Blytheville schools seeing success with after-school program

The Blytheville elementary schools are seeing some notable success from their after-school program.

Blytheville Primary School and Central Elementary, partnering with Tenaris, are in their second year of the widely successful Academic Excellence After-School Program that is designed to aid kids who need help with reading or math, as well as providing kids not needing intervention some enrichment classes.

The program began in 2010, when Tenaris approached the school with the desire to get involved and help students.

"Tenaris believes education is important and invests in programs in communities where we operate around the world," said Hernán Brondino, operations director for TenarisHickman. "The Academic Excellence After-School Program is the first in the U.S. We are proud to continue our partnership with Blytheville Public Schools as we expand the program to Central Elementary School."

The program's development was based on identified gaps in student performance and an observed need in the community for kids to have a safe outlet during after-school hours.

The school worked with Learning Points Associates, out of Chicago, to develop a curriculum that would meet the needs of each individual student.

"Across the district there are programs for kids who are not meeting academic requirements," said Mindy Simpson, AEAP director. "We really wanted it to be something that whether you were on grade level or above, or if you were below grade level, we were offering something for you."

The program, which started with the Primary School and has now expanded to Central, offers targeted literacy and math interventions, or specialized help, to students who were in need. The interventions are broken up into small groups, often seeing a 5:1 student-to-teacher ratio, taught by a certified staff member.

While the AEAP offers interventions to students in need, it also offers math and book clubs to students not in need of intervention. These clubs give students a chance to explore curriculum that is beyond the skills that they already know. Students are given the opportunity to take part in extension activities that last over a period of time and are designed to offer a meaningful experience.

All of the students, regardless of what level they are on, are able to take part in enrichment classes. These classes are designed to give the students a more rounded learning experience, and can be compared to elective classes one might take in college. For example, some of the enrichment classes offered this past summer were "Planets," "So You Want to Own a Business," "How Rude" (a class about manners) and "Our Community."

The entire afternoon, which starts at 3 p.m. and goes until 5:30 p.m., is not completely taken up with traditional academic activities.

"Of coarse we all know, from being in school, that you don't go and try to immediately try to start working with a kid. They need some down time," said Simpson.

Students are given the choice to participate in one of three offered groups. In each of the groups the kids are given a snack. Then they are given the choice to spend time talking with their friends, having some "playtime" to run around and burn off some energy or simply take a nap before starting on their lessons.

One of the keys to the success of the students in the program is the students being there and the parents not having to worry about transportation, according to Simpson. The school makes sure that any child wanting to be involved is not kept from doing so because of lack of transportation. From the start of the program in September of 2010 to the completion of the summer portion of the program in May, the average attendance rate was 73.8 percent.

In a survey given out to parents. more than 93 percent reported being extremely or moderately satisfied with the program, with many expressing that their kids are very happy in the program.

Students were also given a survey to take. Forty students were surveyed, 95 percent of them responded positively to questions asked about the program. When asked what their favorite part of the program was, the most common responses were "going to enrichment class" and "being with my teacher everyday."

Eighty-eight students were tracked from the beginning to the end of the end of the 2010-2011 school year. Ninety-six percent of the students made gains on their NWEA literacy tests, which have been proven to correlate with the state testing.

During the three-week summer program, 60 percent of the students made notable gains, and two students made 11-point gains on their NWEA. The NWEA testing scale considers a 10-point gain to be an entire grade level gain. This means that in three weeks, two students made gains usually seen from an entire school year.

Simpson said that with the success seen, plans are being made to ensure the sustainability of the program, and she thanked Tenaris for their support in making it happen.

The program runs Monday-Thursday from 3-5:30 p.m. at the Primary School and Central Elementary. For more information, contact Mindy Simpson at 870-763-4485.

cpinkard@blythevillecourier.com