Afterschool Program

The 2016-17 Lifelong Learning Center Afterschool programs at Colonel Richardson Middle School (CRMS), Lockerman Middle School (LMS) and Federalsburg Elementary School (FES) began the Spring Session on April 19 and ran through May 11, 2017. There was a brief break between the Winter and Spring sessions due to Spring Vacation. The program was scheduled to operate 100 days during the 2016-17 school year. The Spring Session comprised 14 student days; all of which occurred during the 4th Quarter. In total, the program completed 103 days. There were a few extra days built into the program schedule to account for inclement weather, however, only one day was needed, resulting in three more days than originally scheduled.

In total, there were only 18 days of afterschool programming during the 4th Quarter. Site Coordinators were encouraged to shift their focus from enrolling new students into the program to maintaining the students they presently had enrolled. This caused a decrease in enrollment for the 4th Quarter and became a barrier for the sites to meet their required registration number. Between April 1 and May 11, a total of 181 students were enrolled in the afterschool program between the three sites with 57 students at CRMS, 60 students at LMS and 64 students at FES.

Throughout the entire program year, there were a total of 300 students that enrolled in the afterschool program between the three sites. This includes students attending less than 30 days, as well as those attending 30 or more days. The breakdown of total enrollment throughout the year is as follows: CRMS – 101 students, LMS – 93 students, and FES – 106 students. Of the 300 students enrolled over the course of the year, 240 (80%) of the participants attended more than 30 days. The 80% attendance rate was significantly greater than the target of 50% and was in large part due to the exceptional recruitment efforts of the Site Coordinators. For the second quarter in a row, 79% of the students enrolled in the program are eligible and enrolled in the Caroline County Public Schools Free and Reduced Meals (FaRM) program. The 4th Quarter breakdown of FaRM data for individual sites is as follows: CRMS – 47/57 (82%); LMS – 38/60 (63%); FES – 58/64 (91%). The average FaRM rate throughout the entire program year amongst all three afterschool sites is 77%.

The programs and activities provided to the afterschool students focus around the development and enhancement of cooking skills and basic life skills. Students from both middle schools traveled to the Maryland Food Bank in Salisbury to participate in “Be the Difference Day”. Students volunteered in the warehouse at the Food Bank, separating donated non-perishable items. The staff at the Food Bank also gave the students a tour and described the various services available to families in need. The 5th grade students at Federalsburg Elementary participated in a 6-week culinary program with instruction provided by the Chesapeake Culinary Center staff. During this time, students were taught food and kitchen safety, proper meal time etiquette and how to prepare a healthy meal. Participants then prepared and served a meal on May 11th at the Community Dinner hosted by the LLC Afterschool Program at Federalsburg Elementary School. Students were able to showcase their cooking abilities during this event.

There are a variety of minor programmatic changes that will be implemented over the course of the next year. These program modifications are meant to enhance the quality of the enrichment

activities provided through the afterschool program. In addition to participating in the daily hands-on lessons, middle school students will also receive a 2-week Cooking Matters program during the afterschool program. Based on participant feedback, students will be invited to participate in the Cooking Matters program with their parents. While the goal of this change is to increase parent involvement, it will also afford students the opportunity to highlight what they have learned during afterschool. There is also a plan to provide students with more hands-on opportunities to reduce hunger within the community. The afterschool team plans to partner with the local division of the Maryland Food Bank to work with local farmers on a gleaning project. This will allow students to see firsthand how food items from local farms can be redistributed to fight against hunger.

There was continual effort from multiple partners throughout the entire 2016-2017 program year. This partner support allowed for successful implementation of the afterschool program throughout Caroline County. Caroline County Public Schools (CCPS), in collaboration with the administration team at each school-based site provided optimal support for the implementation of a successful afterschool program. The Afterschool Specialist and Site Coordinators worked closely with school principals and staff to provide a positive environment for elementary and middle school students while working towards the goals of the program. Although this proved to be a year of many changes, the efforts from CCPS allowed for smooth transitions.

