, Novelette Peterkin. The Carver students invited to attend were rising 9th graders Chloe Mattus and Sandra Andronic (recent Ponus Ridge Middle School graduates) and Alfredo Yepez (a Nathan Hale Hale Middle School graduate). We are grateful to the William Caspar Graustein Memorial Fund and the Per and Astrid Heidenreich Family Foundation for making it possible for our students to be invited and to attend.