Middle School Learning Center

PRIZES OFFERED FOR PARTICIPATION IN AFTERSCHOOL PROGRAM

Published October 19, 2007
by Jeffrey Robb
Omaha World Herald Staff Writer
Classes are over, and school is the last place many middle school students want to be. Yet a new initiative is trying to keep students at school into the late afternoon and early evening, when those kids might want to just go home or hang out with friends. How do you persuade young adolescents to stay at school? How about an iPod for attending often enough? Maybe a gift card to your favorite store? Or a seat on an excellent field trip?

A partnership of local public and nonprofit groups announced Thursday that four Omaha Public Schools middle schools — Marrs, McMillan, Morton and Norris — will offer new after-school programs to serve 400 to 500 kids. Organizers hope the new programs will start to fill a huge need in the community. And they hope the programs will make a difference in the students' lives by offering a structured environment with an academic focus, instead of having the kids go home unsupervised. At the same time, organizers of the "Middle School Learning Center" initiative know it isn't easy keeping middle school students interested and attending after-school programs.

"It's not a captive audience," said Megan Addison, the initiative's co-coordinator. "Yes, they're at school, but they're your client."

That's where the incentives come in.

Once the programs start in January, each of the four sites will have $15,000 to spend, over the course of six or so months, on incentives for participants, Addison said. Students will receive incentive points, she said, if they meet certain conditions, perhaps attending the program every day, raising their grades or having a parent who attends parent-teacher conferences. The iPods, gift cards and field trips are just three possible incentives that could be offered. The incentive budget works out to $120 to $150 per student, on average, at each site. The incentives are a response to the growing independence middle schoolers exercise. At other after-school programs, attendance starts to drop off at fifth grade, Addison said, "They really have the opportunity to make the choice about what they do after school."

The new after-school programs will be funded with $1 million from a federal grant to the City of Omaha and another $1 million donated by Susie Buffett's Sherwood Foundation. Mayor Mike Fahey is driving the initiative. The free programs, which will start this spring, have received the endorsement of the Building Bright Futures initiative. The public-private partnership is trying to lift the achievement of Omaha's poor kids and considers after-school programs a key need. John Cavanaugh, Bright Futures' executive director, said the after-school programs represent the start of implementing the wide range of programs, including new truancy prevention programs and early childhood offerings.

But a sizable task lies ahead. A study by the University of Nebraska at Omaha recently indicated that 11,000 Omaha kids in kindergarten through eighth grade are at home after school without adult supervision. The vast majority of those kids are middle school age. A fundraising effort will be needed to reach those students, Cavanaugh said. But he said he hopes the new programs will demonstrate to the federal government that Omaha deserves additional grants.Organizers consider the new programs to be a pilot that could grow.

"We have a much larger need to meet," Cavanaugh said. Organizers hope the programs will make a difference in the students' lives by offering a structured environment with an academic focus.

"It's grounded in the lessons that were taught in that classroom that day," OPS Superintendent John Mackiel said at a press conference at Norris Middle School.

Organizers said the programs will provide students with a snack or meal, along with a safe place to be. Students also can participate in clubs, sports and community service work.The programs will be open only to students at the four schools, serving between 100 and 125 students at each site. Campfire USA will run the Marrs and Norris programs. The Boys and Girls Club will run the Morton program, and the YMCA will run the McMillan program.The funding will allow the programs to operate for five semesters. The sites will remain open during the summer.

Said Mackiel, "We look forward to grand things happening for young people in the Omaha community."

World-Herald staff writer Karen Sloan contributed to this report.

	Photo Gallery PRIZES OFFERED FOR PARTICIPATION IN AFTERSCHOOL PROGRAM Published October 19, 2007 by Jeffrey Robb Omaha World Herald Staff Writer Classes are over, and school is the last place many middle school students want to be. Yet a new initiative is trying to keep students at school into the late afternoon and early evening, when those kids might want to just go home or hang out with friends. How do you persuade young adolescents to stay at school? How about an iPod for attending often enough? Maybe a gift card to your favorite store? Or a seat on an excellent field trip? A partnership of local public and nonprofit groups announced Thursday that four Omaha Public Schools middle schools — Marrs, McMillan, Morton and Norris — will offer new after-school programs to serve 400 to 500 kids. Organizers hope the new programs will start to fill a huge need in the community. And they hope the programs will make a difference in the students' lives by offering a structured environment with an academic focus, instead of having the kids go home unsupervised. At the same time, organizers of the "Middle School Learning Center" initiative know it isn't easy keeping middle school students interested and attending after-school programs. "It's not a captive audience," said Megan Addison, the initiative's co-coordinator. "Yes, they're at school, but they're your client." That's where the incentives come in. Once the programs start in January, each of the four sites will have $15,000 to spend, over the course of six or so months, on incentives for participants, Addison said. Students will receive incentive points, she said, if they meet certain conditions, perhaps attending the program every day, raising their grades or having a parent who attends parent-teacher conferences. The iPods, gift cards and field trips are just three possible incentives that could be offered. The incentive budget works out to $120 to $150 per student, on average, at each site. The incentives are a response to the growing independence middle schoolers exercise. At other after-school programs, attendance starts to drop off at fifth grade, Addison said, "They really have the opportunity to make the choice about what they do after school." The new after-school programs will be funded with $1 million from a federal grant to the City of Omaha and another $1 million donated by Susie Buffett's Sherwood Foundation. Mayor Mike Fahey is driving the initiative. The free programs, which will start this spring, have received the endorsement of the Building Bright Futures initiative. The public-private partnership is trying to lift the achievement of Omaha's poor kids and considers after-school programs a key need. John Cavanaugh, Bright Futures' executive director, said the after-school programs represent the start of implementing the wide range of programs, including new truancy prevention programs and early childhood offerings. But a sizable task lies ahead. A study by the University of Nebraska at Omaha recently indicated that 11,000 Omaha kids in kindergarten through eighth grade are at home after school without adult supervision. The vast majority of those kids are middle school age. A fundraising effort will be needed to reach those students, Cavanaugh said. But he said he hopes the new programs will demonstrate to the federal government that Omaha deserves additional grants.Organizers consider the new programs to be a pilot that could grow. "We have a much larger need to meet," Cavanaugh said. Organizers hope the programs will make a difference in the students' lives by offering a structured environment with an academic focus. "It's grounded in the lessons that were taught in that classroom that day," OPS Superintendent John Mackiel said at a press conference at Norris Middle School. Organizers said the programs will provide students with a snack or meal, along with a safe place to be. Students also can participate in clubs, sports and community service work.The programs will be open only to students at the four schools, serving between 100 and 125 students at each site. Campfire USA will run the Marrs and Norris programs. The Boys and Girls Club will run the Morton program, and the YMCA will run the McMillan program.The funding will allow the programs to operate for five semesters. The sites will remain open during the summer. Said Mackiel, "We look forward to grand things happening for young people in the Omaha community." World-Herald staff writer Karen Sloan contributed to this report.