Great Oaks Legacy Charter School (GOLCS), a high-performing public charter school system in Newark, continues a long-standing partnership with the Arman Roy Foundation focused on providing students with STEM enrichment programs and resources. Currently, the Arman Roy Foundation is sponsoring a coding curriculum through Brainybots at the GOLCS Legacy Campus in Newark's South Ward, which has been a huge help to students.
“Ensuring that our students have access to programs and opportunities like this is great for our school community,” said Crystal Johnson, Legacy Middle School campus director. “Our partnership aligns with the school’s commitment to fostering innovation and technology literacy,” she said.
The partnership between GOLCS and the Arman Roy Foundation first began in 2020 at the start of the pandemic. At the time, GOLCS was maintaining school access securely so that even families without internet access could allow their children to participate in classes and complete assignments. The Arman Roy Foundation helped support GOLCS Downtown Elementary School with the technology needed for this level of access.
Since then, the partnership has continued to grow, with the Arman Roy Foundation providing resources for after-school STEM programming at the Heights Middle School campus in the West Ward. Since 2020, the Arman Roy Foundation has supported nearly half of all GOLCS campuses, providing more than $40,000 in funding for GOLCS educational needs and $4,300 in scholarships to GOLCS students completing a two-year STEAM and Entrepreneurship Career Program through Rocket Club. provided dollars. . GOLCS after-school classes meet weekly and cover topics for students including artificial intelligence, entrepreneurship, robotics, and STEAM.
“It takes a collective effort from all of us to close the gap and ensure all students are able to succeed in this digital economy. Over the past five years, we have proudly served the Newark community through partnerships with organizations like the Boys and Girls Club, United Way, Per Scholas, and Great Oaks Charter Legacy School, providing young people with 21st century STEM resources and educational programming. Our partnership with GOLCS is especially meaningful because of its focus on innovation and collaboration, ensuring our students have access to the best resources and opportunities,” said Manisha Roy, President of the Arman Roy Foundation.
As GOLCS looks ahead to the 2024-25 school year, support from the Arman Roy Foundation has helped create innovative ways to provide STEM enrichment to students. Now that GOLCS has established a computer science CTE program on high school campuses, these enrichment opportunities for middle school students will help prepare them for STEM success in high school and beyond.
“We are thrilled with the impact of this partnership,” said Jared Taillefer, Executive Director of Great Oaks Legacy Charter School. “We are excited to continue providing these innovative learning opportunities as building blocks for future success as we prepare our students for the careers of tomorrow.”
Photo courtesy of Great Oaks Legacy Charter School.