UMass Boston
100 Morrissey Blvd.
Boston, MA 02125-3393
617-287-5000
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Jumpstart
About Jumpstart
Jumpstart’s mission is to work toward the day every child in America enters school prepared to succeed. To this end, Jumpstart trains and supports college students to serve as part-time Corps members, working individually with young children to build skills crucial to school success. Jumpstart focuses on three program areas: building School Success for young children by fostering their early language, literacy, social, and initiative skills; encouraging strong Family Involvement to help families support children’s learning; and training college students to be Future Teachers and leaders in early childhood education. Jumpstart serves young children in more than 60 communities nationwide.
Addressing a Public Need
Extensive cognitive and neurological research indicates that the parts of the human brain most important for learning and developing cognitive skills are actually most active at an early age. In fact, the best predictor of whether a 10th grader is reading at grade level is actually whether or not the children knew his alphabet at the age of 5.
Every child enters the world with potential. Yet without the involvement of a caring adult, there is no guarantee that he or she will reach that promise. Unfortunately, statistics show that a 5-year old child from low-income background has one-fourth the vocabulary of his mid-income peers. At Jumpstart, we believe that addressing this disparity early will have a lasting positive effect. Why do we believe this? Because bodies of research suggest that early intervention, in the form of a caring one-to-one relationship, promotes crucial brain development and essential primary skill building that leads to success not just in school, but also in life.
Enter Jumpstart. For over a decade we’ve been bringing at-risk preschool children and caring adults together. Working alongside their parents and a strong community, Jumpstart fosters relationships that focus on building literacy, in combination with social and emotional readiness. Time and again, we’ve seen how consistent, committed and caring one-to-one relationships between children and adults help to create a lifelong love of learning. A one-to-one setting ensures that education becomes the completely transformational experience it was meant to be. Learning ceases to be intimidating. Trust is built. New experiences are unlocked. This, more than anything else, is the real magic of Jumpstart.
HOW TO GET INVOLVED
Attention Work-Study Students: HIRING NOW!
Join Jumpstart at UMASS-Boston! Make a Difference in the Life of A Child!
Jumpstart is working toward the day every child in America enters school prepared to succeed. Throughout our 8-year partnership with UMass Boston, hundreds of UMB students have joined our ranks and to make our mission a reality. This year, we’re looking for work-study students of all majors, ages, and levels of experience to join us.
Make your work-study job fun and rewarding and be a positive force in your community. You’ll be paired one-to-one with a preschool child to build language and literacy skills crucial to success. You’ll read books with your partner child, play games, spend time in their preschool, and most importantly, be a caring and supportive presence in their live. Also, we’ll be there every step of the way! You'll make friends with a team of peers, gain valuable professional experience, and have a lasting impact in the community. Earn work-study and a $1000 education award.
Apply now at www.jstart.org/apply. Contact Jumpstart at stephanie.farmer@umb.edu, 617-287-7906. 3rd floor, Campus Ctr, #3404.02.