New York City is filled with world-class cultural and educational institutions, yet to many city school kids, the great museums and universities are like distant planets.
TASC makes the most of New York's rich assets by making matches between arts, science, educational and other institutions and the kids and staff in after-school programs.
TASC programs have partnered with institutions including El Museo del Barrio, New York Hall of Science, Children's Museum of Manhattan, the Metropolitan Opera Guild, Caribbean Cultural Center and the Horticultural Society of New York.
These and 18 other institutions teamed up in 2006-07 with programs that received 21st Century Community Learning Center funds, the main stream of federal support for after-school programs. Cultural partners concentrate on providing kids ways to think creatively and solve problems. They expose kids to forms of art and music, science, technology and intramural sports that aren't a part of their school days. Among the activities cultural partners helped organize recently were parent/child science workshops, bird-watching expeditions to Central Park, school mural-painting projects, playwriting clinics, Broadway theater nights, and African mask-making.
Another way TASC helps programs draw on New York's culture and knowledge bank is by arranging for experts to train and support after-school staff. Bank Street College of Education, the Center for Social and Emotional Education, the Brooklyn Arts Council, Young Playwrights Inc., The New York Academy of Medicine and the American Red Cross are among a long list of organizations which help after-school leaders develop the skills and knowledge base of their staff members.
