Museum Team Afterschool Program - Teen Crew

The OJJDP FY 09 Earmarks Programs further the Department's mission by providing grants, cooperative agreements, and other assistance authorized by the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974, as amended, to organizations identified in the Explanatory Statement Regarding H.R. 1105 (Omnibus Appropriations Act, 2009), 155 Cong. Rec. H1653 (daily ed. Feb. 23, 2009) (statement by Rep. Obey, Chairman of the Committee on Appropriations of the House).

The mission of the Teen Crew tier of the Brooklyn Children's Museum's Museum Team Afterschool Program is to offer disadvantaged youth in grades nine through twelve a broad range of educational and cultural experiences that help them gain the skills and knowledge they need to pursue their life goals. Specifically, program goals are to prevent juvenile delinquency by helping students achieve success in school, gain employment experience and participate in career exploration and preparation, and develop leadership qualities and self-empowerment. All New York City (NYC) public school students are eligible; however, the majority of students live in Brooklyn and many live in the local community of Crown Heights/Bedford-Stuyvesant, an area in which 31% of the population lives below the poverty line.

The Teen Crew program achieves its goals and objectives through multilayered programming that offers increasing levels of responsibility at each grade level, including volunteer and internship opportunities at the Museum. Students at all levels participate in workshops that encompass art and culture, natural science and technology, life skills, health and wellness, and higher education and career planning.

Student progress towards Museum Team's goals is measured on an ongoing basis through staff evaluations, student surveys, and attendance and school records. NCA/NCF