Students at Barringer High School, part of the Newark Public School District, need help. Nine out of 10 students cannot read at grade level, and math scores are so low that the state modifies math scores. 33% of students are chronically absent.
Please rescue the 4 teenagers!
Hands in 4 Youth (HI4Y) has served 100,000 students since its founding nearly 100 years ago. With a 230-acre wooded campus in West Milford (Passaic County) in the heart of Norvin Green State Forest, Executive Director Lee Bell said inner-city students, like those attending Barringer High, can connect and engage with nature. Real learning.
In 2021, shortly after school closures due to COVID-19 disrupted the lives of 1,800 Barringer students, school principal Dr. Jose Aviles reached out to Bell and was able to secure district funding. Because he knew something needed to change. In 2018, the school's graduation rate was at a low of 51%.
“There have been so many challenges with students adjusting back to school,” Bell explained, citing changes in family dynamics and a surge in mental health issues during the pandemic. “We knew we could help.” He says being in the wilderness promotes social-emotional learning, fosters exploration, and promotes bonding and team building. The campus features a challenge course and a 60-acre lake. “Some kids thrive in the classroom, some don’t,” he said. Barringer students “demonstrated a variety of leadership skills in the field. We explore goal setting and create benchmark obstacles so they can visualize the path forward. “We dive into career exploration and do a lot of dropout prevention programs.”
Bell continued, “By keeping kids off the streets and connecting them with agencies like us, we create opportunities. When children see diversity, they can see opportunity and imagine themselves somewhere else. It's very difficult to know where you're going unless you look. We help them make their world bigger.”
He added that one of the rules of the program was 'no screens'. When students don't have access to cell phones, they get a “break” from technology, he says. “They are forced to communicate, which is an old skill that people have forgotten to use. They begin to reconnect with each other in a real way.”
In fact, HI4Y offers a variety of programs suitable for high school students. There is a Big Blue dropout prevention program in which 25 Barringer students spend a full day in the woods every two weeks. (Bell: “There is value in nutritious meals throughout the day.”) The program also offers a Leaders in Training program for teens (ages 16 to 18) to help students graduate from high school. HI4Y also takes you on college tours and tours of landmarks in Philadelphia, Baltimore, and DC.
What's it like at Barringer?
Graduation rates in 2023 are up to 77%, a significant increase from 0f 51% in 2018, and dropout rates are much lower. Meanwhile, HI4Y is expanding in Newark. Last week, Great Oaks Charter School began offering an after-school enrichment program.
Let's go to Big Blue!