DPS to receive up to $1.7 million for Learning Centers
November 11, 2002
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Dr. Bert L’Homme, Associate Superintendent, Instructional Services, 560-3716
DURHAM--Durham Public Schools has received a $500,000 federally funded grant from the state of North Carolina to establish three 21st-Century Learning Centers for the purpose of increasing achievement levels among at-risk students. The grant is renewable for $500,000 in the second year, $400,000 in the third, and $300,000 in the fourth, with a potential total of $1.7 million.
The centers will be established at Hillside High School, Y.E. Smith Elementary School, and the Alpha Kappa Alpha Community Center in Durham. The project is a partnership with North Carolina Central University, the Museum of Life and Science, Communities in Schools of Durham and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority.
The goals of the project are to:
Improve student performance, behavior, and attitudes toward school; Provide educational services to families and increase their involvement in school activities; and, Establish each participating site as a Community Learning Center, open for extended hours and providing expanded services to the community.
The primary activities of the project include: after-school programs that provide structured homework support, tutoring, integrated learning opportunities, health promotion and wellness activities, leadership development, service learning, recreation, and arts; evening and Saturday programming for parents and families; a four-week summer program for elementary students that includes academic as well as recreational components; a summer high school leadership academy on the NCCU campus; and evening classes for a wide range of community members.
This is the third such grant that DPS has received since 1999. Other Center sites are currently operating at Watts, Pearson and Glenn elementary schools, and Rogers-Herr, Chewning, Githens, Neal and Lowe’s Grove middle schools.
"The 21st-Century Learning Centers have proven to be greatly successful in providing the necessary support to increase student achievement, and we welcome the opportunity to expand their reach," said Superintendent Ann T. Denlinger. "This is yet another example of the great results wrought by innovative collaboration with our university and community partners."
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