Brandon Twp.-At Bendle Middle School in Burton, 100-150 kids can commonly be found in the gymnasium before school? playing basketball or other sports and socializing under adult supervision. Up to two-thirds of the 320 students at the school participate in after-school programs.
By comparison, Brandon Fletcher Intermediate School has no regular after-school programs and 150 kids have been counted in the Brandon Township Library after school, posing a challenge for the facility. Library officials are hoping to have a community discussion regarding the problem, after experiencing vandalism and several other problems related to the large number of unsupervised kids in the library after school.
‘Statistics and research will show you that when kids have down-time, that’s when they experiment and get into trouble,? said Sue Kenkel, Bendle Middle School principal.
She noted that kids aged about 10 to 14 are at a pivotal point socially, emotionally and physically.
Four years ago, Bendle Middle School began an after-school program, ‘Bridges to the Future,? funded through grants and partnerships with United Way, FIA, the Mott Foundation and the Genessee Intermediate School District. Kenkel said community education has always offered classes, but they were fee-based and a lot of the middle school’s students didn’t have the funds to pay.
In ‘Bridges to the Future,? after-school tutoring is available, as well as an open gym and various classes and clubs, including Spanish Club, ski club, K’Nex Club, weather club and dance club.
The program has three goals? to provide academic support, help students develop and explore potentially lifetime hobbies and increase students? reference points for learning.
‘It’s working great,? Kenkel said. ‘The after school time is a critical time for kids. It’s easy for them to get into mischief and be unproductive. We felt it was important for them to get into productive programs. A lot of parents are working and the kids would rather be with friends than going home to an empty house.?
Brandon Community Education director June Wuopio is aware of the problem the library currently faces with no after-school program available. A few years ago, she wrote a grant application to the 21st Century Learning Center for a young teen center and after school program. The library, sheriff’s department and Brandon Groveland Youth Assistance gave their support.
‘We joined forces because the majority of the problems that happened in the village were during after school hours,? Wuopio said. ‘Minor vandalism and property destruction were things that seemed to be perpetrated by children after school let out and before parents got home.?
The grant was denied because Brandon Township wasn’t considered a high-risk area. Wuopio says she checks a grant website every morning to see what is available, but it is difficult to meet the criteria. Geographic economics is often a factor and because Oakland County is a wealthy area by grant standards, it is difficult to receive funds.
Community education administrators polled Brandon Fletcher Intermediate School parents around the time the library opened four years ago, asking parents if they would be willing to pay a fee for after school programs, but Wuopio says the parents weren’t interested.
‘At that age the kids aren’t going to latchkey any more,? she said. ‘Parents felt they didn’t need to pay any more, because the kids were old enough to be alone or go to the library.?
‘We see a need, the library really sees a need, but the parents don’t. One recommendation I would have is for the library to call the groups together? youth assistance, library, township, schools and parents.?
Brandon Groveland Youth Assistance caseworker Gail Innis says the Brandon community faces a lack of mobilization of resources to successfully administer quality after school programs. She believes coming together to eliminate barriers, particularly a lack of resources that includes people, time, transportation, accessibility and money, could be a mean of addressing the issues. BGYA has discussed after school programs, but has faced those barriers locally.
‘After school programs have been a challenge in many communities for decades,? said Innis, who cites Research by the Carnegie Council on Adolescent Development that indicates the risks of juvenile delinquency and academic underachievement can be reduced by participation in adult-supervised, structured free time activities. ‘As the old proverb states, ‘It takes a village to raise a child.??