East Midvale Elementary launches afterschool program, dinner

After months of planning, East Midvale Elementary launched its free after-school extended learning program and Kids’ Café in mid-October to about 200 students.

The after-school program, “Eddie’s After-school Adventure,” named in honor of the school mascot, Eddie the Eagle, offers six rotations: language arts, math, homework help, computer skills, book buddies, and physical education or art, said Robby Johnson, school extended learning coordinator.

“This is really an opportunity for students to learn more and reinforce what they’ve learned in school,” she said. “In language arts, they learn vocabulary and comprehension with reading lessons. In math, they are grouped accordingly to their skill level. We have hired certified teachers to explore other activities that will help them reinforce what they’re learning. This isn’t after-school baby-sitting; it’s a chance to enrich their learning and get their homework done in a safe, productive, nurturing environment.”

Principal Sally Sansom said that about one-third of the Title I school students are English-as-a-Second Language learners and many students’ parents work long hours or several jobs.

Technology specialist Kelli Stebbins, who teaches the computer component of the program, said that the majority of students need the support.

“The students may need help to get their homework done and that could mean resources, like needing to use a computer,” she said. “With so many working parents, this gives them the support to get their homework done. With the smaller groups, it gives students who may not feel comfortable in the classroom, a chance to ask a teacher for additional help. They also can help other students, which can be less intimidating than in a classroom.”

The Monday through Thursday, two-and-one-half-hour program coincides with the new dinner program, the Kids’ Café. Stebbins said the Kids’ Café can provide students a healthy dinner that complements the school’s breakfast and lunch programs.

As part of the Utah Food Bank, the Kids’ Café provides well-balanced dinners to students, beginning at 5:15 p.m., Johnson said. The school provides the servers and the facility while Utah Food Bank provides the rest.

“It’s an amazing nice dinner and great opportunity for parents to join their students and talk with them while they eat,” she said.

Fifth-grader Meere Birima said that she and her brothers regularly attend the after-school program and Kids’ Café.

“I really like the school and this is a time when I can read and get help with homework if I need any,” she said. “I like the book buddies the best. My book buddy is younger and we can read to each other and she can ask me questions or I can see if she thinks about what I’m reading is the same as what I think.”

Sansom said that the after-school program is supported by $60,000 the school is allocated through Title I funds, earmarked to help students improve their reading and math skills.