Jumpstart is a national early education organization that recruits and trains college students to serve preschool children in low-income neighborhoods. Our proven curriculum helps children develop the language and literacy skills they need to be ready for kindergarten, setting them on a path to close the achievement gap before it is too late.
Together we are working toward the day every child in America enters kindergarten prepared to succeed.
ABOUT JUMPSTART
To combat the crisis in early literacy, Jumpstart, a national early education organization, works toward the day every child in America enters school prepared to succeed. Jumpstart partners 3,500 college student and community volunteers with preschool children in low-income communities for a full school year. Jumpstart helps children develop the language and literacy skills they’ll need to thrive in school and in life. During the 2009-2010 school year, Jumpstart served nearly 13,000 children, in partnership with more than 250 early learning centers and 62 universities and colleges throughout the country. Jumpstart’s national sponsors include American Eagle Outfitters, AmeriCorps, Pearson, and Sodexo. Jumpstart is the five-time recipient of the Fast Company/Monitor Social Capitalist Award (2004-2008) and has received a 4-star rating from Charity Navigator. For more information, visit the Jumpstart Web site at www.jstart.org.
ABOUT THE KEAN-JUMPSTART PARTNERSHIP
Kean University partnered with Jumpstart in the 2012-2013 academic year. Since then, over 40 Kean students have participated in Jumpstart, touching the lives of hundreds of local pre-school children with more than 9,000 hours of service! We are always searching for motivated, enthusiastic students to contribute to our program and its leadership. Current preschool partners are located in the City of Elizabeth, NJ.
GET INVOLVED!
There are many ways that Kean students can make a difference! We are now accepting applications for Corps Members for the Fall semester. Apply now!
Jumpstart Corps member have the unique opportunity to inspire young children to learn, serve in a local community, work on a team, and build professional skills. All Corps members receive professional-caliber training to help them implement Jumpstart’s outcome based program, promote children’s school success, and build family involvement.
Jumpstart Corps Members serve part-time, 8-10 hours per week, during the school year, including:
- Jumpstart sessions with team and partner children
- Team planning meetings, which include planning and reflection
- Communicating with partner child’s family and sharing strategies for extending learning
- Participating in intensive pre-service and on-going trainings
- Attending periodic service days, often held on weekends
