Talent Development Academy

Talent Development Academy - East Side High School, Newark, NJ

The Talent Development Academy (TDA) at East Side High School serves some of the most vulnerable and underserved students in Newark, many of whom are justice-involved. TDA provides rigorous academic programming that places students at the center of their own learning through a personalized, student-interest driven, project-based instructional model supplemented by Leaving-To-Learn experiences that are proven by research to be effective for improving outcomes for at-promise students. For the 2017-18 school year, the Talent Development Academy is launching a dual credit early college initiative that seeks to improve college going and persistence rates for its students. The demands and rigors of a longer, dual-credit, early college school day magnify the importance of providing students with comprehensive wrap-around supports and strategies that mitigate non-academic obstacles to academic success.  TDA has also partnered with SIFH Global and I3E/Paroled to College to develop and implement an innovative, personalized, student-interest driven fitness and health curriculum. The Superhero Fitness Challenge is a year-long physical fitness program composed of two 12-week segments delivered in fall-winter 2017 and winter-spring of 2018 and designed to provide students with the skills and knowledge to take charge of their own health. The fall-winter segment is focused on basic skill development and “boot camp” style training in preparation for demands of personalized super-hero fitness routines that define winter-spring programming. We anticipate that the SIFH Global team of volunteer athletes and coaches will be on site to work directly with students a minimum of three times per week. The program will include data collection on student progress to inform ongoing program improvements and will leverage individual and collective successes to motivate students to continue on their fitness and wellness journey.