WEST AFTER SCHOOL CENTER
NEWS & OPINION

May 2009

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

Email:  pyoung@westafterschoolcenter.org

Visit us at www.westafterschoolcenter.org

Dr. Paul G. Young

Executive Director

Mrs. Chris Kuttler

Office Manager

Mrs. Julie Bibler

WASC Site Administrator

Mr. Moses Garcia

Cedar CLC Site Administrator

Mr. Rob Libbee

Eastside Center for Success

Mrs. Jane Hart

Tallmadge CLC Site Administrator

We Thank Our Volunteers

              Help us celebrate a great school year with our students and volunteers on May 11, 12, 13, or 14.  We plan to have special treats and keepsakes and share special time and highlights of the year. Particularly, we would like all volunteers, parents, and teachers to attend on May 14, 4:00 p.m. Our students have been served by nearly 100 volunteers throughout the year, and many of them have multiple years of experience with our program. Help us thank them all! And we expect special guests visiting from Argentina, courtesy of the Sherman Rotary.  Come meet them!

SUMMER CHILDCARE OPENINGS AVAILABLE

Looking for a safe, quality program for your child’s summer care? Check us out, stop by for a visit, or call and speak to one of our staff members. We open at 6:00 a.m. and close at 6:00 p.m. Childcare students receive many of the same benefits as those enrolled in the after-school tutoring program.  We are taking enrollments now for summer child care, June 4 through August 14.  Call 653-5678 for information.

WASC Will Be a Sponsor of the Summer Food Program, Starting June 4

Plan now to take advantage of the free summer lunch program being offered Monday-Friday during the summer months, 11:30 am -12:30 pm. FEED OHIO and the Summer Food Service Programs, provided by the Governor’s Office of Faith Based and Community Initiatives and the Ohio Department of Education, are designed to:

· Improve the diets of children by providing nutritious meals.

· Help children develop good eating habits that will last through the years.

· Support enrichment activities that sustain learning in the summer months.

ANY CHILD under age 18 can participate, regardless of enrollment status for the school lunch program.

SUMMER LUNCH OPEN SERVING SITES

West After School Center, Robert K. Fox Family YMCA, East, Medill, Tallmadge, South, and Cedar Heights school playgrounds, and other sites at apartment complexes soon to be announced. Lunch served from 11:30-12:30, Monday-Friday. Sign up now for special recreational and summer learning programs.

Our Numbers Speak for Themselves

               From September 2008 through March 31, 2009, the WASC after-school programs serving East, Cedar Heights, Tallmadge, and West schools have enrolled 324 students, grades K-5. We have provided support to over 25% of the students grades 1-5 in those schools.

       Cedar Community Learning Center—89 (average attendance in March—70%)

Eastside Center for Success—97 (average attendance in March—81%)

Tallmadge Community Learning Center—59 (average attendance in March—87%)

West After School Center—79 (average attendance in March—88%)

Each month, we provide approximately 1000 suppers (for 45-50 children) at three of our sites. We provide after-school snacks for each child in each of our centers and also for those in programs at the Robert K. Fox Family YMCA.

The students at the West After School Center have been given the opportunity to exercise and play Wii Fit through the generosity of the Fairfield Medical Center. We have identified the children who had never played Wii before and incorporated time in  their daily schedules to exercise and enjoy the game and new form of exercise. What a way to spend a fun Friday!

Ready for the WORST that Could Happen?

Life is full of peaks and valleys. The current economic downturn has forced many of us to question how we will survive until financial stabilization returns. Without a doubt, we are in one of the  deepest valleys we have experienced in years. Are you prepared should you lose your job, your home, your health? The future always brings turns of events—good and bad. Are you ready for the worst that might happen?

The sense of economic emergency isn’t confined only to those individuals who have lost jobs, investment fortunes, or their pensions. Small businesses, like the West After School Center, are also  impacted and placed very much at-risk during uncertain times. We must diligently plan for the worst at the same time work hard to fulfill our mission. Have we prepared the business of the West After School Center for good and bad times?

The 21st CCLC grant that has provided major programming support for the West After School Center will expire on June 30, 2009. Like many other grantees, we have developed a business plan, expanded our horizons, and found ways to create revenues that complement our mission. Our food programs and collaborations with community partners have enabled us to grow and sustain service and jobs during the 4th and 5th year of the grant when funding was reduced. We are submitting a 21st CCLC grant renewal, but without it, will we face the worst? The timing of the grant’s end comes at a time when an increasing number of parents desperately need quality childcare during out-of-school time,  especially those looking for new jobs.

How have we prepared for the worst? With think we are, much like others with foresight who are surviving the ups and downs of an uncertain economic future. The WASC Board of Directors and leadership team have developed extensive networking with professional colleagues, learned best non-profit management practices, considered options, planned a steady course, and steadfastly worked to learn everything we can about funding sources for after-school programs. Those who have the best command of information will survive the worst.  They also posses the best chance of fulfilling a mission and sustaining vital services.

In 1997, we determined that the two worst-case scenarios facing the WASC were (1) a complete loss of funding forcing the sale of our facility, or (2) complete success of our mission resulting in no further need for our services. We face neither. Yet, we know we must always be envisioning what lies ahead, and working hard to prepare for and cope with whatever happens.

Education is the key. Those with knowledge can adapt, change, and sustain. It is important that we model the value of learning, collaborating, and sharing information for our kids so that they can be prepared and equipped to deal with the best and worst of everything that life will bring them. 

Watch our Television Show on  the LSN

Channel 6 Time Warner Cable

New episodes air at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.

OUR THANKS TO…

Clark-Behrens Insurance for the recent donation of two computers and flat screen monitors to the West After School Center. Our staff and students appreciate this!

The First Presbyterian Church for their mission donation to assist with expenses incurred with the Summer Lunch Program.