On May 20, 2015 The Princeton-Blairstown Center (PBC) announced that it has received a $10,000 grant from the Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation in support of the STEM-based activities in its Social Emotional Learning Program for Rivera Middle School students in Trenton.
The Princeton-Blairstown Center, originally a camp run by Princeton University students to give inner-city boys a character-building fresh air experience, evolved into a variety of year-round, multi-service, youth development experiential education programs serving over 5,200 students from the Mid-Atlantic States. In addition to Rivera Middle School in Trenton, PBC runs programs at Trenton Central High West Campus and at the Global Neighborhood Secondary School in New York City.
The PBC programs at Rivera are innovative dropout prevention programs, led by a Masters-level social worker, hat teach students critical social-emotional skills like self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills and healthy decision making. PBC’s approach combines practical applications in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM), critical thinking skills, social and emotional growth, and leadership development. The structured program provides 76 students with positive peer support to make healthy choices, problem solve, delay gratification and set goals. The group also works on communications skills, focus, and resiliency.
The program focuses on decreasing summer learning loss by providing three hours of daily environmental education, literacy and integrated language arts instruction along with the social-emotional and leadership skills learned from the challenge and ropes courses that students can transfer back to school and family life.
PBC is an independent nonprofit with a mission to transform the lives of vulnerable young people through integrated experiential and adventure-based programming in schools and at our Blairstown Campus near the Delaware Water Gap. We collaborate with schools, university partners, and community-based agencies to develop in youth deepened self-awareness, responsible decision-making, teamwork, and leadership skills. Our wide variety of year-round, multi-service programs serve over 5,200 students from the Mid-Atlantic States.
