South Ward Children’s Alliance Strategic Planning Initiative

Newark, NJ

July, 2015

Community Planning

Assistance Program

Project Team

• Molly Coon

• Michael Kolber

• Christopher Kok

• Nadia Mian

• Deborah Schulze

• Tom Schulze

• Khaatim Sherrer El

• Veronica Osorio • Adrienne Gillespie

The American Planning Association’s Community Planning and Assistance Program (CPAP) was invited by the Southward Children’s Alliance (SWCA) to:

1. Help the SWCA get a first-hand perspective for the needs of parents of school children in Newark’s South Ward

1. Develop a baseline report of the challenges, and opportunities, facing families in the South Ward

Project Purpose

• Parent/Family Outreach • Create a South Ward Asset Map

• Identify Issues facing students and their families in the South Ward

public schools

• Discuss Next Steps

The Planning Process

South Ward Boundaries

.

Parent/Family Outreach

• The Parents’ Advisory Board includes one parent representative from each of the SWCA’s six partner schools, plus members from the 10 Strong Moms Group.

• Partner schools include: BRICK Avon Academy, BRICK Peshine Academy, Chancellor Avenue, North Star Middle School, Legacy Charter School, TEAM Charter Schools

• The 10 Strong Moms is the SWCA’s leadership group who will

serve as advisors for future programming for the organization.

Parents’ Advisory Board Meeting

• May 19 meeting with the Parents’ Advisory

Board

• 18 parents attended the meeting; a majority have lived in the South Ward for > 10 yrs

• Children of parents were primarily in

elementary and Pre-K

• Parents were asked to share:

their feelings about their

neighborhood

discuss what neighborhood resources would help them and their children succeed in school,

and what they needed from the schools

Data Collection Sources

• American Community Survey – 2013

• NJ Department of Education, 2013-2014 School

Performance Reports

• Clinton Hill Neighborhood Needs Assessment,

2015; Strong Healthy Communities Initiative

Measuring the State of Newark’s Neighborhoods,

2014; Strong Healthy Communities Initiative

• Barriers to Upward Mobility: A Spatial Analysis of

Newark and Challenges for Human Capital

Development, 2014; Sabeen Kalyan-Masih, Liz

Mahn, et al.

Data Collection

• Sources • New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services 2006-2008

summary report on New Jersey County/City Community Health Improvement Plans

• New Jersey Childhood Obesity Survey. 2010. Rutgers Center for State Health Policy.

• Food Access Research Atlas. 2015. United States Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service

• Com-Stat, 5th Precinct. 2015. City of Newark Police Department.

• Bergeron, Tom. 2015. Real Estate Report: Healthy choices — Businesses helping to bring fresh food to kids, community. June 8.

What We Learned

What We Learned

● While there are many challenges facing families in the South

Ward, there are also many good things in the neighborhood

● South Ward Assets

● South Ward Issues

• Public transit in the area is extensive

• Springfield Avenue movie theatre and

• Applebee’s

• Boys & Girls Club

• SWCA

• Strong parents

• South Ward Youth Development Center

• Family Success Center (not being used very often)

• St. Peter’s Recreation Center

• Weequahic Park

• Clinton Street Branch Library and Weequahic Branch Library (Close 5:30pm most days and 3pm Saturday)

• Newark Beth Israel Medical Center Children’s Hospital

South Ward Assets

• Weequahic Park High School Football Field

• Mildred Helms Park on Clinton Avenue

– Used to have summer programs – not funded this summer

– No water in the park

– Meals for hungry children

– Starting weekend program soon

– Park is part of Mayor’s Model Neighborhood Initiative

• Mayor’s Model Neighborhood Initiative

• Parents were surprised to hear that South Ward schools are performing above the state bar

South Ward Assets

South Ward Issues

Categories of Issues:

● Crime and Safety ● Schools and Education ● Schools ● Housing ● Economic ● Health ● Recreation

Crime and Safety Issues

Crime & Safety Issues

• No safe areas for children to play • Must leave the neighborhood for recreation • Police do not come when you call them • “No one is listening.” • Mayor’s Model Neighborhood Initiative has pushed drug trafficking to

streets in surrounding neighborhoods • Unreported and under-reported crimes are not reflected in crime

statistics • Students that are not in school are on the street and hungry, which

makes it easy for them to get in trouble • Drugs between Chadwick and Seymour Streets

Crime & Safety Issues

Schools and Education Issues

• Communication Lack of communication/collaboration between parents and teachers Information (regarding services, programs) is hard to come b Little, or no, parent involvement

Training Training programs for parents – life skills, working with teachers, helping students, etc. Almost 20% of adult residents have not finished high school 12.2% have Bachelor’s Degree or higher Need job training, workforce development for high school students Teachers need more training

Security Guards are not trained to deal with real security issues. They generally are

posted by the doors to control entry

School and Education Issues

Programs and Services Children with special needs are often classified incorrectly, then placed in schools

without proper and legally required programs and services More programs/activities in schools (sports, clubs, tutoring)

Transportation Students with special needs get transportation to their schools. One Newark

students may attend schools far from home with no transportation. Some students are given public bus cards, but too young to travel alone, or parents

don‘t want them traveling alone.

