MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – For the second year in a row, the Lake Area Rotary Club Association, or LARCA, has donated the necessary funds to support the expanded after school program at Minnie Cannon Elementary School in Middletown for the 2016-17 school year.
After the 2015 fires that ravaged Cobb and Middletown, many students were stranded after school waiting for their working parents to pick them up.
Although there was an after school program in place it was limited to 29 students.
The students who were on the waiting list to participate in the program wandered the school grounds even as darkness approached, at times pressing their faces to the windows to watch the students enrolled in the after school program enjoying activities and eating a hot meal.
The site supervisor appealed to the State Department of Education for additional funding to bring these children inside, but the appeal was rejected.
Upon learning of the plight of these students, all of whom had been displaced by the fires, Lake County Superintendent of Schools Brock Falkenberg determined to find the funding, and find it fast.
Falkenberg approached LARCA, knowing that they administered a Fire Relief Fund, and the association unanimously agreed to fund the expansion of the after school program to provide for the 31 students on the waiting list.
This year, LARCA has agreed to continue funding the cost of additional students in the program, as the importance of this program in the lives of the students and their parents has remained constant.
The program, known as the After School Education and Safety Program (ASES), provides students with a safe and supportive place to spend time after school from the end of the school day until 6 p.m. every day that school is in session.
During that three and a half to four hours, the students receive assistance with homework, engage in supplemental learning activities, enjoy play time and a hot and healthy meal.
With the generous donation from LARCA, the Lake County Office of Education is able to provide a supportive and safe place for 60 students to go after school in the 2016-17 school year.
For more information about the ASES after school program contact Cindy Adams at 707-263-4563, Extension 210.
For more information about the LARCA Fire Relief Fund visit www.larca5130.org .
Rotary funding supports after school program
- Lake County News reports
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