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Catoosa County: Grant helps students stay for after-school programs

By: Chloé Morrison
(Contact)

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Lamar Brown

Two Catoosa County middle schools will receive $350,000 in federal grant money each year for the next three years to enhance after-school programs.

It’s a timely award, especially with school systems around the state being asked to slash their budgets, officials said.

“It is going to be a blessing,” Steve McClure, Lakeview Middle School principal, said.

At the Catoosa school board’s last planning session, members said they were excited about the grant from 21st Century Community Learning Centers, awarded through the Georgia Department of Education.

The 21st Century grant will enhance after-school programs at Lakeview and Ringgold middle schools, officials said. Until now, after-hours tutoring and other extra-curricular programs were limited to eighth- graders, Mr. McClure said.

“Also, we were not able to run that program as long as we wanted to,” he said. “We would have had a similar situation this year because our budget is so tight.”

Georgia’s projected $1.6 billion budget shortfall led Gov. Sonny Perdue to call last month for a 2 percent reduction in K-12 education spending. Other agencies were asked to plan for cuts between 6 and 10 percent, and the revenue picture is not brightening.

Dr. Lamar Brown, principal of Ringgold Middle School, said the grant will benefit students, parents and the community. Students will have access to after-school tutoring in math and reading, and extra-curricular lessons, such as karate, art or music, Dr. Brown said. New technological instructional tools will also be purchased for the program, he said.

Volunteers from area businesses, from T.C. Thompson Children’s Hospital to Home Depot, have volunteered to provide classes for parents.

Alison Clark, president of the Ringgold Middle School Parent-Teacher Organization, said she thinks parents will be excited to let their children stay after school and take classes themselves.

“Some things we might try could be for parents who might want to learn CPR,” she said.

From home improvement sessions to financial classes, the grant will provide parents access to extra skills, which Ms. Clark said will be beneficial, especially to single or young parents.

“Some people are afraid to ask for help,” she said. “This will be in a group setting,” which could be less intimidating.

The businesses involved should also benefit, officials said.

“It is a win-win for our students and parents and also a win for the business community,” Mr. McClure said. “It will bring in some business from our parents to their businesses.”

Covenant College students are eager to volunteer, Jen Allen, spokeswoman, said.

“They will be providing after-school tutoring, which will benefit the middle school students and also be great practical experience for some of the students in our education program,” she said.

The grant is only available to Title 1 schools, which are identified by the percentage of students they have on free or reduced price lunch programs, officials said.

Transportation and snacks will be provided for the students who stay after school, and about three new faculty will be hired with the grant funds, officials said.

“Parents are looking, a lot of times, for somebody to watch their kids,” Dr. Brown said. “We now understand as educators that all students don’t learn at the same time, same speed. They may need extended time to learn. The recreational-type activity — different sports, fine arts — is something they can use down the road and helps develop a total student.”

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