Education – Page 6

NOC Receives Student Review

January 10, 2014 By nocadmin

One of our Bluffton NOC students, Lakyndra, is a reporter for her school paper and recently wrote a short column about NOC:

Lakyndra has a laugh during filming for a NOC video

“Hey kids! Do you need help with your homework? Well, if you do, come to Simmons Cay or Bluffton House for NOC. It stands for Neighborhood Outreach Connection. NOC is an afterschool program that tutors kids and helps them with their homework.
Ms. Shirley Faulcon is the program manager. Some teachers and high school students come to volunteer.
NOC is a new program. It is open Monday-Thursday from 4:00-5:00 PM. You can win awards there for good behavior and great attendance. YOu can even use computers.
Dilan is a nine year old 3rd grader at Red Cedar Elementary. He attends NOC and likes the computers and the teachers. If he is done with his homework, he will help other kids. He goes every day for a good attendance prize.
If you need help with homework, give NOC a try.”

Thanks for the great review, Lakyndra!

Bluffton Nonprofit Faces A Costly Downsize

January 3, 2014 By nocadmin

An empty apartment complex at Bluffton House used to be filled with children learning on computers, and getting help with homework after school.The Neighborhood Outreach Connection (NOC) provides this service to underprivileged children in low income neighborhoods.

“We have pockets of poverty, low income minority housing here, and people need assistance. As far as education, we see it as giving people empowerment to succeed in life, and if we can do that with kids, it’s tremendous,” said Ally McNair.

However, the program will now downsize since the NOC says Bluffton House would not renew their lease.

“NOC has had to move out its two apartments and downsize into one,” McNair said.

McNair says 70 children who live in the Bluffton House complex come to their two units to get help with school work, which in turn raises their grades and improves their test scores.

“Because of the help I’m getting here, I’m getting higher grades,” said fifth grader Kevin Lopez.

Lopez’s unit is directly across from one of the NOC units which will close. He visited the now empty space in dismay on Sunday afternoon.

Brenda Deleon also reminisced in the bare unit. She is now in sixth grade, but remembers when she first came to get the help with school work.

“This is the first apartment that everything started at,” Deleon said. “When I was in second grade, my mom found out about the program and she noticed that I needed help with the grades because I had very low grades.”

The location was convenient for Deleon, too, since she says her family has no car to drive elsewhere for help. She says the computers are helpful, too, since she has no working computer at home.

Now Deleon worries that less children will get the privilege of homework help and computer access like she does, with the switch NOC will make from two units to one.

McNair says there will be 35 less children they can reach from just one apartment.

“I mean, this is going to change the outcome of the future for 35 children who won’t be able to be with us anymore, and that’s huge,” she says.

The NOC first thought they would lose the units and be unable to rent in Bluffton House, period. McNair says about 200 residents, children, and parents rallied and petitioned the new complex owners to allow the program to stay.

The deal made was to rent one unit, different from the two the NOC previously occupied, at a rate of $1,000 in rent each month.

McNair says the fee will be difficult for the nonprofit to shell out each month, since there was no charge before. However, the most difficult thing will be to decide which 35 children they can no longer help.

While McNair says the NOC is still figuring how to make that decision, they are also looking to keep expanding their services to neighborhoods that will allow them to occupy a unit for free, such as some areas in the south end of Hilton Head Island, as well as in northern parts of Beaufort County.

Posted: Dec 22, 2013 5:27 PM EST Updated: Dec 22, 2013 5:27 PM EST

By Ashleigh Holland, Reporter

To see the report as it aired on WSAV, go here: http://www.wsav.com/story/24284743/bluffton-nonprofit-faces-a-costly-downsize

Despite struggles at Bluffton House, nonprofit group model proves successful

January 3, 2014 By nocadmin

Neighborhood Outreach Connection plans to expand program locations

The Bluffton House apartments that Neighborhood Outreach Connection — a nonprofit that provides educational support to low-income families — once called home were empty Friday afternoon.

The posters were gone, the desks and computers absent. And most importantly, the students that normally filled the rooms after school were nowhere to be found.

The only thing that remained was a white board with various messages scribbled across it saying how much the children and families love NOC and how important the program is.

Neighborhood Outreach Connection has vacated two subsidized apartments in the complex and must downsize its program. It was a heatbreaking turn of events — according to program leaders, students and district teachers — because the program has scored some successes.

But NOC said it still will be present at Bluffton House and plans to expand its unique model to other communities in Bluffton, Hilton Head and greater Beaufort County.

“The immediate impact will be huge, especially as these kids are showing significant improvements,” NOC founding chairman Naren Sharma said. “We are losing momentum in this neighborhood when the program is having an impact — the teachers schools and parents will tell you that.”

The group has a unique model that sets it apart from many other after-school programs, Sharma said. One of the main differences is that it partners with the Beaufort County School District.

Sharma said Neighborhood Outreach Connection pays teachers to come in and work with the students outside the classroom.

The program also has the same computer programs that students use at school on the computers at the NOC apartments, said Ally McNair, vice chair of the program’s board. This allows students to continue working on classroom work after school and lets teachers keep up with their progress.

