Enrichment Program uses tennis to help kids learn

St. Dominic Catholic Church hosts after-school sessions

May 12, 2017 By Paula Katinas Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Tennis instructor Jim DiGiacomo shows Richie Zempoaltecat, Ellis Wan and Shucheng Liao (left to right) the finer points of the game at a recent session of the after-school program. Eagle photo by Paula Katinas

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Twice a week, dozens of children enter St. Dominic Catholic Church in Bensonhurst to spend a few hours. But they’re not coming to the church for religious instruction.

St. Dominic, located at 2001 Bay Ridge Parkway, hosts an after-school center where kids enjoy tennis lessons, work on art projects and take part in a group reading program.

Called the Enrichment Program, the after-school center has been attracting attention and raves from parents, according to its director Sal Ferrera. “The children love it and parents have told me how much they love it too,” he told the Brooklyn Eagle.

The aim of the Enrichment Program, which is a nonprofit enterprise, is to educate children in a fun, relaxing atmosphere, Ferrera said.

The program uses tennis as a centerpiece. Children get the opportunity to hit tennis balls as well as take part in the art and literature portions of the afternoon.

The Enrichment Program, which has the full blessing of Rev. Msgr. David Cassato, the administrator of St. Dominic Church, operates two afternoons a week, Thursday and Friday, for approximately two hours per session. Cassato is the pastor of St. Athanasius Church on Bay Parkway and 61st Street. He was named administrator of St. Dominic Church in 2015.

Ferrera and a staff of teachers and volunteers gently guide the youngsters through their activities.

One of the hallmarks of the Enrichment Program is its policy of rotation. The sports, recreation and educational activities work on a rotating basis during every session to ensure that kids get the chance to take part in all aspects of the program.

One recent afternoon, three children were taking a tennis lesson from instructor Jim DiGiacomo in the gym while nearby, a group of kids sat around a table and listened to teacher Lisa McCauley read aloud from a book. At a second table, children were drawing pictures with the help of teacher Janet Huderski.

The drawings were based on characters in a book that the youngsters had read the previous week.

Ferrera said incorporating artwork into the curriculum is important because it reinforces for the kids what they read in a book.

After approximately 30 minutes, the children rotated, with the tennis students taking seats at the reading table, the readers moving to the art table and the young artists making their way over to the tennis net.

The idea behind the rotation, according to Ferrera, is to give each child the opportunity to nourish their mind and body. “There’s less chance a child could become bored,” he told the Eagle.

Meanwhile, in a classroom on a lower level of the church building, a group of children listed as teacher Nicole Nastrantonio read aloud from a book called “Letters from Mickey.”

The after-school center has only been operating for a few months, but Ferrera said that he and Cassato have already seen impressive results in the children’s grades in school.

“We’re making a difference,” Ferrera said.

Ferrera, who has a Ph.D from Fordham University, has decades of experience in public and private school education. He is the former principal of P.S. 204 in Bensonhurt. For many years, he was the president of Xaverian High School, a Catholic school for boys located in Bay Ridge. During his tenure at Xaverian, Ferrera beefed up the music program, oversaw the opening of a technology center and introduced the Baccalaureate Diploma Program.

After leaving Xaverian, Ferrera served for a number of years as president of The Child School, a charter school on Roosevelt Island. He left that post in 2013.

The Enrichment Program has grown quite a bit since it began, according to Ferrera, who said the after-school center started with a dozen children and now boasts 40 kids. The program is open to children between the ages of 6 and 14.

“We are looking to expand our space,” Ferrera said, adding that he has reached out to the U.S. Army Garrison at Fort Hamilton in Bay Ridge to see if the Enrichment Program can use one of the fort’s buildings so that the program can benefit more children.

For more information about the Enrichment Program, call 718-490-5875.