Kicking off Summer 2025 Child Opportunity Zone and RI Youth Opportunity Zone
The Empowerment Factory looks forward to hosting a summer of out-of-school reading and art making at Pawtucket schools and the Cape Verdean American Development.
Last week, The Empowerment Factory kicked off its summer out-of-school programs under the Child Opportunity Zone (COZ) and the RI Youth Zone. COZ and RI Youth Zone are out-of-school and after-school programs for local elementary school students.
This summer’s COZ and RI Youth Zone curriculum is themed around “myths and mysteries,” teaching various traditional myths from across the globe and taking them through related artmaking projects. It emphasizes key social emotional learning goals including multicultural understanding, critical thinking, and communication.
Lead Teacher Mr. Leon Ibacache remarked on the curriculum: “It’s important to diversify our culture and understand that not everyone has the same views about the world or beliefs about faith.”
The Empowerment Factory spent last Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon holding the first summer COZ and RI Youth Zone sessions at Nathanael Greene Elementary School and Cape Verdean American Community Development, respectively. Like all Empowerment Factory events, the sessions started with a “Mindful Moment” meant to ground students and prepare them for the lesson.
This week’s sessions focused on the Japanese story of Ameratsu creating the sun and moon and the Northeast American indigenous story of the world being created on a tortoise’s shell.
Following Teacher Assistant Ms. Haley Rousseau’s guided read aloud of the myths, Mr. Leon led students through the artmaking portion. Students drew their own mythical creatures and created origin stories for them with poster canvases and markers.
Brianna Centaio, a COZ teacher, remarked on the impact of The Empowerment Factory on students: “They’re a lot more open to new opportunities. They’re a lot more open to arts and crafts. [...] Seeing one of my students be at the happiest she’s been the last two days was heartwarming for me."
This summer, The Empowerment Factory will host 8 COZ sessions in the Pawtucket school system and RI Youth Zone sessions at the Cape Verdean American Community Development.
COZ is a Rhode Island state program that offers out of school and after school services along with other resources for families. The Rhode Island Youth Zone is a children’s nonprofit organization. The Empowerment Factory partners with the Cape Verdean Community Development and Pawtucket school system to host COZ and RI Youth Zone sessions.
Great article!