Because of Patrons, donors and foundations, Patrons Program schools benefit from many enrichment programs. These programs broaden the horizons of our students and give them experiences that are unaffordable without outside support. The Patrons Program team administers several of these programs and partners with outside enrichment programs to bring new opportunities to inner-city students.
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 CCVAP, under the auspices of the Patrons Program, is an inner-city school art program comprised of art instruction, teacher training, museum visits, and student art exhibitions.
CCVAP fosters creativity, literacy, and critical thinking by engaging students in making art and in discussing and writing about this process.
All CCVAP art projects are closely tied to the academic curriculum. For example, a student visit to the Unicorn tapestries reinforces a unit on Renaissance history. The follow-up involves a student made “tapestry” of paper and paint and a written narrative about the entire experience.
Creative Classrooms Components:
Studio Art Program: All CCVAP students attend one “studio” art class per week. They make art and reflect on their artistic creations in writing and speech. They explain the personal significance of their work. Classroom teachers attend weekly art sessions and are encouraged to work alongside their students.
 Art Staff Development Program: This program gives classroom teachers the skills and confidence to integrate art activities into their daily lessons and to devise art projects complementary to each grade’s literacy and core curriculum goals. Through it classroom teachers overcome their fears of “not being artistic enough” and of not knowing how to deploy art-making materials and assignments in the service of their curriculum.
Museum Program: This program taps the resources of the city’s cultural institutions by equipping classroom teachers with the skills to build a curriculum unit around a visit to an art museum.
Exhibits: Creative Classrooms hosts annual art exhibits of students’ work in hospitals and other public spaces. These exhibits offer the opportunity for students to learn professionalism and take pride in displaying their work—while also publicizing the excellence of art education in the inner-city.
Summer Art Institute: Art instructors attend a weeklong program organized by CCVAP director Mark LaRiviere. This workshop trains artist instructors to integrate age appropriate art instruction into their school’s core-curriculum and introduces them to art materials and art-making processes.
If you are interested in learning more about the Creative Classrooms Visual Arts Program, contact Jill Kafka at Jill.Kafka@archny.org or 212-371-1011 ext. 3338
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 Citytrack provides a free, high-quality track and field program to third through eighth grade students from inner-city schools in Washington Heights and Harlem. Currently in its seventh year, our hope is to continue expanding and invite at least one new school per year to participate.
There is a huge need for structured athletic programs in the after-school hours for children from low-income families. Students going home to watch television can quickly become prone to both anti-social behavior and obesity. The physical and social skills youth gain in Citytrack combined with the recognition they receive, work as an exemplary model for kids at loose ends in the after-school hours.
Citytrack athletes become part of a team, learning about the rewards of competition, and experiencing the results of living healthier, more active lives.
Citytrack runs from October through the middle of June. Practices are held each Monday and Wednesday afternoon from 3:30 pm to 5:00 pm. From October through March, practices are held indoors at the 168th Street Armory Track and Field Center. The facility has a 200-meter MONDO banked track and is the only one of its kind within a 50-mile radius of New York City. It is an Olympic class facility. The track hosts 90 meets annually; last year, more than 350,000 athletes, coaches, parents and fans from 1,000 high schools and 36 states visited the Armory.
Citytrack’s partnership with the Armory gives its coaches and runners access to the Armory’s resources. Citytrackathletes get to practice in a state-of-the-art facility and see world-class athletes perform around them!
Since its inception, Citytrack has been administered by the Patrons Program at the Archdiocese of New York. The partnership developed with the Armory Foundation has provided additional support for the Citytrack coaches as well as increased opportunities for Citytrack athletes to participate in track meets.
If you are interested in learning more about Citytrack, contact Erica Campbell at Erica.Campbell@archny.org or 212-371-1011 ext. 3342
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 Library Connections was born after a survey of 29 inner-city elementary schools of the Archdiocese of New York found that 22 of them (76%) indicated improving their libraries as a top priority. Thus, Library Connections was designed to revitalize inner-city elementary school libraries and develop students’ skills in information accessing, critical thinking, reading comprehension, and to encourage lifelong learning.
Library Connections involves far more than books. Faculty are taught to use sophisticated library technology, and students are given the opportunity to learn in an exciting context that helps them become better readers, researchers, and thinkers. Above all, Library Connections makes school libraries an integral and highly valued feature of inner-city schooling.
Library Connections has worked with 32 schools. Committed to each school for four years, Library Connections develops exemplary school library programs and collections. It accomplishes this by integrating library programs with curriculum, classroom activities, and age appropriate learning strategies; by supporting active planning and collaboration among library, computer, and classroom teachers and school administrators; and by increasing student and teacher library use.
If you are interested in learning more about Library Connections contact Melinda Greenblatt at Melinda.greenblatt@archny.org or 212-371-1011 ext. 3367
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| Other Enrichment Program Partnerships |
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