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3 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW Donors sought as field project deadline looms ... UCC victims included teacher, teens and adults seeking new starts ... UPDATED: Names of UCC shooting victims released ... Donors sought as field project deadline looms ... UCC victims included teacher, teens and adults seeking new starts ... UPDATED: Names of UCC shooting victims released ... EDUCATION The $350,000 question Why is Medford offering after-school programs other agencies already provided? By Teresa Thomas Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Teresa Thomas Mail Tribune Posted Sep. 30, 2015 @ 12:01 am By Teresa Thomas Mail Tribune Posted Sep. 30, 2015 @ 12:01 am » Social News p bs:newslist StartDate="20121121" EndDate="p bs:datecalc Months="3"" DateSort="1" UseObjects="1" ObjectClass="81" Taxonomywords="2325,665" ExactTaxonomyMatch="1" Image="1" Count="4" --> It’s been three weeks since the Medford School District debuted its free after-school program at Washington, Howard and Roosevelt elementary schools, and already more than 212 students have registered and an additional 80 are on waiting lists. Medford After School, which is centered on providing academic support to students, replaced after-school programs offered for a fee by Kids Unlimited and the Rogue Valley Family YMCA at those schools. Although the move will not hurt either organization financially, it did come as a surprise and has left some community members wondering why the school district is providing a service that a nonprofit already was providing. The program will cost the school district about $350,000 this year, which is money the district had budgeted for academic interventions. “This is not about our community partners,” Superintendent Brian Shumate said. “It’s about the Medford School District. We have to look internally and create better programming to meet the needs of our families.” Shumate said that because MAS is free, more kids are able to participate. And because the school district has a licensed teacher there five days a week, “we can serve the students’ academic needs in a more prescriptive manner.” Washington Elementary Principal Sallie Johnson said Title I teachers at each school let the after-school teacher know what interventions their students need. Last year at Washington, there were 40 to 50 students enrolled in Kids Unlimited’s after-school program. There are now 71 students enrolled in the MAS program there and 10 more on the waiting list. Students who were part of Kids Unlimited and the YMCA’s programs were given priority, as well as students the principals determined had academic and/or financial needs. Kids Unlimited has since launched a new after-school program at Wilson Elementary, where the YMCA offered a program last year. YMCA Executive Director Brad Russell said he was curious why the school district had decided to have Kids Unlimited and not the YMCA offer a program at Wilson. Shumate said it was an internal decision and declined to comment further. The YMCA is currently running after-school programs at Abraham Lincoln, Griffin Creek, Hoover, Jacksonville, Jefferson, Kennedy and Lone Pine elementary schools. Its program costs parents about $170 a month — less for students with financial need — and includes enrichment opportunities and physical education, as well as homework assistance, Russell said. Kids Unlimited currently offers an after-school program that includes tutoring, enrichment activities, field trips and sports at Jackson, Oak Grove and Wilson elementary schools and a program for Medford middle school students at its Riverside location. “A lot of what the district has replicated is the system we’ve been doing for the last 18 years,” said Tom Cole, director of Kids Unlimited. “About 75 percent of our kids are paying nothing or very little,” he said, adding that the average monthly fee is about $37 while the most a family pays is $80 a month. Originally, the district had planned to provide the academic component of the after-school programs and let the YMCA and Kids Unlimited provide the enrichment activities. But that idea evolved into the school district providing the entire after-school package, Shumate said. “Now you have a school district that is willing to do things that were done by these external organizations, so these relationships will have to evolve and morph as the landscape changes,” Shumate said. If the program is successful and the money is there, then the district would like to extend MAS to other schools next year, Shumate said. Reach education reporter Teresa Thomas at 541-776-4497 or [email protected] . Follow her at www.twitter.com/teresathomas_mt . By Teresa Thomas Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Teresa Thomas Mail Tribune Posted Sep. 30, 2015 @ 12:01 am » Comment or view comments Terms of Service /* $( document ).ready(function() { // Jquery mobile is trying to style the button and leaving a blank gry button on top of a white button $("#viafouracoms .vf-comment-controls li.vf-right").html(' Submit '); });*/ » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. calendar Connect with MailTribune.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services Home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Announcements Obituaries Story ideas Since you asked Alerts Email Alerts RSS Feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Propel Marketing Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Mobile Site Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. 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