Skip To Main Content

Home

GDC logo
2022 Grant Narrative

 

Grizzly Discovery Center, Newport's 21st Century Afterschool Program

NITA M. LOWEY 21ST CCLC GRANT

We are excited to announce that the Newport School District and Pend Oreille County Library District have been awarded the Nita M. Lowey 21st Century Community Learning Center grant to fund an afterschool program for the five years from 2022-2027.  This grant is designed to serve students in grades 1-8, with priority being given to those at risk of not meeting standards.  Risk factors considered will include, but not be limited to, poor performance on standardized tests and in the classroom, lack of supervision during the after-school hours, poverty, adverse childhood trauma, and truancy.  As the program and space allows, other students will have the opportunity to join the program.

The program will have two sites:  Stratton Elementary for Grades 1-4 and Sadie Halstead Middle School for Grades 5-8.  We have a total of 80 spots available at Stratton and SHMS has thirty spots.  The program will run Monday-Friday from immediately after school until 5:15 PM at Stratton and 5:20 PM at SHMS.  Daily snacks and bus transportation following the modified activity bus routes are provided.

There are three major focus areas of the grant:

  1. Improving Student Academic Performance and Achievement
    • The program will provide reading, writing, and math intervention at the elementary level.
    • Middle school students will have the opportunity to receive help with homework, to review and solidify skills learned in math and language arts, and to develop study skills.
  2. Preparing students for 21st century careers through the development of STEaM skills and knowledge.
    • Both sites will offer a variety of STEM and arts classes aligned with school day objectives and student interests.
  3. Developing the whole child by building Social-Emotional capacity, Life Skills, and Healthy Habits.
    • Students at Stratton will build their social-emotional skills through daily interactions and weekly small groups.
    • SHMS students will develop a positive growth mindset through daily circle times.
    • Using the Skillastics mats, students will engage in fitness while learning about character and STEM.

The grant also provides for Family Nights with a focus on increasing the ability of parents to assist their students with continued learning and positive development.  Some of our past themes have included a Family Math Night, a Reading Together evening, an Hour of Code, a Starry STEaMy Night, and a Healthy Family Night, to name a few.  These nights, offered three times a year, will combine learning with fun for the whole family.

A bonus for the district is that the grant provides funding for a four-week summer program that will be run this coming summer from July 7-August 1, 2025.    Students engage in language arts and math lessons daily to prevent the summer learning slide AND we have incredible theme-based programming to round out the day.  Examples from past years include Around the World during an Olympic year in which the students learned about the language, stories, arts, games, geography, and sports from four continents of the world.  Another theme was a Summer of STEaM, which focused on STEM and arts projects.  To be eligible for the summer program, students must participate for sixty days during the school year.

The Grizzly Discovery Center is grateful for generous support from our community partners including the Pend Oreille County Library District, Community Colleges of Spokane - Newport Center, Mobius Science Center, the Kalispel Tribe, U.S. Navy Educational Outreach SeaPerch Program, CREATE Art Center, and Pend Oreille County WSU Extension.

Volunteers from our local community provide valuable support to the Grizzly Discovery Center students by leading a variety of enrichment programs. If you would like to share some of your time by tutoring students, helping them with homework or by teaching students one of your hobbies, crafts, or trades, please let us know. Whether you can volunteer multiple times throughout the year or even just an hour once in a while, the students and the Grizzly Discovery Center team would be grateful for your time.

For more information, please contact

  • Program Director:  Vickie Blanchet at 509.671.2428 or by email at BlanchetVickie@newportgriz.com
  • Grades 1-4:  Duncan Heaney, Stratton Site Coordinator, at 509.589.0799 or by email at heaneyduncan@newportgriz.com
  • Grades 5-8:  Constanza Rickey, SHMS Site Coordinator 206.981.0466 or by email at rickeyconstanza@newportgriz.com