In August, it was announced that the Boys & Girls Club of Lodi and the Lodi Board of Education, will be bringing the LEAP program (Lodi’s Enrichment Afterschool Program) to Thomas Jefferson Middle School this coming school year. This program is funded by a $500,000 grant from the New Jersey Department of Education through the Federal Government’s 21st Century Community Learning Center grant program. LEAP has a STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) theme, and provides five years of funding.
Chief Executive Officer of the Lodi Club, Joseph Licata, anticipates great interest in this free afterschool program, and it will reach over 200 students. The Club will be partnering with the Lodi school district to hold enrichment sessions at Thomas Jefferson Middle School. This program will include 14 field trips throughout the year, following the STEAM theme, to places such as the Liberty Science Center and the Newark Museum.