Troy after-school program gets set for year 2
Courtesy Troy students float and frolic on the Kootenai River under the watchful eye of Lance Pearson during summer activities. Pearson and several other program volunteers were trained and certified in whitewater rescue last spring.
Heading into the second year of the New Horizons Learning Center in Troy, program director Ralph Stever and site coordinator Tracy McNew believe the after-school program can provide a well-rounded extension of education that goes beyond classrooms and textbooks.
To help the program reach heights beyond the first year, Stever hopes to see an increase in the number of parents willing to volunteer their time, talent or skills. Last year, community volunteers organized 95 percent of the activities – but none of them were parents.
“We have limited parent participation this year,” Stever said Friday as the program gears up for its first day on Sept. 8. “We need to find new ways to draw participation … activities for parents to come in and help out.”
The after-school program is funded by a 21st Century grant through the Montana Office of Public Instruction. Staffers receive professional development and certification training as part of the grant, as well as daily information to help centers keep up with national trends in quality after-school programming. The centers also receive grant opportunity notifications to help with the transition to self-sustainability.
“It’s the same amount every year for the first five years,” Stever said about the funding. “It’s really a community process to make it work on that money.”
The grant is for $67,000 per year guaranteed for five years and could go up based on a high level of student participation.
McNew joins the staff this year after moving to Troy from Georgia. McNew, who has local family ties to the community, plans to lead a cooking class as a new activity this year.
New Horizons also has two other paid staff members with a portion paid out of stimulus funding.
“We learned a lot over the year,” Stever said. “We have a better idea of what kids like now … we have better ideas on how to address homework.”
Among the mid- to upper-elementary students, focus can become an issue.
“One of the biggest challenges with grades 4-6 is the majority of the kids struggle (with following through on their studies),” Stever said. “We’re trying to work on that sense of commitment. One of the goals of the program is to assist kids with academics and raise their grades at the end of the year by a half-grade or better.”
An incentive program is part of New Horizons. Students could earn a float trip down the Kootenai or participate in a Wii (video game system) league.
Last year, 78 percent of students in the program equaled or bettered their grades while 22 percent saw their grades go down. Stever said those students that struggled with grades have now been identified and more attention will be coming their way.
Out of the 180 students registered for the program last year, two-thirds were K-6 students. Stever said they would like to incorporate more into the program for high-school level kids.
“We really want to try to develop a mentoring program … high school kids coming over and we’ll track their hours and write a college letter. Last year, we had kids that did 150 hours,” he said.
One of the activities coming up for high school students involves the creation of public service announcements to be aired on a community radio station.
“The funding is available to make a dozen PSAs on the radio with a focus on underage drinking,” Stever said. “There will be a student perspective on what they need to hear.”
That effort has also received support from the Montana Community Change Project’s Maggie Anderson, Lincoln County prevention specialist Vel Shaver and Troy police officer Kit Pearson.
“The catch with high school kids is they’re so busy,” McNew said. “They have to work it into their own schedules.”
Tutoring for high school students will begin Oct. 1.
Most programs focus on younger students and Stever said free-range play holds great importance for child development.
Last year, one of the outdoors activities involved an “apple squeeze” – a tradition that Stever said existed in Troy many years ago. The kids pick apples and with the use of an apple press, they are ultimately treated to juice. Last year, they squeezed their way to 12 gallons. It’s an activity that Stever hopes to see return every year.
“The goal of New Horizons is to create a safe environment for students to work toward academic excellence, experience enrichment opportunities not readily available in our community, learn healthy life-skills to help support future goals and engage parents as well as the community of Troy to be a part of our children’s learning process,” Stever said.
Stever said he was thankful for the school board’s support.
“I want to express my appreciation to the school board who went into the unknown with this but were willing to allow the process,” Stever said. “I hope they are able to see the benefit of it.”
The program will run Monday through Thursday from 3:30-6 p.m. Besides a need for parent participation, volunteers and ideas, New Horizons could also use educational board games and they can never get enough Legos.
To volunteer, share ideas or donate items, call Stever at 295-3016 (home) or 295-4321 (school).