Redington enjoying ‘great success’ with grant-funded afterschool program

Afterschool programs funded by the 21st Century Community Learning Grant are nothing new in the Mat-Su Borough School District, but they were to Redington Jr./Sr. High School last year and quickly became a popular option for Redington students to take more courses and earn additional credits.

With the new school year here, Redington principal Matt Swalling is excited to see the program grow.

The afterschool programs through the grant have been in place at schools such as Burchell High School and Valley Pathways School. Now Redington is on the list of schools that can offer quarter-long classes that are worth a semester of credit. Swalling said 126 students took the afterschool classes last year, and the vast majority completed the courses and earned credit.

“We’ve had really great success,” Swalling said.

The afterschool course list last year included drumline, painting, personal finance, ceramics, plant science, astronomy, weight lifting, personal fitness, educational travel and culinary chemistry. Swalling called them “high-engagement” courses. There were three offered per quarter, plus a tutoring or study hall session. The grant also includes funds for a free meal for each student after school. Students attend the afterschool classes four days each week from the end of the regular school day until 4:30 p.m.

Redington is currently offering a small ensemble music course, construction trades and geology class, plus study hall and tutoring, during the first quarter of the school year.

“We have purposely chosen high-engagement classes that kids might not otherwise be able to get in,” Swalling said.

Staff also pick classes they believe will draw more students to the afterschool program.

“Kids are going to be a little more motivated in the high-engagement classes. More motivated and more willing to do something extra," Swalling said.

Course selection can also motivate the teachers to want to continue their day after the final bell rings.

“For teachers, it’s also a motivator,” he said.

There are teachers who have been passionate about a particular subject, but they have not had the chance to teach it, the principal said.

Swalling said Redington science teacher Kelly Schnittker is teaching the geology course this quarter and has plans to provide her students with hands-on learning. There is potential for a field trip to a local sand and gravel company so students can see the types of aggregates that are worked with, and to Hatcher Pass to look at natural rock.

“They’re trying to make it more exciting,” Swalling said.

Currently, Redington is looking at offering criminal justice, computer building and cinema of the arts classes during the second quarter; welding, 3D art and a greenhouse class in the third quarter; and 2D art and culinary science in the fourth quarter. Swalling said he does anticipate more classes added to the list.

Students must attend Redington to enroll in the courses. They are open to middle and high school students, but only high school students earn credit.

Anna Chebukina is the local director for the 21st Century grant.

“We were very excited to see how the kids responded,” Chebukina said of the Redington students.

The grant is federally funded through the Department of Early Education.

“Basically we offer students a space to explore new things,” Chebukina said.

Burchell has been connected to the grant program longer than any other school in the district. Programs funded by the grant have also been offered at schools such as Iditarod Elementary and Wasilla Middle School in the past. But currently the focus is Burchell, Pathways and Redington. With this strategy, Chebukina said the grant can provide more opportunities for high school students to gain additional skills before they graduate.

“We've been offering a lot of (career and technology education) classes, so things that will get you a foot in the door to a trade school or a certificate of some kind,” Chebukina said.

Jeremiah Bartz is the community relations coordinator for the Mat-Su Borough School District.