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Date: 8/31/2022
HUNTINGTON – Superintendent Kristen Smidy and Student Program and Communications Coordinator Martha Clark recently announced that the Gateway Regional School District was awarded the 21st Century Supporting Additional Learning Time (SALT) Grant for after-school and summer programs in the amount of $210,000, for fall 2022 through summer 2023.
“As long as we fulfill reporting requirements and the state allocations continue, this grant has the ability to run for five years, totaling just about a million dollars,” Smidy said in her report to the Gateway School Committee. “This would mean that families can continue to have no or low fees for student enrollment in these programs.”
The purpose of the federally funded competitive grant program is to support the implementation of academically enriching programming outside school hours, or using a longer school day or longer school year.
This year, Gateway’s summer program, which was funded by a one-time grant, offered free programming to over 300 district students for the first time. The summer ended with transitional programs for students entering the sixth grade academy, seventh grade and high school.
“It was a collaborative effort between teachers, paras, admin, food service, custodians, transportation, safety and secretaries to get the programs through the summer with success,” Smidy said.
Clark said the district ran summer programs in all of its schools – Chester and Littleville elementary schools, and the middle and high school. Camp programs were offered for students up to 10th grade, and for students in special services.
Some graduating seniors served as counselors in the camp, while juniors were junior counselors.
The fifth to eighth grade camp, which specifically received the SALT grant, had different themes every week, each of which incorporated art, games, investigation and building activities. For example, for the Building and Growing theme, campers went into the pond behind the school with waders, boots and nets to draw water samples to test and look at under a microscope, Clark said.
Smidy said the SALT grant was competitive and took herself, Clark, Curriculum Director Deanna LeBlanc and Assistant Superintendent of Finance Stephanie Fisk 40 hours to write.
Smidy said her team is applying for a separate grant for the elementary schools camp program. Whether or not they receive that grant, their hope is that with the SALT grant, they will be able to offer summer programs for all ages free of charge next year.
“At the end of the day, it just means really good services to our kids without a charge to the towns,” Smidy said.
The SALT grant will also fund after-school programs on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays during the year, beginning in September.
“We can provide more robust programming, and can use the grant to pay for the late bus, which is available to anyone on campus who wants to stay late,” Clark said. The after-school program is free for students in sixth to 12th grades.