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"What After-School Programs Mean To Me"


Apr. 5, 2012

Young Jarrett Miller had the attention of both Sen. George Edwards (seated) and Del. Wendell Beitzel one day last month when the youngster joined several other local advocates of after-school programming in Garrett County. The Partners After School (PAS) representatives from Accident and Oakland attended After School Advocacy Night at the state capital in Annapolis, hosted by the Maryland Out of School Time Network.


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Jarrett wrote a letter about how important after-school programming is to him, and read it to the two elected officials as part of the day’s activities. Partners After School programs are provided by the Garrett County Local Management Board (LMB), Garrett County commissioners, Governor’s Office for Children, and United Way of Garrett County. Programs are administered by the Garrett County Health Department and Garrett County Community Action Committee. For more information, persons may call the LMB at 301-334-7445 or 301-895-3111.

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GC Commissioners Award Funding For After-School Progs.

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Sep. 29, 2011

For the third year in a row, the Board of Garrett County Commissioners has prioritized the need for after-school programming and have provided emergency funding to help keep programs operating in the communities of Accident, Grantsville, and Oakland.

“Many thanks go out to our new commissioners – Gregan Crawford, Bob Gatto, and Jim Raley,” said Crystal Stewart, president/CEO Garrett County Partnership for Children and Families.

The Partners After School (PAS) programs are funded through the Garrett County Partnership for Children and Families Inc./Local Management Board in collaboration with the Garrett County commissioners, Board of Education, Community Action Committee, GC Health Department, County United Way, and other partners.

“The PAS programs provide a safe, supervised, and enriching environment for children during the high-risk after-school hours when many parents are still working,” Stewart said. “The programs offer comprehensive programming that focuses on academic achievement and school success, cultural enrichment, and positive youth development.”

Over the past few years, the PAS programs have suffered devastating budget reductions. Previously, the Partnership/LMB offered programs in six communities. As the result of funding limitations, only three programs were offered last year.

Until the commissioners allocated additional funding for the PAS programs last week, the Partnership/LMB had only $49,024 from the Governor’s Office for Children to provide half-year programs in Grantsville and Oakland. The additional $76,000 allocated by the Commissioners will allow these programs to continue through the school year and will also allow the continuation of the school-year program in Accident. These three PAS programs served 140 students last year, according to Stewart.

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Buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland? Call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! I take great pride in referrals, and I assure you, I will take great care of your friends, family & colleagues!

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Commissioners Allocate Funds To Keep After-School Operating

Aug. 26, 2010

The Garrett County commissioners have allocated $110,000 to help keep a portion of the Local Management Board (LMB) Partners After School Program going for another year. Garrett County Health Department budget carryover funds will be used for the allocation.

The after-school program is a collaborative effort between the Garrett County Partnership for Children and Families, Health Department, Community Action, and local Board of Education.

“The commissioners’ designation of these carryover funds to support elementary- and middle-school children’s academic enrichment through the LMB’s Partners After School Program (PAS) is extremely important to families utilizing these services,” said LMB member Rodney Glotfelty, Garrett County health officer. “We are deeply appreciative of their support in providing bridge funding again this year.”

The commissioners decided to allocate the money after hearing an update report Tuesday morning from Partnership and LMB representatives.

The nonprofit group’s director, Crystal Stewart, informed the commissioners that 21st Century grant funding was not available again this year. This U.S. Department of Education initiative has been the primary funding source for PAS for numerous years. The partnership, therefore, issued a press release about two weeks ago to inform parents that after-school activities would not be available this year at PAS sites, which are located in Accident, Friendsville, Grantsville, Kitzmiller, Loch Lynn, and Oakland.

The Partnership and LMB have been working for more than a year to find ways to fund the program. Shortly before school started last year, Stewart learned that her FY 2010 21st Century grant request had been denied. The grant is federally funded, but the State Department of Education oversees its allocation in Maryland.

In FY 2009, the state allocated the Partnership $260,000 in 21st Century funding to support PAS in Friendsville, Grantsville, Kitzmiller, and Loch Lynn, and at Southern Middle School and the Judy Overlook Center. Accident activities were funded through a Community Partnership Agreement.

To help keep the program going in FY 2010, LMB member/Community Action president Duane Yoder was able to secure an emergency $125,000 Community Development Block Grant, which the commissioners matched with another $125,000.

As a result, about 250 children were able to participate in PAS last year, according to the Partnership’s projects coordinator, Sherri Padovini.

The commissioners noted the importance of PAS in helping students achieve academic success through tutoring and homework assistance. Students also take educational and cultural field trips, and learn about nutrition and drug/alcohol abuse issues.

“There is no doubt about the value of the program,” said Commissioner Ernie Gregg.

Padovini presented the commissioners with data that shows local after-school students are “maintaining pace” with the three-year Maryland Student Assessment (MSA) averages for Garrett County in both reading and math.

Additionally, after-school students who are eligible for free and reduced meals (FARM) “did a little better” than other local FARM students on the three-year MSA average for math. Results in the reading component were about the same for both FARM groups, Padovini noted.

Ironically, the fact that PAS is so success may be the very reason why the state did not award it 21st Century funding, Health Officer Glotfelty indicated.

“I think we’re a little bit of a victim of our own success, over the last number of years, when you look at our school system and the great results that we get out of it, with our test scores and everything,” he told the commissioners.

Glotfelty explained that the state looks at “system needs” and moves money to needy areas, even though children in successful places still need funding for their services.

