Dayton May Lose After-School Program

DAYTON - Dayton School District's after-school program is losing its grant funding at the end of the school year and may be at risk for not being continued by the district because there's no way to fund it, Superintendent Doug Johnson said.

For the past five years, Washington State University has funded Dayton's afterschool program through a 21st Century grant. The grant ends with the last day of school this year, Johnson said. The district wasn't in charge of the finances for the program, but Johnson estimates it cost about $75,000 a year to keep it going.

The program has its own supervisor and paraprofessionals to help district students in kindergarten through sixth grade afterschool. It is especially useful because the elementary school day ends at 2:25 p.m. typically and it provides children a place to go until the buses leave at 3 p.m., he said. The program is run daily from 2:25 to 5 p.m.

About 60 to 70 children attend the after-school program each day.

During the program, the students are provided with an afternoon snack, athletic activities like recess time or softball games, time to complete homework and instructional enrichment activities like math and science experiments.

The grant allowed the WSU supervisor to hire district paraprofessionals like parents or grandparents to come in and help children with homework and teach kids more about science and math.

The WSU staff worked with district staff to plan what to teach and what projects to have the children participate in, Johnson said.

Special events are also offered, including crafting gingerbread houses for display at the Christmas Kick-off, field trips to Warren Orchards and the windmills and end of the year ice skating and field days.

"They're no longer offering additional grants," Johnson said of WSU and the 21st Century Grant. He and the district have looked into other grant opportunities, but the grants available are either too small or require matching funds, which the district does not have.

Mostly, the after-school program is a cost-free daycare program that benefits local families, Johnson said.

The most likely solution at this time is to extend the elementary school day until the buses leave at 3 p.m. like the middle and high schools, he said.

"If we have no way to provide an after-school program we'll have to schedule them until 3 p.m.," Johnson said.

However, this schedule change will have a significant impact on elementary teachers. Johnson said these teachers currently use after-school time to prepare lessons and work with their colleagues and extending the school day would reduce the amount of prep time.

Johnson does not want to dip into district funds to provide the program because the district is already having a hard time funding a regular school day without the additional programs like the after-school program.

When Johnson started his position with the district, the program funded by the WSU grant was already in place. He said he always hoped to continue it, but now with the country and state economies creating tough times for schools, that seems "farther and farther from possibility," he said.

Jennifer Finney, the afterschool program's supervisor, said the program will be missed by many if it can't be continued next year.

"The program offers a safe and supportive learning environment for children whose parents work in the afternoon, as well as many who choose to stay because they enjoy the activities," Finney said.

This coming week, Dayton Elementary School will be distributing a survey to parents concerning possibilities for after school care for next school year.