Discipline Parents not disciplining Better discipline strategy for students – suspension is seen as a vacation

Teachers If more teachers lived in the district it would make a difference

School and Education Issues

Education Issues

School Student Performance Across All Grades

Math: Proficient or Above Language Arts: Proficient or Above

Belmont Runyon Elementary 20.1% 22.4%

George Washington Carver Elementary 20.3% 20.2%

Louise A Spencer Elementary 13.3% 14.8%

Harriet Tubman Elementary 57.7% 46.3%

Hawthorne Avenue School 39.6% 25.4%

Quitman Community School 26.2% 22.9%

BRICK Avon 40.3% 28.6%

Dayton Street School at Peshine Avenue 38.1% 24.1%

University High School 86.6% 95.5%

Weequahic High School 49.4% 78.0%

Malcolm X Shabazz High School 34.7% 59.6%

*Numbers from NJASK and HSPA Exams, 2013-2014 School Year

**Numbers for Bragaw, Madison, and Maple not found

Housing Issues

Housing Issues

- Lack of access to affordable housing - Residents move often due to unresolved housing issues - Housing is based on “who you know” - Income based housing isn’t working as income is capped –

people make “too much” and need to get welfare in order to get help

- PSEG and energy assistance programs also have income requirements

Housing Issues

There is some vacant land in the South Ward for new housing

Economic Issues

• Unemployment ranges from 16% to 36%

• 30% of residents receive SNAP and/or cash public assistance

• Lack of local jobs

• Need more job training and workforce development

• Unions exclude jobs for local residents

• Commercial facilities are not adequate (too many bodegas, liquor stores, and tattoo parlors)

• Need better shops, restaurants and retail stores

Economic Issues

Economic Issues

• More than 40% of households live below the poverty level in some area of the South Ward

Health Issues

Health Issues

• Obtaining services is difficult, other than Medicaid

• Wait times for clinics in small rooms with children can be > 5 hours and one can still be turned away at the end of the day

• Basic needs are met, but specialists are almost impossible to get in a timely fashion

• Access to health care is a problem • Not enough health clinics in the area • Not enough specialists in the area • 30 – 60 day wait for emergency services

• Newark Beth Israel Medical Center Children’s Hospital is located in the South Ward. A majority of specialists work out of the hospital.

• A significant number of residents of the South Ward are located > 1 mile from the nearest supermarket

• New Shop Rite being built in the South Ward could improve access to good food if transportation is available.

• Rising number of uninsured residents (15.3%) in Newark, but this may change with Obamacare

Health Issues

Health Issues

• Significant diseases in Essex County: Cardiovascular Disease Diabetes Individuals in distress (mental health-substance abuse) Childhood Lead Exposure Obesity Senior and Aging Communicable Disease (AIDS and other preventable

diseases) Tuberculosis

– Source: New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services 2006-2008 summary report on New Jersey County/City Community

Health Improvement Plans

Health Issues

Findings from the New Jersey Childhood Obesity Survey conducted in 2010 reveal the following about Newark:

• Parents perceive high rates of criminal activity, traffic, and unpleasant surroundings in their neighborhood, factors that may serve as major barriers for physical activity for their children. While most families live in neighborhoods with sidewalks, almost half feel that the sidewalks are in poor condition and 25 percent report that their children do not use sidewalks to walk, run, bike or play.

• Only 30 percent of the Newark children ages 3 to 18 meet the guidelines for being physically active for 60 minutes each day. More than one-third do not live near exercise facilities and a fifth do not have parks nearby.

• Overall, 36 percent of parents in Newark with children ages 3 to 18 say their main food store does not carry a very large selection of good quality fresh fruits and vegetables, and 47 percent state that it does not carry a very large selection of low-fat foods.

Health Issues

• At the Extra Supermarket food is overpriced and the staff is not representative of the South Ward

Recreation Issues

Recreation Issues

• The summer youth programs at Mildred Homes Park have been discontinued – included job training, education, and summer reading program

• Where are the opportunities for recreation in the South Ward?

• Not enough activities for kids • Parks need to be safer • Need safe area to ride bikes

Recreation Issues

• Libraries close too early • Need more recreation activities, and sport

programs • Public transportation getting to and from parks is be

cumbersome • Need more commercial recreational facilities (movie theatre,

mall, restaurants, etc.)

• Lack of municipal services • Too many potholes • Too many vacant lots • Need for additional commercial services • Too many stores we don ‘t need – i.e. liquor stores, tattoo

parlors • Vacant lots used for illegal dumping • Garbage strewn about • Broken Sidewalks • Often services are withheld if people are not available to

actively seek work (if they are in school, on disability etc.)

Quality of Life Issues

What’s Next

• Conduct a survey of parents and families • Park user survey • Consider opportunities to increase parental involvement • Look for opportunities to collaborate police • Strengthen opportunities for parents to be involved in

schools • Consider creating a community space for parents to meet • Consider a home buyer’s program • Consider a Home Owners Association • Initiate In-School Health Training • Consider in-school suspensions • Offer Job Training programs for students and those out of

school • Create a Parent-Teacher Alliance