The Newark Street Academy is graduating its first cohort of 15 at-risk youth on September 30th. The year-long program targets 60 dropout youth ages 16-24 through educational, social-emotional, and career development programming. It also includes a community service component worked on with Jersey Cares. Once completed, youth are referred to the Opportunity Youth Network for further support to obtain diplomas, job training, and career opportunities to become productive community members. The Academy aims to empower youth through transitional re-engagement and prepare them for positive contributions to society.

1. Newark Street Academy (NSA)
Dedicated to the infinite growth and development of Newark’s at-risk youth.
PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
For More Information Please Contact: Frank Baraff, Communications Director City of Newark; 920
Broad Street, Room 214; Newark, New Jersey 07102; (973) 733-8004
NSA 1st
Cohort of Youth Participants Set to Graduate
NEWARK, NJ (SEPTEMBER 26, 2016) – The Newark Street Academy (NSA) is proud to announce the
graduation of its first group of students from the programs opening cohort this FRIDAY SEPTEMBER
30, 2016 5-7 p.m. @ the Marion Bolden Student Center, 230 Broadway, Newark, NJ 07104.
The NSA was established by Mayor Ras J. Baraka as part of a specialized state funded grant to
specifically target Newark’s dis-engaged youth between the ages of 16-24 who have completely
dropped out of high school. Thus, the year-long program targets 60 of the city’s most at-risk youth and
support their efforts of reengagement with an extensive program broken into 4 separate 12-week
cohorts with 15 youth participants in each cohort designed to operate with an educational component
which includes civic minded social-emotional awareness, community engagement, self-accountability,
goal setting and career path/educational transition and training.
The academic component is delivered by Dr. Margaret Stevens and academic team which are
supported by NSA Coordinator Ramid Brown and his NSA Outreach staff each day with case
management and reinforcement intervention. The academic component also exposed the NSA
participants to various field trips throughout the 12 weeks as well as high school equivalency
preparation and nutritional awareness. The NSA utilizes the Marion Bolden Student Center and Vince
Lombardi Center for their programing.
Mr. Brown and the outreach staff are the foundation of NSA, offering the daily support system which
insures that the students are situated personally and socially for the academic and community based
activities in the program. The outreach staff conducts weekly assessments, keep contact with the
youth both during and outside of the daily program, and offer the case management components
which are so often missing from traditional educational institutions, thus making NSA a significant shift
in how to approach and understand adversity in urban education.
Inclusive of this academic norm and outreach support, there is a mandatory community service
component that each participant of the street academy carried out which includes public service and
volunteerism. Throughout the past 12 weeks the NSA participants worked closely with volunteers from
Jersey Cares as part of their Service Works and Capstone projects. Jersey Cares under the leadership
of Greg Tarnacki, worked daily with NSA and coordinated their weekly volunteer efforts throughout the
City of Newark in various locations such as Goodwill Rescue Mission, SWAG Project Community
Garden, Branch Brook Park and St. James Social Service. In addition to their volunteer efforts, Jersey
Cares provided the NSA participants on-site job training and development as part of their “Success
Friday” initiative. The NSA participants also visited AT &T in Bedminster, NJ and USG in Woodbridge,
NJ several times throughout the 1st cohort as part of “Success Friday.”
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2. Once youth have completed NSA, they will be referred to the Opportunity Youth Network (OYN) – a
cross-sector collaboration between the: Newark Public Schools, youth-serving community-based
organizations, Rutgers University Joseph C. Cornwall Center for Metropolitan Studies, Office of the
Mayor, YouthBuild Newark, and the private philanthropic community. As an emerging, innovative
youth-focused initiative, OYN advocates for and provides direct educational and support services for
opportunity youth in Newark – putting them on a path to academic attainment and economic security.
OYN’s vision is driven by: a set of common goals and priorities; coordination and alignment of
programs and services across sectors; and shared effective practices and research – all in an effort to
establish a uniformity of standards for high-quality academic and workforce development experiences
for young people.
The participating community-based agencies include: La Casa de Don Pedro, Urban League of Essex
County, New Community Corporation, TEEM Gateway, and Leaders for Life. OYN represents a
systems-change approach to re-engaging and effectively serving out-of-school youth. Opportunity
youth now have a viable pathway to securing high school diplomas, high school equivalency diplomas
(depending on their path), and/or a workforce credential. The “innovative disruption” of the school-to-
prison pipeline is slated to contribute to the Newark City of Learning Collaborative’ s goal of
increasing the percentage of Newark residents with post-secondary degrees, certificates,
and quality credentials from the current 17% to 25% by 2025.
It’s important to note that each NSA youth participant earns a stipend incentive for their 12 week
attendance however, their full compensation will be earned upon obtaining high school equivalency
completion and/or either enrollment into college or career path skill education, military service or
obtaining full time employment.
Thus the NSA will remain dedicated to changing the systemic problems of the community to ensure
that the out of school youth population enrolled in this program will remain off the streets, complete
their high school education and become gainfully employed and productive, contributing citizen to
their communities.
Our Unified Mission & Vision
The Newark Street Academy will remain dedicated in all of its efforts to go above and beyond the
established norm to serve and operate with the universal mission and mindset of being a viable,
tangible resource and support system for the city’s most dis-engaged youth who have struggled with
obtaining success in their past endeavors due to various adversities that have been bestowed upon
them. Thus our universal vision is to empower these dis-engaged youth on a transitional path of re-
engagement inclusive of social-emotional learning, civic proficiency, community outreach and
volunteerism essential to guiding them to become productive contributors to society here in Newark
and abroad through positive mentorship, guidance and cultural exposure of transformational success.
Our Core Values
1. Knowledge of Self – Establish inner relevance of one’s culture and universal consciousness to
affirm themselves with a level of heightened community awareness and sustainability.
2. Self-Directed Leadership – Development of the critical-thinking leadership skills necessary to
make positive contributions to self and society here in Newark and abroad.
3. Innovation & Entrepreneurship – Infinite creation of innovative ideas and possibilities of
entrepreneurship and ownership.
Our Guiding Principles & Goals
1. Dedication – Heighten Social-Emotional Learning Capacity; Increase Cultural & Civic
Proficiency

3. 2. Discipline – Refine and Develop Self Determination & Accountability; Establish Humility &
Pride; Increase Universal Awareness and Decision Making Skills
3. Sacrifice – Development of Community Service, Outreach & Volunteerism; Establishing Norms,
Protocols & Goals
4. Achievement – Transitional Re-Engagement: HS Diploma/Equivalency; College; Career Path/
Vocation/Skill/Trade Training & Employment; Positive Contribution to Society & Program
Completion Incentive