DYCD Powerful Partnerships

As we continue to shine the light on Partnerships, we turn to Queens to see how those collaborations can take DYCD-funded programs to the next level. Many providers ask: how can we make connections and partner with reliable experts that can shift program staff capacity to deliver outstanding STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics) activities? Let’s take a look at Maspeth Town Hall and Black Rocket Productions. The two have formed a strong partnership over the past four years that has elevated their program designs and increased participant retention in their respective programs. Black Rocket trains teachers using a STEAM curriculum created by teachers for teachers. Black Rocket’s mission is to expose children to exciting STEAM courses and make professional development opportunities in STEAM more accessible to afterschool youth practitioners in underserved neighborhoods.

Black Rocket initially contacted Teacher and Educational Specialist Genevieve Kouri, who works with the School’s Out New York City (SONYC) program at P.S./I.S. 49 in Maspeth. She introduced the opportunity to the leadership at Maspeth Town Hall and its Multi-Site Director Sean Kearney—and the connection was made. Sean recognized the value of the partnership and has since extended the training to its staff at several other Comprehensive After School System of New York City (COMPASS) sites. Black Rocket STEAM programming is currently offered at St. Sebastian’s Catholic Academy and P.S./I.S. 49 (both SONYC programs) and P.S. 12 and P.S. 229 (COMPASS). The multilingual and interactive program has been administered globally for the last fourteen years. The curriculum encompasses a plethora of STEAM activities for young people aged 6-18, including everything from coding, app design, animation and drones to virtual reality, a make-your-own video game, and maker labs. The lessons fulfill both the STEAM and leadership requirements of COMPASS programs and are project-based in nature.

“Black Rocket supports program staff step-by-step, during the trainings and during implementation,” says Sean. “The curriculum exposes staff and youth to the digital world as it relates to their daily lives and has created layers of friendship that reinforce learning among youth that never interacted or joined the same activities in the past.” 

The six pillars of learning used by Black Rocket are aligned with DYCD’s key elements of all COMPASS NYC programs. Fostering collaborative and peer-to-peer learning, the curriculum prepares youth for their futures. Richard Ginn, partner and co-founder of Black Rocket, echoes this sentiment: “Coding and technology education improves logic, analytical thinking, and metacognition, all of which are under the umbrella of systems thinking. Whether you are going into a STEAM career or not, you need this. Coding in the next 100 years will be as important as reading or writing. You need a basic fluency to be successful.”

Best friends Allanah Williams and Frankiris Fabian, seventh-grade SONYC participants at Maspeth Town Hall, joined Black Rocket two years ago. The duo has created a multi-level game inspired by what they and many seventh-grade girls love: pizza and hearts! They admit not being interested in coding or gaming previously, but after the first lesson in the SONYC afterschool program, Allanah and Frankiris were hooked. Frankiris attributes her new-found love of STEAM to having a good instructor and learning the behind-the-scenes aspect of gaming. Allanah adds that taking part in Black Rocket activities helped her to improve her math skills. Both girls love that they were allowed to choose what they wanted to create and with whom they wanted to collaborate.

According to Genevieve Kouri, “Allanah and Frankiris, after creating a video game segment, smiled and exclaimed, ‘We did that!’”

The partnership has given countless participants confidence in math and science. Many young people have boosted their state math exam scores and improved their grades not only in science but in multiple subjects.

DYCD values the potential of partnerships and we know from experience that we are all stronger together. Considering the growing needs of the New Yorkers we serve, DYCD has learned to identify partners such as Black Rocket Productions and Maspeth Town Hall that can enhance our efforts by filling in the gaps with resources and professional development opportunities.

To find a COMPASS/SONYC program in your community, be sure to explore discoverDYCD. 

If you are interested in connecting with Black Rocket, please visit Black Rocket Productions to learn about all they have to offer.