In regards to additional partners, staff from the University of Maryland Cooperative Extension – FSNE program and the Chesapeake Culinary Center worked diligently with the Lifelong Learning Center leadership team to design and implement the parent education course. As with any new program, the first attempt at providing parents with the Cooking Matters workshop series proved to be difficult, but the persistent efforts and support from two partnerships were effective. After reevaluating the unsuccessful enrollment efforts from the fall, the Lifelong Learning Center leadership team met multiple times to design both the Cooking Matters course and to develop a recruitment plan. Although efforts to recruit enough parents for the initial course was unsuccessful, the team continued to meet to design a course that would not only meet parents’ needs, but that was ideal for our targeted population. An ongoing partnership was cultivated and a 6-hour course redesign was created for Cooking Matters. The partners utilized their connections within the community and met multiple times to design an excellent Cooking Matters program for parents. Participants were exposed to a plethora of new concepts and techniques throughout the 6-hours of instruction in the Cooking Matters course. During the interactive workshops, the Chesapeake Culinary Center provided multiple chefs to demonstrate and teach technical cooking skills to the participants, provide hands-on meal preparation instruction, and illustrate effective food preservation techniques. The Extension Educator through University of Maryland Extension taught participants the importance of being healthy by incorporating multiple nutritional facts into her exciting lessons.

Participants were taught how to eat healthy and make positive food choices on a budget. During the grocery store tour, the Extension Educator explored unit cost, purchasing frozen vs. fresh items, and reading nutrition labels with the participants. Following the education component,

participants were challenged to purchase a healthy meal for a family of four, while spending $10 or less. This component of the course was sponsored by our UMD Extension partner and was an incredible success.

Throughout the program year, students received hands-on instruction related to nutrition education and the reduction of hunger. Students at Federalsburg Elementary were visited by the nutrition education specialist with UMD Extension, FSNE. During these visits, students learned the benefits of gardening and growing their own food, how to grow their own food, and making healthier choices. Students at both LMS and CRMS participated in multiple courses centered around reducing hunger. This curriculum was locally designed by afterschool staff and the Program Specialist. Courses covered a variety of topic areas including biology – growing your own food, money management – shopping on a budget, and health & nutrition. The classes were very successful and students were actively engaged in discussion about reducing hunger in their communities. The locally designed curriculum was engaging and effective, however, the LLC leadership team and Site Coordinators plan to expand the activities for next year. Next year, returning participants will experience new hands-on lessons that reinforce the skills and concepts taught throughout the year. New afterschool participants will have exposure to the lessons for the first time and will learn about how they can help reduce hunger. As indicated in the Story Behind the Curve, in addition to the student courses, the Cooking Matters parent course was very successful. More than 20 parents gathered to gain knowledge to prepare healthier family meals on a budget while incorporating new cooking skills. It was found that the most successful Cooking Matters session was the 4-week course located at Federalsburg Elementary School on Wednesday evenings. Although schedule conflict was the most commonly cited reason for low enrollment rates and weekend courses were requested, the workshop offered during the week was the most heavily attended. Participants developed new skills each week and practiced the cooking skills and techniques learned the previous week. The participants from the 4-week demonstrated significant attitude changes towards making healthier selections while sticking to a budget. While there are plans to incorporate weekend sessions of Cooking Matters in the fall, the primary focus will be on providing 4-week workshop series that are inclusive of both the parents and the afterschool students.

All 5 participants (100%) from the June course reported more confidence in their ability to stretch their food budget. Combining these findings with those from the winter session (9/15), 70% of the parent participants felt more confident to shop on a budget after participating in Cooking Matters. To be considered an engaged participant of the Cooking Matters program, the parent needed to attend and actively participate in the weekly activities. The engagement levels of participants were gauged through staff observation. Based off staff observations, there was a 100% engagement rate. Parent engagement was only rated on days in which the participants attended the class and absences did not affect this section. The course was viewed as highly engaging and effective by all participants.