MANCHESTER– A flurry of chatter and laughter fills the Beech Street cafeteria as students toss down their winter jackets and backpacks at the end of a long school day. Each student, greeted by name with a warm smile, is here for the 21st Century Program. It’s a chance for families to receive free before and after school care for their children, and for kids to receive extra support– both academically and socially.
“You get an hour of either homework help or academic tutoring or something academic focused, and then you get an hour of just being a kiddo. Enrichment, fun, arts, crafts, all in all, we try to keep it fun for the kiddos,” says Alex Levesque, program director for 21st Century.
On this day, the academic-focused part of the afternoon came in a visit from WMUR-TV meteorologist Kevin Skarupa, who joined students to talk about different types of weather and what it’s like working in television. The visit tied in seamlessly with weather units the students covered during regular class time in previous weeks.
“My favorite part is doing activities… like science and playing on the computer,” says fourth grader Elizabeth Sanchez, who has been in the program since kindergarten. “It’s a good thing for helping kids.”
The program is federally funded by Title IV, Part B, Nita M. Lowey 21st Century Community Learning Centers grants. Schools must be Title I in order to qualify, and funds must be used to support student learning and growth outside of regular school hours. Manchester received its first 21st Century grant in 2004 and has since expanded from nine schools to 13 schools district-wide, including all four middle schools.
Between 750 and 800 students across the district take part in 21st Century programs after school. That doesn’t include the elementary students who attend before the first bell of the day, which brings the number closer to 1,000. “Some kiddos really benefit from that and connecting with their teachers or having a friendly face to welcome them into the school day. For caregivers, I think it's a good support if they know that they need to drop their kiddo off, or get ready for work, it's there for them.”
Each 21st Century site has a full-time site coordinator on staff who oversees the day-to-day operations and ensures student safety. The programs themselves are run by teachers and paraprofessionals from the schools.
“The kids love coming. It’s not a chore for them. They don’t feel like they’re working 12 hours a day,” says second grade teacher Anna Balletta. “They’re really excited to be here.”
Balletta has worked with the 21st Century program for four years, and says her favorite part is the relationships she builds with students and their families. “The kindergartners, they know me coming up to second grade… They know what to expect from me, so I don’t have to go through the expectations because they already know. I just love the kids”
The work doesn’t just span the 175 calendar days the students are in school. A robust summer program combines several campuses into regional summer camps within the city. All of it, free of charge to families, just like the school year programs. “It's really fun to plan and operate because we get to just go nuts and have special guests come in,” says Levesque. “It's just… Summer is the best. It is just so much fun.” It’s a sentiment echoed by Balletta. “A lot of the teachers don’t want to work in the summer, but it’s my favorite part of the year.”
For Levesque, 21st Century director is more than just a title. It’s been a lifelong calling. He was a student in the program when he was a first grader at Bakersville in 2004, before moving on to the program at Southside, and later returning as a volunteer during his junior year at Memorial. He knows first-hand what a difference these teachers are making in the lives of students. “Any given day, as the director of the program, I can walk into a site and know that the students are engaged, having fun, safe with peers, with staff who care.”