School Looks To Expand Services

— An in-house after-school program may be in place next year at the Benton County School of the Arts.

The Northwest Arkansas Mercy Family YMCA runs an after-school program using the gymnasium at the kindergarten through eighth-grade campus. An after-school program operated by Central United Methodist Church ended in December.

Superintendent Paul Hines said the board authorized school officials to proceed with an application to the Department of Human Services because of the amount of time it takes to get licensing and credentials for an after-school program.

A parent survey will be distributed in late spring, Hines said.

“If the interest is there, we will offer it,” he said.

Any school-based after-school program operating more than 20 hours a week is required to be licensed by the Department of Human Services, said Amy Webb, spokeswoman. School personnel must attend pre-application training, submit an application, have a successful site visit and get approval of local zoning, health and fire organizations. Because the program would be at a school, the process should be relatively simple, Webb said.

Although the charter school’s board voted Feb. 5 to look into the possibility of an after-school program, a determination will be based on parent interest and cost, among other factors, said Wes Abbott, School Board president.

An increased emphasis on tutoring is the vision for a school-directed program, said Julia Rice, principal at the school’s kindergarten through eighth-grade campus. There would be activities too, she said.

“It’s not gonna be like school,” she said.

The school doesn’t have bus service for its more than 500 students. Parents are responsible for their children’s transportation.

“We do have a lot of parents who work 8 to 5. They can drop off, but they can’t pick up,” Rice said.

Several groups run van service to the campus including the Boys & Girls Club and taekwondo and ballet studios, Rice said.

The Central United Methodist Church program was discontinued because of lack of participation, said Jennifer Singh, assistant director for the Central Child Care Center. Parents of the 23 children in the program were given three months notice to make other arrangements before the program ended at winter break, Singh said. Children had a snack, quiet time, group activities and a chance to play outside. The Central program cost $55 a week per child and shared the gymnasium with the YMCA program.

The Central program had 40, even 50 children, in previous years. Enrollment dropped when the school discontinued shared use of the facility during intercession because of teacher training and other activities, Singh said. Hosting children at the church during break isn’t feasible.

“This church is huge, but the space is all used,” Singh said.

The YMCA program started as an after-school club three years ago, said Ashley Herrington, youth and family director at the Northwest Arkansas Mercy Family YMCA. The YMCA does not have the funds to bus children to outside locations, so an on-site program is a good fit, Herrington said. The program runs Monday though Friday and, during intercession, the YMCA hosts a School Day Out program for children in the after-school program.

The YMCA program costs $50 a week per child for non-members and $30 a week for members. Some families are on scholarship, Herrington said.

“We’re not making money on any of the programs we run for kids,” Herrington said.

The YMCA’s mission is to keep children health and active, so activities introduce them to basketball, flag football and soccer.

“I feel like a lot of kids don’t know how to play,” Herrington said.

Some children get homework help and others play outside during the program. As a club, attendance ranged from 10 to 20 children each day. Now that YMCA is the only after-school program, there are 38 children enrolled.

Rice said an in-school program could start with 40 children. The charter school program would cost less than $40 a week, Rice said. The school does not plan to offer the YMCA after-school care next year.

“I think with it being a school-based time, I think we’ll probably have more students,” Rice said.

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Benton County School Of The Arts

The Benton County School of the Arts is a arts-focused charter school in Rogers. For more information visit their website at www.bcsa.k12.ar.us.

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