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 After-school programs fight for funding By Rhonda Miller, Post-Gazette Staff Writer Angela Williams isn't sure what her two children are going to do after school this fall. The after-school program they attended last year, the Year Round Children's Program, is in jeopardy because of funding uncertainties. Williams knows the problem from both sides. She's a parent and the director of the children's program, which is the after-school program for Allegheny Dwellings, a public housing community in North Side. "There won't be any program and we won't have the 5 o'clock dinner that we had last year until the funding comes through," Williams said. The Year Round Children's Program began last year and operated during after-school hours and on Saturdays for about 100 children. It is jointly funded by the Pittsburgh Foundation, Allegheny County Department of Human Services, Office of Children, Youth and Families, and the city and county housing authorities. Because the deadline for 1998-99 grant proposals passed only yesterday, the after-school program can't even begin for weeks. And that's only if funding is approved. "We haven't even thought about what to do if we don't get the grant. We're just praying that we do," Williams said. The Allegheny Dwellings after-school program is one of many around Pittsburgh struggling to stay afloat. True, the nation has been more aware of the importance of providing safe and enriching after-school programs for children - especially those from poor or single-parent families - since President Bill Clinton awarded $40 million in June to help pay for "21st Century Community Learning Centers." Ninety-nine grants were awarded for these after-school programs at 321 city and rural schools around the country. But Pennsylvania didn't get any of these grants, though applications came from schools in Wilkinsburg, Erie and Greensburg, as well as from Somerset, Mercer, and Washington counties. Exactly why no area program received a grant is unclear. But Carol Chelemer, a U.S. Department of Education official who works with the grant program, said the application process is time-consuming and may be daunting and difficult for some groups. The only proposal from Pittsburgh - submitted by Gladstone Middle School in Hazelwood - came within striking distance. "The Pittsburgh application was the highest rated one of the 43 from Pennsylvania," said Robert Stonehill, director of the state and local services division of the U.S. Department of Education. Others came from across the state, including Philadelphia and Scranton. Gladstone's was ranked 156 out of more than 2,000 applications, said Stonehill. "We were devastated when we didn't get it," said Monica Galore, Communities In Schools Coordinator for Gladstone, which serves 365 students in grades 6-8 from Hazelwood, Homewood, Greenfield and South Oakland. "We need more things for the children to do after school. We're desperate. There's not much for the kids to do, especially right after school," Galore said. Community involvement is a key, as is an array of academic and social services. "These grants are not for baby-sitting or child care," said Stonehill. "They are bonafide centers for extended learning, where children have advantages like academic enrichment and mentors and where they also eat, play ball and talk. Parents and community members are involved." More grants, funded by the Department of Education and major foundations, will be available for the next school year, he said. In the meantime, Pittsburgh's Citiparks program will offer recreational athletics and classes at Gladstone from 5-9 p.m., Monday through Thursday this fall, as it has done for the past three years. But those late hours pose a problem for some. "Many parents don't let their children participate in the evening program because they are concerned about the safety of walking home at 9 p.m.," said Galore. "Many of our parents don't have cars." If Gladstone were awarded a 21st Century Learning Center grant, they could have paid for transportation for children, as well as for adult programs. Children could have stayed after school because the grant would have helped pay for activities from 3 to 9 p.m. The proposal included academic and social enrichment programs, recreation, and social workers who could help families connect to services. Dinner was also included. Citiparks does not offer programs in the 3-5 p.m. time slot because most schools already have some type of after-school program and wanted later scheduling, said Joey-Linn Ulrich, program coordinator for Citiparks. But Gladstone has no week-long after-school program, only a few after-school activities run by community groups. For example, YWCA offers its "Flames" mentor program for girls at Gladstone; the Leaders in Training for Tomorrow program is also held for girls. Both are held once a week. "We want to make Gladstone a hub of hope," said principal Valerie Harris. "We want something big to happen here. The middle school children need the extended day. It's a difficult time. They need bonding and empowering activities." Galore, one of the three members of the grant-writing team, and other school officials, said the school expects to resubmit its 21st Century Learning Center proposal for next year. But for this year, concern about students' after-school activities is growing as school opening day approaches. Students in the Sheldon Park public housing community in Natrona Heights are in the same situation as those in Allegheny Dwellings. Sheldon Park also received funding last year for the Year Round Children's Program, and it included after-school and Saturday components. About 200 children from two of the four elementary schools in the Highlands school district were served. Students were met at buses from Heights Elementary and Grandview Elementary and walked to the Sheldon Park community center. A major part of that program was a community garden - used as a metaphor for responsibility, nurturing and growth - that was a focal point of activity and learning throughout the seasons. The program brought in teen mentors from the community and volunteers from Highlands High School. "The school told us they saw a decrease in absenteeism and an increase in the homework handed in from the kids involved in the program," said Jan Kahler, grant coordinator for the Sheldon Park resident council. As Sheldon Park families also await grant decisions, "we'll probably have the kids come over here to the community building and play or do their homework," said Kahler. "It's a safe place where they can come after school and that's very important." Another city after-school project, Open Doors for Kids, got a $15,000 grant from the Bell Atlantic Foundation that will be used for after-school centers for young people in grades 5-8 this fall. A decision on the grant applications will be made by the end of September, said Darlene Brown, program coordinator for Open Doors, which is run by the Pittsburgh Council on Public Education. The six-year-old Open Doors project has operated about 800 programs in churches and community centers on the North Side, South Side, West End, East End, the Hill District and Homewood-Brushton. The Pittsburgh Council on Public Education last year also began Youth Places, a program for students ages 12-18, and it will expand this year. The program is funded by private grants. Youth Places have activities that include tutoring, computer labs, and driver education. They're located in Allequippa Terrace, Manchester and Hazelwood. "We need more places for kids to go," said Brown. "A lot of kids go home to empty houses or to a neighbor's house. A lot of them are just bored." Brown added: "For both girls and boys, we've found that if you have something interesting, they will come." A few after-school facts and figures Here are some facts and figures about the after-school programs and student population from the National Institute on Out-of-School Time and the U.S. Department of Education.
Next: Big money rides on the enrollment guessing game
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American children spend less than 20
percent of their waking hours in school - about one hour for every five hours awake.