A former student recently stopped by the classroom she first stepped into years ago. For Juanita, it was a trip down memory lane; for me, it was proof positive of the value of Help Yourself. As a third-grader, Juanita was an eager student who brought me her science book from school to show me the … Read more
Excerpted from the Times Union, December 21, 2016 Nearly $2,000 in donations has poured in from dozens of people for the Ruby Tuesday server whose wrapped Christmas presents she bought for family members after working extra shifts were stolen from her car in the Crossgates Mall parking lot last week. What began as an upsetting … Read more
Excerpted from the Huffington Post, December 29, 2015 We need to rethink our approach to diversity on college campuses. Unfortunately, since I started calling for a new approach a decade ago, not much has changed. Yes, colleges have brought numbers of foreign students to campus (a good thing), and they have partnered with organizations that … Read more
Excerpted from a guest column in The Daily Gazette, December 7, 2014 To Einstein, insanity was doing the same thing over again and expecting a different result. Unfortunately, we are doing the same thing again in education. During the 1980s, a number of college presidents, concerned about the small number of students of color on … Read more
Excerpted from an article in the Casper Journal “We have a long waiting list this year and I hate that,” said Jennifer Grooms, director of the local John Wold Help Yourself Academy. Despite Groom’s frustration, the waiting list is a result of the increasing popularity of the Help Yourself program, which is just in its … Read more
Excerpted from NSTA.org, the National Science Teaching Association website, March 12, 2012 After-school science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) programs are offered at many schools around the country, but most involve just a few grade levels and are run by the schools. However, some after-school STEM programs proving beneficial to students—especially underserved students—are held by … Read more
Excerpted from the Casper Journal, April 26, 2011 Jennifer Grooms addresses students and their families and friends while their college mentors look on at the Help Yourself graduation on April 20. “It’s big college students working with smaller college students” is how Marilyn Lojo explained the Help Yourself Academy to parents and family members gathered … Read more
As both Benjamin Disraeli and Mark Twain said long ago, there are lies, damn lies and statistics. Still, the news about the dismal performance of students on math and science exams is frightening. Test results, recently cited by President Barack Obama, placed 15-year-olds in the United States 21st in science among students in industrialized nations; … Read more
Eighteen Bergen County third graders have found a new afterschool hangout: Bergen Community College. The College Now Academy After-School Academy, a program designed by the College’s Center for Suburban Criminal Justice, offers New Milford third graders an opportunity to participate in a supplemental learning program that supplies positive role models (in the form of Bergen … Read more
Casper College Help Yourself Academy The dirt slowly settled to the bottom of the small plastic bag while the water rose above the soil and turned green. His blue glasses pushed down to the tip of his nose, Kaleb San Miguel, 9, poked at the bag in his hand. “Oooh, wow,” he said. “That’s weird.” … Read more