After-School Program Grant in Limbo?But Impact of Need Is Felt by
Entire Mountain Community

Commentary by Patric Hedlund, Managing Editor

Our Christmas issue of The Mountain Enterprise had a joyful headline
[Santa Brings $47,000 to Boys & Girls Club] but, unfortunately, it had to be
modified at the last minute with this question: ?But is the Grinch Close
Behind??

The $47,000 grant to benefit local children was announced on a state website
December 15 but was withdrawn on December 18. What happened? We?and the
state?are still uncertain about whether the grant will be restored [see page 8
for details].

What is certain is that there is a desperate need for after-school programs
for mountain students.

Many parents in our rural villages commute several hours per day to their
jobs, often 100 to 180 miles roundtrip. Those hours on the road mean that many
of our students are latchkey kids without supervision after school. The hours
between 2:00 and 7:00 p.m. are high risk for experimentation with drugs, alcohol
and dangerous behavior.

These children need help with their homework and safe, supervised activities.
They also need mentoring and companionship. Many need tutoring to help with math
and language skills.

The $47,000 ASES award was relatively modest by bigdistrict standards, but it
was jubilantly welcomed as an absolutely vital support to the grassroots Boys &
Girls Club partnership here.

Critical Situation Alert

Could our district?s teachers lose their jobs?

After-school tutoring programs are essential. El Tejon School and Frazier
Mountain High School are lagging under No Child Left Behind (NCLB) standards.
Already, the fourth through eighth grade El Tejon School has fallen into NCLB?s
?Program Improvement? category. By a hair, it failed to reach required test
targets for two years in a row. FMHS didn?t meet its target scores last year
either. If that happens again this year, it will also slip into Program
Improvement status, which is a slippery slope toward state intervention in
school management.

If El Tejon does not make required improvements this year, the next step
under No Child Left Behind guidelines is possible restructuring, which can mean
losing its principal. Then, if targets were still not met by 2008, the
?restructuring? can translate to the school?s staff being dismissed.

These are draconian sanctions, especially for a tiny district which is the
largest single source of jobs on the mountain.

Though no one expects it to happen, merely imagining the chaos that could be
caused if the teachers at El Tejon School and FMHS had to be fired because of
federal guidelines illustrates just one more reason why our entire community has
a stake in the success of our schools.

Clearly, an after school tutoring program is a vital investment. We should
all be hopeful that the state grant will be restored. Some may want to consider
volunteering personal time to provide assistance to tutoring programs.

In addition, digging into our own pockets to support the Boys & Girls Club?s
fundraising efforts will benefit the entire mountain.

This is part of the January 05, 2007 online edition of The Mountain Enterprise.

Have an opinion on this matter? We'd like to hear from you.