“That’s just the way funding is in the state of Maryland,” he said. “When you succeed, you usually have your money taken away from you. And when you’re in really bad shape, that’s where they put the money.”

Yoder agreed. He apologetically told the commissioners that when the LMB asked them for emergency after-school funding last year, he really believed that the next 21st Century grant application would be funded.

“We didn’t walk in last year thinking that wasn’t going to happen,” Yoder told the commissioners. “I don’t want you to walk out of here [today] believing that we were just playing a game a year ago.”

Padovini reported that the Partnership recently secured a $40,000 Governor’s Office grant, which will enable one after-school program site to continue, which mostly likely be the Grantsville one. Other local grants may be available to help augment the governor’s funding.

She indicated the northern site was chosen simply because more students participate in PAS there than in the southern end of the county.

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Garrett after-school programs cut by half

County funding will help some stay open after loss of key grant
Megan Miller
Cumberland Times-News

— OAKLAND — The number of Partners After School programs offered in Garrett County will be cut in half for the 2010-11 school year, after the county was passed over for a crucial state grant.

Five of the county’s six Partners After School programs faced impending closure until Tuesday, when the county commission allocated $110,000 to help some remain open for 2010-11.

The money was available because of carryover funds from the Garrett County Health Department, according to a county news release.

But it’s not enough to save all the programs. The Friendsville and Kitzmiller programs will be lost unless additional funding is secured, according to Crystal Stewart, executive director of the Garrett County Partnership for Children and Families Inc.

For six years the programs were largely funded by 21st Century Community Learning Center grants from the Maryland Department of Education, but the county has not been awarded that grant for the past two years.

“That pot of money is targeted very much toward high-need schools, and schools that are in improvement status,” Stewart said. Garrett County’s academic success might be hurting the county’s chances of getting the grant, she explained.

It’s the second year running that the county commission has bailed out Partners After School. In 2009-10 the programs survived on a $125,000 Community Development Block Grant that was matched by the county.

“We’re absolutely thrilled that the commissioners have given us the money to do these sites again this year,” Stewart said. “It really will allow us to continue to serve, not all of the kids that we have been, but most of them.” Now Partners After School will likely move toward a consolidated model, with just three sites operating in the county.

Stewart hopes a $41,000 Community Partnership Agreement grant initially designated for the Southern Middle School program can be redirected toward the Grantsville program. That site will serve elementary and middle school students from northern areas of the county.

The county funds will support programs at Southern Garrett Middle School and Accident Elementary School. The Southern Garrett Middle School program will serve both elementary students and middle school students, and will include elementary students transported from Dennett Road, Yough Glades and Broad Ford elementary schools.

During the 2009-10 school year, 220 students countywide attended Partners After School programs, Stewart said.

Garrett County’s after-school programs have existed in some form for more than a decade, starting as small, community-based volunteer initiatives. But the 21st Century grants allowed the programs to enhance their offerings in the mid-2000s.

The main focus of Partners After School is homework assistance, but the programs grew to include certified teachers to tutor students, academic and cultural enrichment activities, alcohol and drug abuse prevention activities and cultural field trips.

Stewart said the county money is a temporary solution to the funding problem. She pointed out that there’s also no funding available for the version of Partners After School that would typically be offered next summer.

“We’re still very actively looking for other options. We have a lot of interagency people that are working on this and trying to figure out how to get the funding,” she said. “We know it’s a wonderful resource for the kids.”

If you are thinking of buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! 877-563-5350

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Inadequate Funding Leads To Closing Of Partners After School Programs

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Aug. 12, 2010

The Partners After School (PAS) programs in Garrett County are once again facing elimination despite best efforts on the part of all community partners to sustain them. This includes all of the following PAS programs: Accident, Friendsville, Grantsville, Kitzmiller, Loch Lynn, and Southern Middle School.
For more than 10 years, the Local Management Board/Garrett County Partnership for Children and Families Inc. has supported after-school programming in schools and community sites in Garrett County. 21st Century Community Learning Centers funding from the Maryland State Department of Education supported the majority of the PAS programs for six
years, from 2004 to 2009. When the 21st Century funding was not renewed last year, the Garrett County commissioners allocated $125,000 in emergency funding for the programs.

An additional $125,000 was secured through a Community Development Block Grant from the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development. The quick response of the commissioners and MDHCD allowed all six of the programs to continue operation throughout the remainder of last school year and this summer, serving approximately 250 Garrett County youth.

“This is a real tragedy for Garrett County youth and families,” said Rodney Glotfelty, Garrett County health officer. “PAS programs have served the needs of hundreds of families over the past 10 years, and their absence will definitely be felt.”

“The PAS programs provided a safe, supervised, and enriching environment for children during the high-risk after-school hours when many parents are still working,” said another spokesperson. The programs offered comprehensive programming that focused on academic achievement and school success, and positive youth development.

Community partners worked diligently during the past year to locate alternative sources of funding to maintain the programs, according to Crystal Stewart, director of the Partnership for Children and Families. However, despite the submission of a number of grant applications, including resubmission for the 21st Century grant, adequate funding has not been secured.

“Local partners are committed to this project, and will continue to try to find funding to reopen the programs,” said Stewart. “Unfortunately, for now, all programs will be closed until further notice.”

For additional information, persons should contact Stewart at the Garrett County Partnership for Children and Families Inc. at 301-334-1189.

If you are thinking of buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! 877-563-5350

Deep Creek Do It All specializes in cleaning services in Garrett County & @ Deep Creek Lake. Give them a call (301-501-0217) or visit the website – competitive rates and quality results from a locally owned & operated company!