Students at McHarg and Belle Heth elementary schools, as well as Dalton Intermediate have the opportunity to attend a free afterschool program that helps students with homework as well as providing activities that help grow interpersonal skills.
Site Coordinator Mary Pannier said that all students from the three schools are welcome and that applications can be picked up in the front offices of each school.
The program is located at the schools and lasts for 2.5 hours Monday through Thursday.
Volunteers, oftentimes teachers, work with the children as well as those with a background in childcare. Kids are also sent home with food for the weekend on Thursday evenings. Pannier stressed that all students are welcome, and encouraged to attend.
The program helps students meet state and local standards in core academic subjects, such as reading and mathematics, it offers students enrichment activities that complement regular academic programs,” according to the 21st Century Schools grant application page.
A whole-family approach to literacy and economic development, the program offers literacy and other educational services to the families of participating children. The program was created under the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 and continues under the Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015 supporting “the creation of community learning centers that provide academic enrichment opportunities during non-school hours for children.”
Beans and Rice, Inc. is a community economic development organization that works to improve the economic well-being of families through hunger relief; afterschool programs, which raise academic achievement and develop pro-social skills as well as micro-business development programs that create jobs; and savings programs that help families purchase their first home and help children save funds for school.
Contact Pam Whitesell, at (540) 980-4111, for information about enrolling in the after school programs or stop by school offices for enrolment forms.
