HODGDON, Maine — Two local school districts are benefiting from a 21st Century grant to create and enhance after-school programs for students.
Last month, Gov. Paul LePage announced that the Maine Department of Education was giving out $11.4 million over the next five years to support extended learning opportunities for at-risk students. RSU 29 and SAD 70 were both included on the list of 15 grant winners.
Maine Family Resource Center will receive $1.4 million over the five-year award period to provide hands-on, engaging and relevant extended day and summer programming at Houlton Southside School, Hodgdon High School and Mill Pond School through the establishment and continuation of 21st Century Community Learning Centers.
According to a press release from the Maine DOE, “community learning centers provide academic support and enrichment opportunities outside of school hours that improve the in-school performance of at-risk students — including those who struggle academically or are from low-income or immigrant families.”
The learning centers are run by school districts, non-profit organizations or universities focusing primarily on schools where more than 40 percent of students qualify for free or reduced lunches.
At Mill Pond School, 70 percent of the students qualify for free/reduced lunch, while 60 percent do at Hodgdon High School and 59 percent at Southside School.
“Quality educational opportunities like these can truly make a difference in a child’s life,” said Gov. LePage. “These programs will ensure Maine’s most struggling students have access to the extra help they need to overcome their challenges, catch up to their peers and really have the chance they deserve to reach their full potential.”
Houlton Southside School received $150,000 while Mill Pond School was awarded $100,000 and Hodgdon High School received $77,000 for their first three years, then 75 percent in the fourth year and 65 percent in the final year.
Grantees were selected by the Maine DOE through a competitive process. With the state’s support, the Maine Family Resource Center may annually provide services to about 90 eligible Hodgdon High School students, 107 Mill Pond elementary students and 114 Southside School students. The students will receive more than 10 additional hours of learning each week during the school year, plus five weeks of summer programming.
For RSU 29, the grant announcement comes at a perfect time.
“We are very excited and thankful for this grant,” RSU 29 Superintendent Mike Hammer said. “We had taken out $15,000 in our budget due to receiving these federal funds. We also believe that the grant will expand the enrichment opportunities for our struggling students and allow us to serve a larger number of students.”
In SAD 70, the grants will allow the district to carry on its popular program for youngsters and expand to the high school.
“The Mill Pond School has been a participant in the 21st Century Community Learning Center Grant for over 14 years and it has been a vital part of our school program,” said SAD 70 Superintendent Scott Richardson. “The program offers academic enrichment programming for all students but the emphasis is on attendance of low-performing students who need an extra boost to achieve Common Core/Learning Results standards as set by the state of Maine. The program provides hands-on, engaging, relevant activities that will motivate students to attend and engage in the learning process.”
It is the first time, however, that Hodgdon High School has been a recipient of a 21st Century Grant, Richardson added.
“We will be able to offer more extensive support to all of our students K-12 who need this type of focused enrichment,” he said. “The monies that are provided through the federal and state government are a great boost to our local resources, which are limited by the economic realities of our region. It makes sense that small, rural schools like ours would be able to access these monies and provide quality after-school programs to students.
“We are very grateful for the leadership of the Maine Family Resource Center in Danforth who are the grant writers and administrators who have made all of this possible in our region,” he added. “They do a great job of writing grants that meet expectations of the program. This year they have partnered with many organizations in our area to provide enrichment activities such as outdoor education.”
Richardson said he encourages parents and students at SAD 70 to get involved with the 21st Century Program as it will not only help them academically, but also will help them to develop new skills that will assist them as they go forward in their life after graduation.
Karen Sattler will continue to be the coordinator at Mill Pond School, while Jessica Stubbs has been chosen as the coordinator at Hodgdon High School. RSU 29 has yet to select its coordinator.
