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May 14, 2008 Cool After School Ends 2007-2008 School Year
Cool After School, the academic after-school program at Kids 4 Christ, finishes the school year on Friday May 16th. During the last nine months students have participated in group-projects, learned about a variety of fun subjects through thematic teaching, used computers, and received one-on-one assistance from volunteer tutors.
During one recent week students learned about chocolate, using that umbrella topic to improve their academics. Counting chocolate, reading and writing about chocolate, learning how chocolate is made, and tasting chocolate wrapped basic teaching of reading, math, and science in with a fun and approachable topic. The thematic instruction was supplemented with educational centers, tutoring, and homework assistance.
This unique approach to academic assistance helped the 21 participating students improve both their reading and math scores by an average of 13 percent. According to Kids 4 Christ administrator Gail Marks, Cool After School incorporates science, geography, and other subjects into its teaching but the program's focus is on improving core subjects of math and reading.
"All other subjects depend on being able to master those two vital areas, so those are what we work the hardest on during the school year" Marks said. "We tested the kids on those topics in September, November, and April, and during that time saw them get an average of six- and nine-percent closer to their appropriate grade level for reading and math, respectively. But we have several students who raised their individual scores by thirty, forty, even fifty percent in less than nine months."
Marks also noted that Cool After School is about more than just improving grades, it also serves as a place to build student confidence and improve their attitudes towards schoolwork.
"We had one little girl who had never gotten a single word right on her spelling tests until we gave her some one-on-one tutoring. She finally got a 100 on a test and was incredibly excited about her schoolwork for the first time. That one score didn't change her report card grades but it did wonders for her attitude towards homework for the rest of the school year. Just helping that one child is worth it, because it makes her more likely to finish school, more likely to go to college, and more likely to become a successful adult."
Cool After School is provided free of charge five days a week to Walker County students in 1st-5th grades. To make that possible Kids 4 Christ applied for and was awarded grant funding from the Georgia Department of Education's 21st Century Community Learning Centers initiative. But after two complete years of grant support the CCLC funding may be coming to an end.
Marks said, "We needed some outside funding to set the program up to operate all week long and the CCLC grant has helped us immensely over the last two years. But now there has been some controversy in Atlanta about the way the grants were being handed out and administered. The state has apparently decided to reconfigure its CCLC initiative and may stop funding all of the after school programs this fall. So far we don't really know what they're planning to do because nobody has communicated with us yet."
But the county's only academic after school program will go on regardless. "The uncertainty about funding led us to cancel the summer after school program, which is unfortunate. But regardless of what the state ultimately decides to do, we will offer a free academic program to struggling students in the fall. We feel confident that the local citizenry will rally around this organization to provide the financial support and volunteer help it needs to continue Cool After School past the end of the current school year."
For more information about Cool after School or Kids 4 Christ call (706) 639 3234 or see the Kids 4 Christ Web site at www.k4c.info. Kids 4 Christ is an independent 501(c)3 nonprofit or-ganization serving children in the LaFayette area. K4C offers weekly Bible classes, a daily after-school academic program, and mentoring activities.
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