When the Lompoc Unified School District kicked off the new school year, it began an experiment to broaden access to after-school programs for its elementary school students.
The district beefed up options with the Boys & Girls Club in Lompoc at La Honda STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, math) Academy. It now has 60 students, with another 160 on a waiting list.
Unlike ASES—After School Education & Safety Program—students aren’t required to attend a certain number of program hours to participate.
Bree Valla, assistant superintendent of the Lompoc school district, emphasized the importance of after-school programs. Although the needs of the students aren’t always the same, she said that after-school programs can offer educators more opportunity to spot issues like learning disabilities. They can help students of all socioeconomic backgrounds from falling behind in school.
The problem, she said, is finding enough resources for everyone who wants or needs the program. That’s why the district started the pilot at La Honda.
“We’re rolling it out there to see if it works and if it’s feasible to roll it out to other campuses,” Valla said.
There are contrasts between in-district after-school programs and collaborations with outside nonprofits. For instance, ASES requires students to attend a certain number of hours as a requirement for state grant funding, while parents sometimes foot the bill in partnerships with groups like the Boys & Girls Club or YMCA. While funding sources and the needs of each student may not be the same, after-school programs can expose students to academic skills they may not be learning during the regular school day.
Educators such as Rob Bergan, the director of expanded learning for the Santa Maria-Bonita School District, say the value of after-school programs is long established. A 2017 report from the RAND Corporation, a nonprofit public policy think tank, agrees.
In the report, it says programs outside of regular school hours have “measurable” effects on student academic performance. The report references success in reading and math programs initiated for struggling students. And struggling students can be more widely represented in poor and disadvantaged socio-economic circles.
The struggle to find adequate resources to serve students in need is similar for ASES programs in the Santa Maria-Bonita district, where each school site has at least some students on a waitlist. Bergan said school programs are about giving students more opportunity to be around people who can help. For instance, he said families in Santa Maria-Bonita often grapple with language barriers, which can be prohibitive when it comes to homework time. After-school programs can step in and help with that.
“The parents are struggling with what the kids get assigned for homework. The parents aren’t proficient in English and they need help,” he said. “They want the best for their kids.”
After-school programs, particularly ASES, are about building relationships in the community as a way to monitor what students are going through, Bergman said. The work done outside of the school day can often be a way to prevent students from dropping further behind. And those students most at risk, according to RAND, tend to be low-income.
“Only 70 percent of students from low-income families graduate from high school, compared with 85 percent of their more affluent peers, and only 10 percent of individuals from the lowest-income quartile families have a bachelor’s degree by age 25, compared with 77 percent of individuals from families in the highest income quartile,” the report states.
ASES programs require annual applications, Bergan said, and funding doesn’t always precisely line up with district needs. He said his district includes many poor families, and he’s observed that pride sometimes prevents families from filling out forms that would boost funding levels.
But the district has seen improvements in funding. Bergan said ASES money has jumped by more than a dollar per child in the past two years to $8.75, and it has a budget of $2.2 million.
The program’s main objectives are physical activity and tutoring. Bergan said that students in ASES often need more than just a place to hang out and learn.
“For some of them, it’s also just about getting food because some of these families are struggling,” Bergan said, adding that those struggles can follow students into the classroom. “Thirty percent more exposure to education will help them academically.”
Funding in the district covers dinner for students in ASES programs, with some even receiving food for breakfast, too.
Poverty is common in the district, Bergan said. This problem is reflected in data compiled by the Santa Barbara County Department of Social Services: 7,675 kids lived below the poverty level in information gathered between 2010 and 2014 in North County.
“North County has the most children, and North County has the most poverty,” said Barbara Finch, the children and adult networks director for Santa Barbara County Social Services. “But families well above the poverty line can struggle.”
The difficulty for educators is matching student need with the correct program. Or finding enough grant money for all the families who want it. Most of Santa Maria-Bonita’s schools serve about 100 students through after-school programs, but there are more who are still on waiting lists.
Programs offered by various partners, like YMCA or Boys & Girls Club affiliates, can help fill in some of the gaps, said Wendy Bruse from the Lucia Mar Unified School District.
“I think the partner agencies we have now are meeting our needs,” said Bruse, who coordinates of Lucia Mar’s after-school programs. “The YMCA has its own curriculum that supports what we’re doing during the day with 21st century skills.”
Staff Writer William D’Urso can be reached at wdurso@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Aug 29 – Sep 5, 2019.