DELTA DENTAL FOUNDATION TO GRANT
$75,000 TO NEWARK PUBLIC SCHOOL
-Monies will support a dental careers program in the new Central High School-
PARSIPPANY, NJ (December 6, 2005) – Over
the next several years, Delta Dental of New Jersey's
philanthropic arm, the Delta Dental of New Jersey
Foundation, will grant Newark Public Schools
$75,000. Monies will be awarded to provide supplies
and equipment for the Allied Health Sciences
Academy-Dental Pathway, a program geared to equip
students with dental-industry-specific job skills
at the new Central High School. The new school
opening is planned for September 2007.
2005 marks the first year Central High School
is offering the health career program with a
dental concentration. In September 2005, the
first class of 15 students began taking dental
education classes. The program will increase
by the same number each year to include freshmen,
sophomores, juniors and seniors. Until the new
school opens, the students' hands-on laboratory
experience will take place at the University
of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey's Scotch
Plains campus. Delta Dental's contribution will
allow the new Central High School to run the
entire dental program on site, when it opens
in 2007. The new school will also house a dental
clinic where students will assist dentists in
treating patients, giving the underserved of
Newark an additional facility where they can
receive care.
"The Delta Dental Foundation is proud to
support a dental education program that essentially
will help produce some of New Jersey's much needed
trained dental assistants and dental office personnel," said
Gene F. Napoliello, D.D.S., president of the
Delta Dental Foundation. "Central High School
is undertaking a special approach to learning
that can serve as an example for other public
high schools throughout New Jersey."
The 2007 Allied Health Sciences Academy-Dental
Pathway program is designed to introduce students
to the fields of dental assisting, dental technology
and post-secondary training in dental hygiene.
The program will offer students hands-on lab
experience and real-life work opportunities.
Students learn from dental professionals who
will prepare them for employment, additional
training or higher education in the field of
dentistry.
The Dental Pathway is one of several educational
specifications that will comprise the 2007 Health
Science Academy of the school. Students will
choose a concentration in ninth grade and continue
their specific study for four years of high school.
Business and technology programs are also available.
"By schooling our students in a specific
career, Newark Public Schools are working to
give our students opportunities to better themselves
and to take control of their future," said
Jerry Bruno, Director of School-to-Career and
College Initiatives. "Our efforts would
not be possible if it weren't for the support
and cooperation of organizations like Delta Dental
of New Jersey."
The Delta Dental of New Jersey Foundation frequently
works with educators on projects to promote the
advancement of dental professions. In addition,
each year the Foundation donates money to various
organizations throughout New Jersey and Connecticut
to treat underserved populations. The Foundation
is a non-profit, charitable organization that
prides itself on the variety of programs that
aid the needy, educate dental professionals and
perform dental research.
About Delta Dental of
New Jersey, Inc.
Delta Dental of New Jersey, Inc., is New Jersey’s
and Connecticut's leading dental benefits carrier,
providing coverage to more than one million people
through contracts with employers in New Jersey
and Connecticut. The Delta Dental system offers
seamless dental benefits administration for employer
groups throughout the country and the largest
network of credentialed dentists in the nation.
For more information visit us on the Web at www.deltadentalnj.com.
