Gilroy-The school district will target 400 students who need
extra help in reading and math with homework tutoring, academic
enrichment and recreation with a second year of its
”
After School Program.
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By Lori Stuenkel
Gilroy-The school district will target 400 students who need extra help in reading and math with homework tutoring, academic enrichment and recreation with a second year of its “After School Program.”
Using funds from a $428,000 federal grant, Gilroy Unified School District will partner with the California Student Opportunity and Access Program (Cal-SOAP) – to provide tutoring by Gavilan students – and the YMCA for physical education – to offer the three-hour program at four elementary schools.
“We want students to spend more time with us after school and continue their learning,” said Olivia Schaad, GUSD’s director of curriculum and instruction.
During the After School Program’s first year, students made gains in reading and math. More students in the program saw their scores on the state standards-based reading test jump at least one level: 28 percent, compared to 24 percent of students not in the program.
Schaad said school and district staff want to further study the impact of the program on student achievement.
The district did not see the student performance gains it was hoping for at the middle school level, Schaad said. The After School Program will not be at South Valley Middle School because no teachers were interested in leading it. It will be at Eliot, Glen View, Las Animas and El Roble.
Instead, at South Valley, students may be getting a program through Extreme Learning, an education service that has provided supplemental instruction at Eliot, Glen View, Mt. Madonna High School, Gilroy High School, and a fee-based program at Ascencion Solorsano Middle School.
The After School Program grant and partnership contract, and the Extreme Learning contract were approved by trustees Thursday.
Schaad emphasized the improvement seen in students enrolled in the After School Program and slight growth attributed to Extreme Learning.
The After School Program grant was unanimously approved, but Trustee John Gurich voted against the $43,000 Extreme Learning contract, which the federal grant also covers.
“I’ve been involved with Cal-SOAP for a long time and … I’ve seen the progress,” Gurich said.
Trustees said that they would like to see more feedback about such programs when they come up for approval.
“Tom was asking, ‘Is it worth the price?’ and I think that’s what needs to be asked,” Bob Kraemer said.
