NPR has addressed the US Department of Education many times on comment on which federal subsidies are offered for redundancies and justification behind the efforts to shrink the federal role in schools. The officials did not answer there.
In a more up -to -date statement, Education Secretary Linda McMahon writes“President Trump’s proposed budget puts students and parents over bureaucracy … We need to change the course and reorient taxpayers dollars to proven programs that generate results for American students.”
Dawn Fickett, director of Reach at MSAD 54, says the loss of programs after school will be a blow to students in the Skowhegan area, where the program led to impressive academic and other profits. “Having room for our youth to go to be engaged, to ignite joy and to learn is a great way to keep the children from our streets and out of trouble,” she says.
Hedy Chang, who founded attendance, a national non -profit purpose that seeks to fight chronic absences in schools, says studies have long show that after school programs can also improve students’ attendance during the school day.
“Post -school programs can connect children to the necessary resources such as food, nutrition,” she says. “And make sure they are related to something that engages them, makes them excited about learning.”
In Maine, the schools are also facing Other threats to federal fundingand soon I will see Mental Health School Services limited by federal cuts. Low-income and rustic spots such as MSAD54, which rely more on federal means, would be particularly heavy.
“I almost can’t imagine our school neighborhood without a stable program after school,” says Ficket. “I could see that this really hinders the progress of our community if we did not have safe and supportive places for our young people, and places that help to support their academic success.”
Exposure to new scents and experience
The Cooking Club in the MSAD 54 school program is one of the many students to enrich students, but it remains the most popular.
Brenda Madden, a retired chef who has been running the club for four years, has been running a table for the presentation and decor of the table. The idea behind the class is to introduce students to kitchens from different cultures, the culmination of the annual food festival, which the students host the wider school community.
“Magic is happening in the kitchen,” Madden says. By introducing new scents, kitchens and skills of her students, she says, “It takes away the fear of creating magic.”
Seventh -grader Dylan Kirk, who is busy with calculating croissants with melted chocolate and dried apricots, says he never thought of combining these scents to this lesson. “Miss Brenda told me to prepare it, so I tried best,” he says as he presented the dish of the class.
Other students say that the paprika, the stuffed zucchini and the Men-chocolate shakes Shamrock are among the aromas and dishes that have never tried to Madden’s class.
“At the beginning of their culinary experiences, they would say,” I want chicken natives and fried potatoes for dinner, “says Ficket. “After a year of cooking, they will be able to tell you that they would like to break panins with different cheeses, meat or vegetables; or make brownies with rosemary or mint.”
Along with meetings with new foods, Madden says her class is an opportunity to get acquainted with nutrition. “I tell these children when you receive groceries with your people, instead of buying a bag of chips, which is two to three dollars, look at a fruit that you have never tried before.”
Madden says there is another additional draw for students at the cooking club: “The kids are hungry. They know they will have something to eat here,” says Shess.
This hunger is combined with the satisfaction that they They created the dishes they enjoy. “We are always testing our own product,” says the sixth -grader Molly Fitzpatrick.
Meeting with academic purposes while having fun
Before students reach different clubs, they have their noses in books and worksheets – this is a dedicated 30 minutes to finish homework after school.
“In high school,” says Fawcene, “Teachers say they see a 90% increase in homework with their children who visit our program.”
Part of what her program has been successful is to cooperate with teachers on the school day to create continuity in the program after school, she explains.
At the level of elementary school Fickett and other employees give additional support to the youngest students in order to close academic gaps early.
Last year, she said: “In our kindergarten up to 2nd grade after school after school, 37 of our 38 (low-performance) students showed improvement in literacy.” She saw similar profits for students from the above elements.
Chang of the attendees, says this kind of cooperation can lead to a major change. “Students can gain access to additional resources and support, learn an academic concept, or have a different, more practical approach to learning,” she says.
All clubs in the after -school program include academic purposes. In fact, this is one of the requirements of the federal 21 CCLC grants.
In Madden’s Cooking Club, for example, students practice math by adding, removing and multiplying for recipes. They meet scientific goals, such as monitoring chemical reactions between ingredients. This is almost like learning has entered the fun.
At the same time, after school programs also help to develop students’ abilities to work together, building basic non -academic skills.
“What Brenda is doing really well is to find out from the beginning how we work best together as a group, how we communicate, how we solve problems,” says Ficket. “And it really just enhances these social, relational skills that our youth absolutely needs.”
A school attendance is also a requirement to attend the program after school. The sixth -grader asks Fitzpatrick that it is a smart system, “because I will be excited to go to school on Monday because I do not want to miss cooking.”
Free, basic service for parents also
The mother of seventh -grader Dylan Kirk, Cynthia Kirk, raises him after finishing her work day as a Skowhegan waste management management. “We work full -time. Sometimes I worked with many jobs, and my husband,” she says.
Dylan was a great benefit to participate in Reach – something he did since the program started in 2019.
“He actually experiences many different things that he probably couldn’t usually do without school,” Cynthia says.
She describes her son as a “practical child” who learns concepts better by practicing them in a tangible way, not abstract, in the classroom. After school activities allowed him to do just that.
“I just like building things,” says Dylan, whose favorite club after school is robotics, although Cooking Club is a second second.
“He will go home with recipes and say,” Mom, can we do this? Can we try this? It was really good, “says Cynthia.
Now Cynthia says she is worried: “When it comes to children, this should be the last on the list of things to be cut. So many children need these programs. They need a place to go after school. Child care is very limited to families after a certain age.”
Dawn Fickett says she has already worked to receive funding from local companies and other donors to find ways to keep the program after school.
According to her, the life of the child not only ends when the bell of the dismissal rings at school. “In this area, we do not look at the school and after the school as separate … We are a vital part of the children’s school day.”
