Quad A Makes After-School Activities Possible at School No. 34

Bob Silver couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate his 80th birthday.
Every Tuesday, Silver is a homework assistance volunteer at School No. 34 on Lexington Avenue in the school’s Quad A for Kids program. On November 8, 2005, the children showered him with handmade birthday cards and sang Happy Birthday.

“They were worried I was going to eat too much birthday cake,” said Silver, smiling as a group of first- and second-graders vied for his help with their assignments.

“It’s really a two-way street,” said Silver, who retired from General Railway Signal in 1990. “We all get a lot out of this program.”

Quad A for Kids is a volunteer fundraising organization dedicated to improving the lives and futures of young people. Founded in 1994 by Joe U. Posner, a successful local businessman, Quad A supports community-based programs that expose young people to positive role models and productive activities. Posner died in 2001.

“Joe had an obsession with helping inner-city kids,” said Silver. “And he was pretty direct. He told me, ‘You’re going to be on our board.’”

The Benefits of After-School Programs

Research shows that children who participate in after-school programs are less likely to engage in negative behavior. Quad A (which stands for Artistic, Athletic, Academic Achievement) strives to turn downtime into “uptime” by supporting programs that serve 5,000 Rochester children.

School No. 34 had no after-school programs when Debra Ramsperger came on board as principal in 2002. In 2004, the Quad A program began operating three days a week at the school and also at Schools No. 17 and 30.

Citing a recent Harvard Family Research Project, Quad A became interested in expanding the program to five days a week. The Harvard study evaluated elementary after-school programs throughout the country and recommended daily programming and mandatory attendance to achieve positive outcomes.

“We don’t want to waste time, effort, or money,” said Bob Silver, a Quad A board member since its founding 11 years ago.       

In September 2005, the program began operating five days a week at School No. 34. It involves 125 of the school’s 500 children in a 90-minute curriculum of character-building activities each day. The goal is to help the children acquire a lasting foundation of skills to help them finish school and break the cycle of poverty. The program’s success depends on quality, variety, parental involvement, and mandatory attendance.        

Learning and Fun Go Hand in Hand

School ends each day at 3:05 p.m. The program begins at 3:15 when the children attend mandatory daily homework assistance and a variety of life skills, artistic, and athletic programs. “I’m doing my homework with Mr. Silver,” said Ladasia Ellington, an attentive first-grader working with Bob Silver in the 30-minute homework assistance class. “I have fun here everyday.”

“I do my homework and I also like stepping,” said first-grader Keeyla Mack.

Stepping, an African-American movement art form, is one of Quad A’s most popular programs. Students can also choose Tae Kwon Do, Drama, Cosmic Gumbo Café, Creative Movement, Soccer, Color Guard/Drum Line, Hip Hop the Culture, Science

Club, Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts, Brownies, Storytelling, Swimming, Art, Rhyming, Rhythm & Movement, Hoops for Health (basketball), and West African Dance.

Scott Vallow, goalie for the Rochester Rhinos professional soccer team, coaches the soccer program along with school physical education teachers Mike Carney and Dan Schafer and kindergarten teacher Eric Giehl.

“We want to expose the kids to as much as we can and build their fundamentals,” said Vallow, who was A-League Goalkeeper of the Year in 2000 and called one of the best goalkeepers in the country by his coach. “They’re like sponges and this can be the foundation for them.”

Do his players know their coach is a star professional athlete?

“They just know I’m the Rhino guy,” said Vallow with a smile.

High Standards, Committed Staff

To be successful, Quad A maintains high standards. All students must meet the District’s Code of Conduct. If they don’t, they are first warned but may eventually be asked to leave the program. All participants must attend every day, not just selected days. And parents must pick up their children because there are no buses. Parents without cars often walk to the school at pick-up time so their children can participate.

Pam Mastrosimone, a paraprofessional at the school for 19 years, coordinates the program, which she says is a team effort.

“Having school staff involved helps make the program work,” said Mastrosimone. “We know the children and have a rapport with their parents.”

Mastrosimone and Ramsperger are quick to credit Quad A board member Kathy Fromel, a former Rochester teacher, principal, and administrator, with much of the program’s success.

“The program wouldn’t be the same without her,” said Ramsperger. “She spends countless hours on our program and feels passionately about it.” 

Fromel explains her dedication to the program.

“I’m doing exactly what I want to be doing,” she said. “My dream is to make a difference for these kids. They, in turn, will make a difference in our city.”  

School No. 34’s Quad A program has a waiting list of children who want to participate. Principal Ramsperger wants to make that possible.

“If we can find more funds and volunteers,” she said, “we can have more children involved in the future.”