For Immediate Release
February 25, 2005
State Rep. Keith McCall
D-Carbon
www.pahouse.com/mccall
CONTACT: Victoria L. Stanish
House Democratic Communications Office
Phone: 717-787-7895
Fax: 717-783-9253
Email: vstanish@pahouse.net
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LCCC Receives Education Grant for Afterschool Program to Help Carbon County Children

HARRISBURG, Feb. 25 – State Senator James J. Rhoades ( R-29), State Senator Raphael Musto ( D-14) and State Rep. Keith McCall, D-Carbon, announced that a 21st Century Community Learning Centers grant from the Department of Education in the amount of $252,000 was presented to Lehigh Carbon Community College, Nesquehoning campus Friday.    

Dr. Jerald Zahorchak, state deputy secretary of education for the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education; Dr. Keith Boyer, Superintendent of Jim Thorpe Area School District; and Jeanne Yoho Miller, director of LCCC's Carbon and Schuylkill Counties Educational Services, were in attendance.

The legislators said the grant funding will be used to establish 'Schools in Homes and Education (SHINE) and provide afterschool learning programs in schools throughout Carbon County for children in attending first through third grade.   

The programs will run three hours a day, four days a week, and provide academic enrichment in reading, writing and mathematics; homework tutoring; character and relationship-building; and cultural, recreational and learning service activities.

The grant will be administered by LCCC and the Jim Thorpe Area School District. 

"The 21st Century Community Learning Centers strengthen academic achievement by enhancing what students learn in the classroom with expanded learning opportunities beyond the school day," Zahorchak said.

The legislators said the new program fits into a coordinated plan of services for county residents following previous initiatives like the Carbon County Child and Family Collaborative, Carbon County Partners for Progress, Right From the Start, Parents as Teachers, and the Nurse-Family Partnership, to provide children of all ages and their families with the necessary support to enjoy a better quality of life.

"School-community partnerships are instrumental in serving all the needs of students and their families. The SHINE program will illustrate how necessary and beneficial such partnerships can be," said Rhoades. "I am pleased that Carbon County will benefit from this funding."

A home visitor will meet with the parents of all participants and at-risk kindergarten children to develop a family educational plan. Other features of the community learning centers will include parent programs and family nights, computer courses for parents, and referrals to literacy programs operated by LCCC and Carbon County Area Vocational-Technical School.

"SHINE centers will be an invaluable resource for Carbon County families, and help them ensure that their children will receive the best education possible in all aspects," Musto said.

"This program will help ensure our children's future academic success by addressing difficulties that appear early on and helping families get involved in their children's learning process," McCall said. 

Miller, who will serve as the director of the SHINE centers, said the grant will allow the county to continue fulfilling its long-time goal of serving the needs of its children from birth to graduation from high school.

"Our goal is to set up a seamless network of educational and social services to children and families in Carbon County. We've begun by nurturing the positive and combating the negative trends affecting our families here, and we will continue our efforts to provide services for children at each level of their development," Miller said.