The Newburgh Armory Unity Center welcomed students back in the beginning of April for its special programming and courses, after over a year of having to put in-person learning on pause. The free (but limited space) classes are held from 9 to 11 a.m. on Saturday mornings with a total of five different programs over the course of five weeks.
The programming is broken up into teams which include Dare to be a Wild Reader & Basketball, Scholars in Scrubs & Intermediate Computers, Drones @ Newbury Armory Unity Center Level & Lee Archer Red Tail Youth Flying, Garden Detectives & Dance, and Math Counts & Soccer Skills.
“There are different levels for this class,” said Nastor Luis, who is teaching the computer class. “I get to see where everyone is at and assess what they need to work on … eventually they go for it and start to code. It doesn’t matter that maybe the language we are using isn’t the best, but it’s getting them in that thought process. Once you understand one language, it’s easier to understand others. It’s crazy how fast kids can pick it up, because to them it’s just learning another language.”
Other teachers include everyone from volunteers to Linda Romano, who “is the first teacher from New York State to be honored at the national level in the Health and Sciences division,” and was teaching the health class at the Armory.

Another one of the Armory’s big hits is the library, which is perfectly located so it’s the first thing you see when you walk in and the last thing you see before you leave.
“What Mr. Kaplan has done is he has provided an environment here for children that normally would not be able to afford or have access to,” said Philip Howard who has been involved with the special programming. “That’s one of the things we champion here. We’re giving exposure and an environment for kids to thrive. It starts right here in this library.”
The first Saturday back at the Armory was a hit with a line out the door and parents thrilled to have their kids back for some in-person instruction. COVID-19 protocols were closely followed with everyone’s temperature being taken as they entered, in addition to social distancing and mask wearing.
“They have programs on reading, writing, literature and everything,” said Yvette Hernandez, who has four children enrolled at the Armory. “My daughter was struggling really bad with writing and reading. We came here, and after that, she went up, up, up. I couldn’t believe it. I think it’s because of the one-on-one program. I feel grateful for this.”
Hernandez wasn’t the only happy parent. The Gaines family, who has two little ones in the program for the third year in a row (and two older ones at the college level now), was also excited for the return. During the peak of the pandemic, the Gaines family participated in the virtual programming on Saturday mornings, even despite it being hard to stay connected after five days a week on the computer for school.
Katherine Gaines, the mom of the family who is an immigrant to the United States from Ecuador 20 years ago, said the Newburgh Armory Unity Center could be compared to Disneyland because of how amazing she believes its programming to be. Katherine herself participates in the gardening class during the warmer weather. However, what the Gaines family is most excited about in regards to the Armory is to see how it shapes their youngest children to be the best they can be. For example, one of their older sons, Eddie, is now about to begin studying at West Point, a huge achievement which requires a nomination from a congressman or senator.
“He actually started in a program similar to this one in his middle school,” said Ed Gaines, the father of the family. “The kids that he met at this program were all kids that were striving to do a little better.”
Their youngest son, Malachi, has been participating in soccer and math at the Armory. Katherine described the soccer coach as “amazing.” On the other hand, their youngest daughter, Autumn, is in the nursing program, and has already declared that she wants to be a doctor when she grows up. Their last son, and the oldest, attends SUNY Buffalo.
While there may have not been in-person Saturday programming over the past year at the Armory, it was busy nonetheless. Every Wednesday it has donated several hundred pounds of food to those in need. Once vaccinations became available, it was used as a pop-up site to help vaccinate those living in the City of Newburgh.
Additionally, the Armory has online programming including an online chess club, pilates, a drone series, arts, reading and an education series on how to stay healthy. Anyone from the ages of second to sixth grade were eligible to participate in person with pre-registration. In the future, the Armory is hoping to extend the ages who are able to participate in the programming.
For more information, visit newburgharmory.org.