Afterschool Alliance joins parents, teachers and kids

A dinner offers fellowship with kids and staff, one grandparent said.
By HAROLD GWIN
VINDICATOR EDUCATION WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Belinda Rodriguez of Kendis Circle thinks it is a good idea for schoolchildren, their parents and their schoolteachers to get together.
That's why the Thanksgiving Feast held by the Youngstown Afterschool Alliance at Hayes Middle School is so important, she said.
There are 60 Hayes pupils in grades five through eight participating in the program this year, and they and their parents and family members were treated to a turkey dinner in the school cafeteria Thursday.
Rodriguez and members of her family were there to support her son, Joshua, an eighth-grader.
It's his second year in the program, which teaches him respect for others and to work hard both at home and in school, she said.
Shelley and Horace Austin of Breaden Street were filling in for their daughter, who had to work, and came to eat with their granddaughter, Jamelia Jones, a fifth-grader.
"It's real important. It gives us a chance for fellowship with the children and the staff, to get to know each other," Shelley said.
It also provides an opportunity for parents to share concerns, Horace added.
Federal grant
The Youngstown Afterschool Alliance is funded by a federal grant and runs at both Hayes and P. Ross Berry middle schools.
The program integrates school work with leisure activity, said Dennis Mamone, a Hayes teacher and site coordinator for the program.
There is no charge for the program and pupils are selected from teacher recommendations based on academic need, said Angie Cameron, project director.
The program offers tutoring in reading and math for all four grade levels and help with homework. Various community providers bring in a wide variety of other services and programs such as karate, technology, science, the arts and more, Cameron said.
"All of it is hands-on and it's all relevant to learning," Mamone said.
A large segment of the participating pupils are "latchkey" children who would have no adult in the house if they went directly home after school, Cameron said.
This program provides those children with a safe, structured environment in a place to go after school, she said.
They also get a snack and a school bus ride home to their door at the end of the day, she said.
The program runs from 2:30 to 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday from early October through mid-May.
All of the food for the Thanksgiving Feast was donated by Giant Eagle and members of the community, and volunteers came in to cook it. The dinner brings together pupils and their families to celebrate and show thankfulness for the things in their lives and their community, Cameron said.
gwin@vindy.com