When elementary-aged students attend after-school programs, chances are, they aren’t jumping into a 25-meter heated indoor pool. It’s far more likely that they’re given sports equipment and told to “go play.” That is not the case for Pozez Jewish Community Center’s Chai 5 After-School program.
Greg Feitel, the director of school-age services, said the 23 children currently enrolled in Chai 5 have the option to go swimming on Mondays and Fridays.
For the hour and a half after school, kids can choose between art and sports, which are taught incrementally over the course of three or four weeks. The staff start by teaching skills — such as kicking a ball or running the bases — then implement modified rules — for the first few games, more than one child can be on a base at the same time. They later transition from the modified game, “matball,” into traditional kickball.
“We think that the kids gain a lot more from doing it this way than just ‘Go run around,’ and we enjoy the process of teaching and learning and playing alongside them,” Feitel said.
In fact, there’s a dedicated staff member who plans these structured activities. Chai 5 has seen an upward change in its programming since its start in 2021.
“The actual programming that we do day-to-day with the kids, like the types of art projects that we source and have for them, or the sports games that we develop and teach to the kids, has grown significantly in the time that I have been here,” said Feitel, who started in his current role in fall 2023. “I think the running of the program has gotten a lot better, and most of that’s due to our program coordinator, [Jeremy Nowell], who was hired two years ago in a full-time capacity.”
Feitel said Chai 5 serves as a “home base” for the enrolled students.
“There’s a stability I think we have here that most other aftercare programs do not, or they have such large numbers of kids that it can sometimes feel different,” Feitel said. “It’s coming back every day and having a sense of stability.”
