Mary Wolf, Founder and Director
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About the Clay Street Computer Learning Center |
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Mary Wolf, Founder and Director |
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As a "store front" computer lab, the Clay Street Computer Learning Center is a little known jewel in the heart of the Clay Street area of Annapolis. A recent Washington Post article aptly described Clay Street as "a neglected corner of Annapolis where crime and poverty endure alongside the grandeur of the State House." According to the most recent census data, there are 201 children ages 13 and under living in the Clay Street area. Of these, 119 reside in Public Housing Projects. Most children live in homes headed by single mothers with low incomes and inadequate job skills. The Center offers a safe and welcoming environment where children can complete their homework assignments, can use computers for school research projects, and can work on age-appropriate educational software. Students are known to run to the Center straight from the local elementary and middle schools! For adult residents of the community, the Center offers computer-based GED tutorials, resume writing classes, and basic computer skills training. The Center was founded by former NBC Nightly News Producer, Mary Wolf. Prior to moving to the Annapolis area, Mary had successfully organized a computer lab at Martha's Table in the Shaw neighborhood of Washington, DC. Her program garnered the support of Bill Gates, who visited her lab in 1996 with a check for $100,000 to continue her efforts. In the summer of 1999, with startup funds from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Clay Street Computer Learning Center began offering programs to adults, teens, and after-school children in the Clay Street area of Annapolis. Mary recently received a Governor's Citation from the Governor of Maryland and an Executive Citation from the County Executive of Anne Arundel County. She has also been honored by the Junior League of Annapolis and the March of Dimes for her work at the Center. A full-time program director and teacher, Ms. Kyria Joseph, a schoolteacher with a master's degree in education, lovingly runs the Center. She has been with the Center for over two years. The goals of the Center are:
To accomplish these goals, the Center’s curriculum consists of a set of age-appropriate themes, with each theme of one-month duration. The Center is organized under a 501(c)(3) foundation. The Center has recently received two grants from the City of Annapolis, as well as a grant from the Chesapeake Bay Trust. With the latter, youngsters in the Center's program will be able to participate in such environmental activities as: water quality monitoring of College Creek, Bay grass planting, restoration projects and environmentally-oriented field trips. Finally, the Center will be participating with the Community Action Agency of Anne Arundel County in a microenterprise project, for which a start-up grant was recently received from the State of Maryland. Donations to the Center are welcome - see How to Contribute for details. Contact Information: Kyria Joseph, Program Coordinator and Instructor |