DARKE COUNTY – Despite delayed starts due to Covid concerns, After School Programs in three Darke County school districts are helping students regain lost ground due to school closures in March. Some were struggling prior to the closures; others fell behind following the closures.
Arcanum-Butler Middle School started its Empowering After School Program this fall. According to Program Coordinator Jacie Holman, students have been working hard and showing great progress. Nine students from grades five through eight were given the opportunity to work on math and language arts twice a week in a classroom format After School Program.
“Fifth graders have been focusing on vocabulary, and math through Khan Academy,” Holman said. “Sixth through eighth graders are focusing primarily on math and progress has been tremendous.” A sixth grader has made a “huge turnaround,” she continued, while two others have done an “outstanding job” on their multiplication facts. Some with a history of not turning work in are now turning it in.
“Seventh grade students have been looking at proportions and applying math to the real world!” Growth has been “tremendous,” she added. And an eighth grade student has discovered he actually CAN do math!
Holman is excited about the program and hopes to expand it later in the year.
According to Ansonia Program Coordinator Kathy Swabb, their After School Program has been focusing mostly on younger students regaining lost ground due to the March school closures.
“We have two third graders, who didn’t participate last year, that are really enthusiastic about coming since they get one-on-one (one student to one volunteer) help with their reading and math,” she said. “We also have four first graders who didn’t get to finish Kindergarten. They are working on counting, reading, and writing to get them caught up to where they should be in the school year.”
Ansonia is working with 14 students, grades one through five, all of whom are showing progress working with their Ansonia High School volunteers. This is Ansonia’s second year of providing Empowering After School Program support.
Under the supervision of Greenville Program Coordinator Kay Sloat, 18 Greenville Elementary students, grades 1-3, have been receiving one-on-one help from volunteer Edison State students. One Edison volunteer referred to the program as an “Amazing project.” Volunteers commented on the growth of the students they worked with as well as their own growth, noting almost exclusively that it was a rewarding experience.
While academic growth took place with every student who was able to attend regularly, two second grade students stood out. At the beginning of the program they struggled reading the simplest first grade text. By the time the program wrapped up for the holidays, they were not only reading closer to their level but were able to discuss what they learned from the text.
The Empowering After School concept is simple. Students get an extra hour of focused help two days a week in an academic area in which they are struggling. District teachers and staff lead some programs, while others support Empowering tutors with recommendations and help with lesson plans.
Even with school closings in March, Covid restrictions and delayed starts this fall, 199 students received 1,621 hours of academic help from 55 volunteers on three campuses plus the Greenville Library in 2020. Since 2016, when the organization was formed, Empowering Darke County Youth has provided over 20,000 hours of academic help to 972 students. About a third of that help has come from Edison State and district high school volunteers.
Find out how you can help by going to http://www.empowerdarkecounty.com/, emailing empoweringyouth101@gmail.com, Facebook Empowering Darke County Youth or mailing P.O. Box 1113, Greenville, Ohio 45331.