On Oct. 22, parents in the workforce will have the opportunity to see what their children do after school at the Santa Maria Valley After School Education and Safety (ASES) program’s “Lights On” open house.
Each of the 18 ASES school sites within the Santa Maria-Bonita School District will be opening their doors to the public from 4 to 6 p.m. to display the hard work of their students, as well as some of the fun activities they get to participate in.
According to a press release from the program, the open houses are part of more than 7,500 events occurring around the nation for the 10th annual “Lights On After-school Celebration,” organized by the After-school Alliance.
The event will highlight three of the significant contributions after-school programs make to the Santa Maria Valley community: keeping children safe and healthy, inspiring them to learn, and relieving working parents of worries about their children’s activities during the after-school hours.
Parents, educators, and community members are invited to attend open house events at Adam, Alvin, Arellanes, Battles, Bonita, Bruce, Fairlawn, Liberty, Miller, Oakley, Ontiveros, Rice, Sanchez, and Taylor schools; and Fesler, El Camino, Arellanes, and Tommie Kunst junior high schools.
Founded with state grant funding in 2006, the Santa Maria Valley ASES program now serves more than 1,100 students, and provides homework assistance, mentoring, tutoring, physical fitness activities, and fine arts enrichment. The program is a collaboration between the Boys and Girls Club of the Santa Maria Valley, the Santa Maria Recreation and Parks Department, the Santa Maria Valley YMCA, and the Santa Maria-Bonita School District.
For more information on “Lights On Afterschool” or the ASES program, visit afterschoolalliance.org or contact Patty Schwarzkopf at 361-8218.
This article appears in Oct 22-29, 2009.