21st Century After-School Program
The 21st Century After-School Program is supporting after-school and before-school academic enrichment activities at the Yakima School District's Barge-Lincoln Elementary, Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary, Washington Middle School, Adams Elementary, McKinley Elementary and Ridgeview Elementary. This initiative is designed to assist in the creation of academic enrichment opportunities during non-school hours, particularly for students from high-poverty areas.
The grant is providing the six Yakima schools with after-school programs to assist students for two hours during four to five days a week on their reading, English, math, STEM, and social emotional learning. Students in the after-school sessions will be able to engage in activities that may include robotics, culinary arts, Lego-based engineering, the Eureka Math program, and the Imagine Learning social emotional curriculum. Those offerings will vary from school to school, based on surveys conducted at each building to determine what instructional areas will best serve their students’ needs. The after-school sessions will also provide additional time for students at the MLK and Barge-Lincoln sites to participate in more than one research and inquiry project per unit on their Reading Wonders literacy curriculum, which is taught during the regular school day.
Other services of this program:
• Students are offered 45-minute sessions prior to the start of each regular class day to help enhance their learning through homework checks, book clubs, and math support. Activities will also include a new monthly series of family involvement activities as well as four-week summer sessions for children.
• A monthly family engagement activities in the evenings allow parents to learn how they can collaborate with school staff to strengthen their child’s literacy, STEM, and social-emotional skills within their own home.
• Four-week sessions during the summer will include field trips, critical thinking instruction, anti-bullying lessons, and math programs.
About 80 to 100 students per building will be selected to participate in the Road to Success program. Students are selected for the services based on assessments conducted by school staff on their learning needs.
The work for the 2019-20 school year is occurring as part of a federally-funded grant of $500,000 facilitated through Washington's Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction. the grant is renewable for up to five years.