what we do

Cresthaven Academy Foundation administers all enrichment programming for Cresthaven Academy scholars, including a dynamic in-house After School Program that provides daily homework help; art and music education; martial arts instruction; soccer; yoga; access to swim lessons, and other enrichment experiences. In addition, the After School Program provides a healthy snack daily, as well as developmentally appropriate play-based activities with ample opportunities to build social skills. CAF helps scholars achieve academic gains in math and literacy and improve homework completion and accuracy while providing structured physical activity and arts programs to promote wellness and develop creativity, listening and communication skills, positive behavior, leadership, responsibility and teamwork.

By offering a safe and affordable After School Program option to the families of Cresthaven Academy, CAF provides parents and caregivers the ability to balance their work and life responsibilities, knowing their children are safely engaged in activities that enrich their learning and social-emotional development. CAF intentionally aligns the start of the After School Program with the end of the school day to eliminate any gaps in time for which scholars would be unsupervised. The After School Program is available Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday from 3:45pm-6:00pm. On Wednesdays, to support the school’s early dismissal schedule, the program begins at 1:45pm and ends at 5:00pm.

In order to make the After School Program accessible to as many families as possible, CAF charges a flat rate programing fee of $100 per month to families - equating to an hourly rate of just over $2 per hour. While the Foundation prides itself on affordability of programming, CAF also realizes that for some families, $100 per month is still a financial burden. To alleviate some of that burden, CAF offers full and partial scholarships for scholars of families facing hardship. Serving over 160 scholars in grades K-3 during the 2019-20 school year, the After School Program is the primary way in which Cresthaven Academy Foundation supports “whole child” development for the scholars of Cresthaven Academy.

In addition to the After School Program, CAF provides various wrap-around services for scholars and families, including one free uniform set to every incoming Kindergarten scholar each year; coordinating food pick-up and distribution for food-insecure families through the Community Food Bank of New Jersey; funding, organizing, and implementing college visits annually for each grade in order to establish a community of college-minded scholars; collaborating with NJ Child Abuse Prevention(NJCAP) to bring free scholar, staff, and parent workshops to our school; working with our community partner, Evangel Church, to provide free backpacks and school supplies to every scholar at the start of each school year, as well as Thanksgiving and Easter meals for 50+ families each holiday season.

Additionally, CAF provides direct financial and material assistance to families on a case-by-case basis. CAF also directs resources to our annual Fall Festival and holiday toy drive, in which every single scholar takes home a shopping bag full of wrapped gifts in December to celebrate the holiday season and ensure that every child has gifts to open, no matter their family’s financial circumstance. The holiday gift collection is made possible through many generous individual and corporate donations, which allow CAF to purchase items directly from students’ holiday wish-lists. To punctuate the event, the school hosts a “Polar Express Day” in which Cresthaven founder and CAF Executive Director, Steven Colson, dresses as the Conductor of the Polar Express, visiting each classroom, helping to deliver gifts and make the holiday season a little extra magical for Cresthaven scholars.