Success Academy Gets Grant Money

Thu., March 2, 2000

By Marny Lombard marnyl@spokesman.com (509) 927-2166

A $1.9 million federal grant received by Central Valley and East Valley school districts will make possible a three-year program called Success Academy.

The program will include summer school and after-school enrichment for some grade school and middle school students.

Starting in September, the program will operate at five grade schools: Blake, Keystone and Opportunity elementary schools in Central Valley; and at East Farms and Trentwood elementary schools in East Valley.

The Central Valley program may also pull in seventh- and eighth-graders from North Pines Junior High.

The grant is from the federal 21st Century Learning Community Centers program, which is working in 125 communities across the nation. The program focuses on keeping schools open for longer hours, with tutoring, academic enrichment and recreational activities. Some communities include band, drama and the arts, or technology education.

Here, the program will be geared toward helping students who may have trouble with the new state tests. It will also include a career program and a focus on reading.

The program will be developed in detail this spring and summer. Each site will have five staffers, including three certified teachers.

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