Kaya South Incorporated

Vision:
South Ward of Newark is an empowered, safe community where children achieve their academic best and contribute to the betterment of others.

Mission:
Deliver programs and services through partnerships and collaborations that augment, enhance, and strengthen quality of life for children and  families in the South Ward of Newark

The KSI strategy is based on a simple concept: direct intervention by replacing disempowered choices such as gangs, violence, poor academic performance, with empowered opportunities through entrepreneurship and community investment activities. Each participating KSI student will be required to develop a business that serves the community and also develop and implement a community investment initiative in the South Ward.  Since current and future economic opportunities require sound technical, communication and interpersonal skills, Kaya South will ensure that students are building and growing in these skills as part of their involvement in economic and community projects. 

Program Structure 

      All participating students will receive a minimum of 10 hours of program services per week.  However, students in grades 8 and above will receive between 15 and 20 hours.  Specific services will include mentoring, tutoring, life skills, character education, health and wellness, community investment and career and college development.

      During the school year program services will run from 3:30 PM through 8:30 PM Monday through Friday and on Saturday from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM.  Kaya South’s summer program will begin the Monday after the 4^th of July and will continue for six weeks and end in August. Summer hours of operation will be 8:30 AM through 5:00 PM Monday through Friday. 

Listing of Pillar Program Activities

• Academic: 3 hours/week/grade; Homework Assistance, Skills Development, Mentoring.
• Community Investment: Character Education Workshops, Mentoring, Community Service.
• Health and Wellness: Health Fair, Health Story Boards, Health Workshops.
• Career: College workshops, college fairs, college tours, summer internships, job shadowing, career workshops, test preparation.
• Media and Recreation: Sports/intramural, health and wellness, past/current history, success/sponsorship highlights, newsletter and video production.

      Kaya South offers year-round enrichment programs cultivating these five life pillars that include entrepreneurial experiences.  Students will learn life skills and character education through planning, creating and operating their own businesses and developing community investment initiatives.  We seek also to use this experiential learning to strengthen and enhance academic enrichment activities. Kaya South will also use differentiating instruction to appeal to a variety of student learning styles. Kaya South seeks to bridge the gap between students and success by creating a connection between the student, education and career opportunities.