Koinonia Family Life Inc

KOINONIA FAMILY LIFE, INC., WAS CREATED AS A NON-FOR-PROFIT COMMUNITY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION, FOR THE PURPOSE OF REBUILDING AND REVITALIZING COMMUNITIES THROUGH EDUCATION AND COUNSELING DESIGNED TO MEET SOCIAL, EDUCATIONAL AND SPIRITUAL NEEDS OF FAMILIES IN CAMDEN.

FEEDING AMERICA GRANT - 500,000 PROJECT SUMMARY - OUR TARGET AUDIENCE IS CAMDEN, NEW JERSEY WHERE PEOPLE OF COLOR CONSTITUTE 99% OF THE POPULATION. THE MAJOR PROBLEMS ARE: (1) THERE IS NO APPROVED PROGRAM OF STUDY IN THE AGRICULTURE FOOD AND NATURAL RESOURCES (AFNR) CLUSTER IN THE SCHOOL DISTRICT. (2) THERE IS SIGNIFICANT UNDERREPRESENTATION OF BLACK AND HISPANIC STUDENTS IN AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE. (3) STUDENTS HAVE NEGATIVE CONNOTATIONS OF FARMING WITH SLAVERY AND/OR MIGRANT WORK. (4) EMERGING FARMING PRACTICES AND CLIMATE CHANGE AFFECT HEALTH FOOD ACCESS. OUR AGSTEM CTE PROGRAM OF STUDY TO DRIVE CAREER PATHWAYS FOR MARGINALIZED STUDENTS. OUR PURPOSE IS TO INCREASE PARTICIPATION OF STUDENTS IN AGRICULTURAL CAREER PATHWAYS BY LEVERAGING TECHNOLOGY AND INTRODUCING AGSTEM EDUCATON. THIS WILL IMPACT THE GARDEN STATE'S AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION BY CREATING A CTE AGRICULTURE SCIENCE EDUCATION PROGRAM FOR OUR BENEFICIARIES, SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS. THE PROGRAM OF STUDY IS STRUCTURED TO BE COMPLIANT WITH PERKINS V REQUIREMENTS OF CURRICULA, CERTIFIED TEACHERS, DUAL CREDIT AGREEMENTS, CAREER TECHNICAL STUDENT ORGANIZATION AND WORK-BASED LEARNING. OUR PROJECT WILL HAVE A SIGNIFICANT IMPACT AS IT BUILDS UPON A HYDROPONIC FARM AND LAB CURRENTLY FUNDED BY FEEDING AMERICA'S EQUITY IMPACT FUND. OUR AGSTEM LAB WILL HELP STUDENTS MEET GLOBAL CHALLENGES USING AG-TECHNOLOGY AND NATIONAL EDUCATION STANDARDS. OUR FOCUS IS ON: HYDROPONIC SYSTEMS, URBAN AGRICULTURE, PLANT BIOLOGY, CHEMISTRY, PHYSICS, AND DATA SCIENCE. THE OUTCOME WILL INCREASE THE WORKFORCE PIPELINE AND HELP MARGINALIZED STUDENTS OBTAIN AGSTEM IN-DEMAND OCCUPATIONS. LEVERAGING PERKINS V FUNDING IS CRITICAL FOR SUSTAINABILITY AND LONG-TERM IMPACT.

COMCAST - 100,000 GRANT FUNDS FROM THIS GRANT WERE USED TO UNLOCK STUDENT POTENTIAL IN THE IT WORKFORCE AND THE IMPACT THAT ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI) NOW HAS ON COMPUTER NETWORKS AND CYUBERSECURITY. AI IS AMOUNG THE HOTTEST TECHNOLOGIES RESHAPING THE FUTURE OF WORK AND THE IT SECTOR. WE PROVIDED CCNA TRAING TO OUR LEARNERS HELPING THEM UNDERSTAND WHAT COMPUTER NETWORKS ARE AND THE IMPACT OF AI ON IT NOW, AND IN THE FUTURE. WE TAUGHT ENTRY LEVEL IT SKILLS SO LEARNERS CAN SEE THEMSELVES IN AN IT CAREER; PREPARING OUR LEARNERS PASS THE CISCO CCNA CERTIFICATION EXAM BY DELIVERING THE BEST IN CLASS COURSEWORK PROVIDED BY CISCO USING THE ABILITY OF A MACHINE TO LEARN PATTERNS AND MAKE PREDICTIONS.

FREEDOM SCHOOL YOUTH LITERACY AND STEM LEARNING - 100,000 THE 2023 CAMDEN DREAM CDF FREEDOM SCHOOL WAS HOSTED AT MASTERY HIGH SCHOOL IN CAMDEN, NEW JERSEY. THIS IS A SIX WEEK SUMMER LITERACY ENRICHMENT PROGRAM, COUPLED WITH A HIGH QUALITY SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING, AND MATHEMATICS (STEM) PROGRAM WHICH IS OFFERED EACH DAY OVER SIX WEEKS. WE SERVED FIFTY EIGHT (58) SCHOLARS DURING THE SUMMER OF 2023 FROM KINDERGARTEN TO EIGHTH GRADE. OUR OBJECTIVES WERE TO IMPROVE STUDENT READING BY ONE GRADE LEVEL AND IMPROVE STUDENTS' CRITICAL AND COMPUTATIONAL THINKG SKILLS, WHICH WILL SERVE THEM THROUGHOUT THEIR LIVES. THE INNOVATIVE LITERACY LAB, IN PARTNERSHIP WITH EDUCATION TESTING S. PRINCETON, NJ WAS UISED AGAIN THIS YEAR, IT IS A TOOL USED TO MEASURE READING OUTCOMES AND RELATED SKILLS. THE RESULTS OF THIS SUMMER'S PROGRAM CONFIRM WE ACHIEVED OUR GOAL: TO DEVELOP A LOVE FOR READING WHILE EXPLORING SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING, AND MATH. THIS MODEL ENCOURAGES AND SUPPORTS POSITIVE ATTITUDES TOWARD LEARNING.