Grant funding gives green light to after-school, summer programming in Worcester County
WORCESTER COUNTY, Md. – In Worcester County, afterschool and summer academies are now guaranteed at two schools. School district leaders say the programs are vitally important for both students and parents. And, they are only being made possible this year by a recently awarded grant.
Propping Up Important Programs
Worcester County Public Schools (WCPS) was awarded a $400,000 21st Century Community Learning Centers Programs for the Future grant. The funding comes from the Maryland State Department of Education and is renewable for three years if continuation is approved.
WCPS officials say the grant will support programs at Berlin Intermediate School and Stephen Decatur Middle School.
“Out-of-school time programs are really important,” said WCPS Coordinator of Instruction, Tamara Mills. “When the bell rings at the end of the day, so many kids are still needing help.”
The grant funding will help support programs at the two schools that will ensure students are set up for success year-round.
“We will employ evidence-based programs for tutoring and homework help, for mainly literacy and math,” Mills said. “In addition to that, [students] will have enrichment opportunities in art, physical education, social-emotional learning, volunteer opportunities, and community service.”
Beyond Individual Students
Mills says the benefits of the programs go beyond the individual student.
“It really does focus on bringing the parents in for parent engagement,” Mills said. “[There are] behavioral health services that the families can come in and take advantage of. It is really about not just working with the student, but helping the families also.”
And, the award couldn’t have come at a better time; the economic climate for school funding is difficult enough, Mills says.
“The north end and south end of the county, economically, are very different. And so, a lot of the time, in our north-end schools near Ocean City, the poverty may not be as high as in other areas. However, that is changing, and our community is growing,” Mills said. “Because we would normally fund the north-end schools through local money [above maintenance of effort], which we did not have this year and unfortunately we are not able to get, this grant was really important.”
Looking Ahead
Looking ahead, Mills says this is an important opportunity that WCPS is happy to share with students and their families.
“Ultimately, we’re just excited to be sure that we will now have nine schools that will be completely grant-funded for after-school [programs] this coming year,” Mills said. “That’s really important, because with a lot of students with special needs, our multi-lingual learners, we just need to offer as much as we can beyond the school day.”