Through this additional work, Sharma said the program extends school time by more than 200 hours throughout the year. But instead of touting its own success, the program has the school district measure its progress.

“We are using the schools and the district to monitor our results and hold us accountable,” Sharma said. “From the beginning we have told the district that they will tell us how our students are doing.”

Superintendent Jeffrey Moss said the students are doing well. In their classes and on standardized tests, students are meeting — and in many cases exceeding — the average scores of Beaufort County students.

“We have a good partnership with NOC,” Moss said. “I think they do a really good job and have a really good program for the kids, especially since they are right there in the neighborhoods.”

Neighborhood Outreach Connection currently has three locations, one on Hilton Head and two in Bluffton. But it has plans to expand to reach more low-income and in-need families, McNair said.

NOC will open another location at the southern end of the island in January, Sharma said, and is looking at some other locations in Bluffton and northern Beaufort County.

The group tailors its programs to each specific site to make sure they are reaching the community and have maximum success, Sharma said. For example, some sites like Bluffton House needed to address the digital divide between the schools and homes.

Others might need more emphasis on students and families who need to improve their English.

“No one knows the neighborhoods we are in better than us,” Sharma said. “We have to adjust to meet the needs and priorities of that community.”

At Bluffton House, the group is trying to figure out how to cut its program — and the number of children it serves — in half as it moves in to a single apartment. Several students said they hope they can still be a part of the Neighborhood Outreach Connection.

“NOC is a really good place to learn and get help, and I’m really doing a lot better in my classes,” said Kevin Lopez, a fifth-grader at Red Cedar Elementary School. “I think it’s a really bad idea that they have to move and squeeze because a lot of people come here to learn.”

BY SARAH BOWMAN

December 21, 2013

See the full story here: http://www.islandpacket.com/2013/12/21/2860092/despite-struggles-at-bluffton.html

End of 2013 Summer Virtual Learning Program

August 3, 2013 By nocadmin

After finishing an eight-week summer virtual learning program, August 7 was a special day for the children in Hilton Head Island and Bluffton. They had worked hard for two hours Monday through Thursday, using Compass Learning to reinforce their skills in math and language arts. When they could have slept longer, they gave up part of their mornings to sit in NOC’s Program Center to work with teachers, high school tutors, and adult volunteers to meet their goals.

The children arrived at the program centers in Bluffton and Hilton Head on this final morning dressed in clothing normally reserved for special occasions. They came with siblings, parents (mostly mothers), and relatives. They were happy and eager, radiating a feeling of joy and accomplishment. They received certificates and awards for various achievements, including attendance and behavior. It was a proud moment for everyone present, including the leaders of the program, Kelly Lamb (Bluffton) and Emily Blackshire (HHI) and their team members (Andreza De Jesus and Jennifer Santos). Finally, the children enjoyed treats supplied by Starbucks at Pineland Station, Atlanta Bread, Volunteers of Medicine, Ellen Taylor, and Michael Ciavolino.

In three weeks these children will be back to participate in NOC’s after school program at program centers in Hilton Head and Bluffton.

NOC’s Summer Virtual Learning in High Demand

June 3, 2013 By nocadmin

ss3 NOC launched its Summer Virtual Learning Program on June 10, 2013, in Hilton Head Island and Bluffton, a week prior to the Beaufort County School District’s (BCSD) formal opening. With three years of experience, NOC wanted to give its students a head start to maximize gains in learning for the eight-week program. More than 120 students are now participating in the program and NOC has a waiting list of students who want to join the summer program.

In 2012, NOC students who participated in the Summer Virtual Learning Program scored better than the average of Beaufort County virtual summer learning program participants. In math 57% of NOC students showed no loss of learning over the previous academic year compared to 44% for BCSD virtual summer learning students, based on results of the Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) tests taken in spring and fall of 2012. Likewise, in language arts, NOC students scored 51% compared to 48% for BCSD students. NOC’s goal is to do even better this year.

ss1

For the Summer Virtual Learning Program, students from low income neighborhoods come to NOC’s Program Centers in Hilton Head Island and Bluffton to spend two hours on Compass Learning (an internet-based learning platform that provides flexibility and can be used at any time). Each student spends half of the time on math and the remaining time on language arts. Lessons are tailored to each student’s reading and math scores, thus helping all students, those who are behind, as well as others who doing well and can excel. Summer loss of learning is greatest among students from low-income neighborhoods because of lack of opportunities for continuous learning and access to internet.
ss2
Teachers and volunteers at NOC’s Program Centers provide oversight and timely input to students who participate in the summer program.

With its new Virtual Learning Center at Oaks, funded by the Van Landingham Rotary Club, NOC is playing an important role in helping children in low income neighborhoods excel in school and improve academic performance.

NOC Receives Student Review

Bluffton Nonprofit Faces A Costly Downsize

Despite struggles at Bluffton House, nonprofit group model proves successful

Neighborhood Outreach Connection plans to expand program locations

End of 2013 Summer Virtual Learning Program

NOC’s Summer Virtual Learning in High Demand

The NOC Story

Neighborhood Outreach Connection is a registered 501(c)(3)

non-profit community development organization.

Support those in need with your financial gift to Neighborhood Outreach Connection.

Contact Info

Program Centers