Through a grant partnership with Bridge to Employment (BTE), The College of New Jersey (TCNJ) Bonner Institute is excited to launch BTE-Ewing in the Fall of 2021! BTE is a Johnson & Johnson youth global initiative program with two main goals. Firstly, BTE aims to increase the number of students from economically disadvantaged communities who enroll in higher education. The other main goal is to increase the number of students interested in pursuing STEM2D careers (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, Manufacturing, Design or healthcare sectors.) The BTE Ewing Program Model will assist Ewing High School students and their families with all aspects of post-secondary planning and exploration.
During the last week of April over eighty participants, primarily Ewing High School students and parents, attended the initial interest workshop for BTE Ewing. This virtual event was facilitated by Bonner Scholars, Meghna Gohil and Sapphire Srigley, to better familiarize the Ewing high school community with the expectations and benefits of joining the BTE family. Our Johnson and Johnson champion partner from Johnson and Johnson, Skillman, Jose Hernandez, and TCNJ Bonner Institute leaders, Destiny De La Rosa & Althia Muse, along with Ewing School Counselor, Jennifer Denard, were present at the event and led an engaging Question and Answer Session for attendees. The event sparked immediate interest as the applicant pool exceeded recruitment expectations by the April 30th deadline. Approximately fifty current ninth grade students were selected to participate in the structured three year program beginning this fall. Selected students will demonstrate a commitment to academic achievement, maintain satisfactory attendance, and express an interest in STEM 2D exploration and community service.
The overall program design and student selection process is based on a data driven twenty-five year model that requires all BTE programs to include collaboration from four key partners. The BTE-Ewing partners include Johnson & Johnson Consumer, in Skillman, NJ as the local operating partner, Ewing High School as the secondary school partner and TCNJ serving two roles. The college serves both as the institution of higher education, and also houses the community-based organization, TCNJ Bonner Institute. In support of local programming Johnson & Johnson partners with FHI 360’s National Institute for Work and Learning (NIWL) to manage the BTE initiative, including the design, launch, and implementation of all programs.
Through the same partnership with Johnson & Johnson, TCNJ Bonner Institute has coordinated BTE-Trenton, a fully operational Bridge to Employment Program at Trenton Central High School, since 2017. The three year outcomes of BTE Trenton were successful in that more than 80% of participants graduated and enrolled in higher education programs. In fact, three of the BTE Trenton graduates enrolled at The College of New Jersey this past fall and also committed to serving the local community with the TCNJ Bonner Institute.
Bonner Scholars eagerly anticipate engaging with Ewing High School students on a weekly basis. This spring a team of seven Bonner Scholars worked virtually in support of BTE Trenton and planning for BTE-Ewing. Their focus was preparing engaging methods to deliver academic enrichment, career readiness and exploration to local high school youth in both Trenton and Ewing.
All of us at TCNJ Bonner Institute are excited about Bridge to Employment’s expansion into Ewing. The BTE-Ewing partnership further supports President Foster’s initiatives of enhancing local communities. This partnership also will strengthen the local pipeline of students gaining deeper exposure to higher education and specifically The College of New Jersey.