WEST AFTER SCHOOL CENTER
NEWS & OPINION

December 2008

Our mission is to provide opportunities that enrich the educational, social, and cultural experiences of students and families in our community.

620 Garfield Avenue, Lancaster, OH  43130   

 740-653-5678  --  740-653-2402 FAX

14^th ANNUAL GIFT OF TIME

Sponsored by the Fairfield Association for the  Education of Young Children

There is no gift more special than time spent with your loved ones! Bring your child and join in some holiday fun including

CRAFTS, TREATS, and PHOTOS with SANTA!

Saturday, December 6, 2008

10:00am-1:00pm

Lancaster High School

1312 Granville Pike

Cost: FREE!

WHY?…Family FUN!

ALL CHILDREN MUST BE ACCOMPANIED BY AN ADULT

Questions? Please call April Romine @ 740-205-8048

Dr. Paul G. Young

Executive Director

 Mrs. Chris Kuttler

Office Manager

 Mrs. Julie Bibler

WASC Site  Administrator

 Mr. Moses Garcia

Cedar CLC Site Administrator

 Mrs. Jane Hart

Tallmadge CLC Site Administrator

 Email:  pyoung@westafterschoolcenter.org

Visit us at www.westafterschoolcenter.org

Adult Learning Opportunities Available at the WASC

Want to improve your reading, writing, math, and problem-solving skills? Do you struggle with fractions and percents and want to improve your math abilities? Do you want to improve your skills so you can be promoted at work? Would you like to obtain training so that you can be successful in another career or attend college?

Do you want to obtain your G.E.D.? 

FREE classes for adults are now being offered at a variety of Lancaster locations, included the West After School Center, Tuesdays and Thursdays, 9:00 - 11:30 a.m.

FREE FAMILY FUN NIGHT ENTERTAINMENT

DEC. 10, 7 p.m.

Come and enjoy and evening of fun as the Good News Clown Crew shares their comedy show at the West After School Center on Wednesday, December 10, at 7:00 p.m.

Music, magic, and zany skits will entertain young and old in this uplifting show.

The Good News Clown Crew is a creative outreach ministry of the Lancaster First United Methodist Church. They have performed for local parades, festivals and organizations as well as National Ministry conferences. In addition to performing, they also teach classes in clowning and have produced training DVDs.

To learn more about them, visit at http://www.crossroadsevents.com

Now What?

The campaigning and the election of 2008 are history! No matter what your take was on the outcome, an exciting new era lies ahead, and the time is now to begin the work of shaping that chapter of history, especially as it will affect education and the well-being of our children.

Barack Obama and the team of leaders he will bring together at the United States Department of Education face many challenges—and opportunities. His first challenge will be to make good on his promise to reform the No Child Left Behind Act. But the opportunity to reduce the emphasis on testing should be enthusiastically welcomed. That doesn’t mean that he must abandon efforts to increase accountability. But he must free principals and teachers from the ‘teach to the test’ mantra and allow them to prepare students to think critically, rather than simply to demonstrate mastery of minimal skills on high-stakes tests.

At the West After School Center, we see the positives that develop from opportunities and access to high-quality preschool. With our partner, the Lancaster-Fairfield Community Action Head Start, we witness the growth that 3, 4, and 5 years olds make during their experience in the Early Learning Initiative (ELI) classrooms. But we need more classrooms like these to be made available in community centers like ours, with adequate funding and less red-tape bureaucracy. We encourage the President-elect to invest in Head Start and early childhood education, and we stand ready to showcase the quality opportunities available for Lancaster’s families. But we can’t make good things happen on a dime!

The “Zero-to-Five” plan provides critical support for young children and their families. It is good practice to invest in quality care and education for infants. Research clearly shows that learning gaps are evident by age three, and without early intervention, the gaps sometimes become devastatingly wide by the time a child enters kindergarten. Without a doubt, voluntary, universal preschool would be good for our nation’s most precious resource.

Most important, we plan to hold the President-elect to his promise to support and expand high-quality afterschool opportunities.  Since the mid-1990s, the main federal support for afterschool programs has been the 21st Century Learning Centers (21stCCLCs) program. These programs have proven to ease the burden on working parents, keep kids safe, and provide them with the extra time needed to close the learning gaps which were evident when they entered kindergarten. Obama’s promise to expand 21stCCLCs to serve one million more children will best be realized in locations where schools and community organizations partner together, share resources, and establish quality academically-focused afterschool programs. Obama’s support must also include plans to sustain existing programs with a proven record of success.

We must rethink our paradigm about time of the traditional school day as well as the length of the school year. A new day of learning must be created that provides all children with seamless learning experiences, individualized to meet their needs. To do that, those working in the afterschool field must be provided with adequate professional development and fair compensation for the important work they do. The promise to recruit, prepare, retain, and reward teachers for excellence in the classroom must be inclusive of those who work in afterschool programs.

We cannot allow the economic downturn to overshadow the opportunities that can be created when people have opportunities to obtain a good education—both in school and after school. We don’t support throwing money at a problem, but we do encourage investment in programs that work.

We look forward to demonstrating for the new administration after-school programs that do make a difference!

Watch our Television Show on  the LSN

Channel 6 Time Warner Cable

New episodes air at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, right after Jack Greathouse's "STUFF"

POTENTIAL

CHILDCARE PROGRAM OPPORTUNITIES

for SNOW DAYS and HOLIDAYS

Do you need childcare on Dec. 22, 23, 29, 30 or any snow days this winter? (Grades K – 6) If so, the West After School Center may be able to help. With sufficient enrollment, we can provide care from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Cost is $25.00 per day and a deposit is required. All paperwork must be completed prior to the first day of care. Lunch & snacks will be provided. Call 653-5678 for more information or stop in for the necessary paperwork.

MEAL PROGRAMS

at the WASC

Busy parents can take advantage of the availability of supper at the WASC, Cedar Heights, and Tallmadge Monday-Friday, throughout the year.  The snacks we serve are free, and the supper  program (5:30-6:00 pm) is open to any child in our programs or others that would sign up for supper, based on qualification requirements similar to the school lunch program. The WASC is a sponsor of after school meals for the centers serving children at East, West, Tallmadge, and Cedar Heights Schools.

We Thank Our Partners

The Ohio State University Extension   (Master Gardeners)

The Robert K Fox Family Y (Summer Lunch Program)

Eastside Center for Success (Summer Lunch Program)

Lancaster-Fairfield County Community Action Head Start (ELI & Head Start Classes)

New Horizons Youth and Family Center

Fairfield County Family, Adult, and Children First Council (21st CCLC Program Support)

Lancaster City Schools

Ohio Department of Education

Governor's Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives

Fairfield County Jobs and Family Services (custodial workers)

Red Barn Productions

Sixth Avenue United Methodist Church

Sherman Rotary

First Presbyterian Church

Eastland-Fairfield Career Center

Fairfield Foundation (Kitchen)

United Way of Fairfield County

The flagship program of the West After School Center is the After School Tutoring Program which targets those students needing additional help in reading and math.  But the scope of our services are expanding to other schools. If you’d like to know more about us, phone 740-653-5678 for answers to your questions.

The West After School Center is an independent, non-profit, community-based before and after school child care center licensed by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.

This newsletter is from the office of Dr. Paul Young, Executive Director