For Immediate Release: Tuesday, May 2, 2006
Councilmembers Marilyn Praisner, Howard Denis, Tom Perez, Michael Subin, and George Leventhal today put forth a proposal to expand after school programs in all 38 County middle schools and add after-school sports academies at an additional four County high schools at an estimated total cost of $2.5 million.
Blair High School currently has the only after-school sports academy and 10 middle schools have County after school programs.
Although the number two recommendation in the prevention section of the 2004 Joint County Gang Prevention Task Force Report called for implementing and sustaining after-school programs, the County has yet to act on this recommendation.
“After-school programs contribute greatly to the well-being of youth,” said Councilmember Marilyn Praisner. “Besides providing a diversion from gang activity, research compiled by The Children’s Aid Society demonstrates that after-school programs improve academic achievement and behavior in school, engender better emotional adjustment and peer relations, while reducing youth crime and other risky behaviors, such as truancy, dropping out of high school, depression, and substance abuse.”
Under the proposal, three separate models of the sports academy would be instituted at five high schools, including the Blair Sports Academy (BSA) model, a private/public partnership model, and a private provider model.
The BSA offers support to students on several levels. Students with a grade-point average under 2.0 receive help from teachers and tutors in a study-hall environment for one hour after school, get help with test preparation or make appointments with specific teachers. This year, the BSA also operated an eight-week pilot peer mentoring program, Building Bridges, where Blair High School students provided mentoring to Silver Spring International Middle School Level 1 ESOL students two times a week. It also includes a summer program. The BSA provides sports, games and other activities as an incentive to get students to participate in the academic support component.
Currently, the County’s Rec Extra Program offers ten selected middle schools a variety of different recreation and leisure activities in conjunction with the more traditional after school fare. This program provides a venue for youth in the 11-14 age range to experience and learn new activities. It also increases outreach to those students who are not typically involved in activities at their school.
Unique Rec Extra activities enhance the traditional school-sponsored programs by providing programs such as baby sitting instruction, sports including flag football, lacrosse, basketball, and tennis, STEP teams and cartooning. Rec Extra also offers off-site activities both after-school and on weekends including adventure activities such as kayaking, overnight camping trips, rock climbing, white water rafting, and caving.
The proposal would expand the Rec Extra program, currently at 10 schools, to all 38 middle schools, and to expand it from three days to four days per week, at a cost, including transportation, of $1,127,030.
“Last year, the Council funded the Blair Sports Academy (BSA) to provide a safe, healthy and fun environment for students at the high school,” noted Councilmember Perez. “The BSA operates four days a week, 40 weeks per year, and has over 600 registered students, with approximately 100 attending on a regular basis.”
This year, the Council also received grant applications for after-school programs from the George B. Thomas Learning Academy and the YMCA. The goal of the proposal is to coordinate the government, private-nonprofit and community programs at the high school level by piloting three separate models at five high schools.
“Our non-profit partners, such as the George B. Thomas Learning Center, can make important contributions to this expansion,” said Councilmember Subin, who heads the Council’s Education Committee.
The Councilmembers’ proposal would support funding for three models including the BSA model, a public/private partnership model and a private nonprofit provider model:
• After-school programs at Blair and Wheaton High Schools based on the current Recreation Department model for the BSA. The BSA is already included in the County Executive’s FY07 recommended operating budget at $318,220. The cost to add Wheaton would be an additional $295,320.
• After-school programs at Springbrook and Paint Branch High Schools based on a collaborative model, using George B. Thomas for academic support and the Recreation Department for the sports/games/recreation component.
Recreation Department Cost $ 266,470 per site
George B. Thomas Academy Cost $ 79,239 per site
Total per site $ 345,709
• An after-school program at Einstein High School based on the YMCA model at $345,709.
“If we are serious about combating the activity of gangs in the County, we’ve got to provide much more in the way of after school activities at schools such as Einstein,” said Councilmember Perez. “This initiative would do just that.”
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Release ID: 06-052