Hopes of extending a long-running after-school program through the end of the decade received a major boost Monday when USD 257 board members accepted a new 21st Century Community Learning Centers grant worth $585,000 over five years.
The funding will support SAFE BASE, the district’s after-school program directed by Angela Henry, and continue services through 2031.
Henry told board members the grant was one of only 17 approved statewide from a pool of 49 applications.
SAFE BASE currently operates under two separate 21st Century Community Learning Centers grants. The grants had previously been awarded according to elementary school building. One grant served students who attended McKinley and Lincoln elementary schools and was in its fourth year of funding. A second grant, in its fifth and final year, served students at Jefferson Elementary.
With the district now operating from a single elementary facility, Henry said state officials allowed SAFE BASE to continue applying for grants based on the previous building and grade-level groupings.
NOW IN in its 26th year, SAFE BASE is among the longest-running after-school programs in Kansas. As part of the grant application process, the program surveyed families and students to measure its impact and identify areas for improvement.
According to survey results from 42 families, 96% reported SAFE BASE helped them work more hours, maintain employment or attend school. Henry said the feedback also guided proposed changes to the program, including extending operating hours from 5:20 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. and adding peer tutoring opportunities.
One statistic from the application stood out to Henry. Of the 182 students participating in SAFE BASE, 55% were being raised by a single parent, grandparent or foster parent. “I thought that was really quite stunning,” she said.
The grant also will allow SAFE BASE to restore mental health services for participating students.
“We will be able to put mental health back into SAFE BASE, so students can receive free mobile services,” Henry said, noting federal experts consider Allen County in need of more mental health services.
Henry said while she is grateful for the award, she also recognizes the need across the state. “We’re glad to have it, but I wish there was more money that could go around,” she said, noting 32 applications were not funded.
The SAFE BASE summer program is currently in its fourth and final week and has served 140 kindergarten through third-grade students.
Henry also praised the district’s food service efforts, including take-home food bags provided through the summer.
“I think that we really can’t understate how fortunate we are that we have the relationship that we do with the superintendent, the school board, and the city, because I think that truly has set us apart from the other programs,” Henry said.
Board members unanimously accepted the grant.
IN OTHER NEWS, board members approved a new kindergarten transition schedule designed to ease students into all-day school.
