New Kid Central after school program brings learning and fun together

By Willis Patenaude 

When she was hired a few years ago as Central’s art teacher, Carlyn Lechtenberg was immediately impressed by everything the school had to offer its students, like academics, sports, fine arts and community interaction programs like Clayton County BEST. But among every great thing Central has, she was surprised by the absence of an afterschool program. 

Ever since, she has been driven by a passion to help initiate such a program for students and families, and most of all, make it free of charge.

While building a thriving arts program, Lechtenberg has worked toward bringing that passion into a reality, and the first step was reaching out to other school districts in the area who had after school programs in place. She engaged in information gathering sessions and explored grants that could fund the program.

While she was looking for grants, Lechtenberg stumbled upon plenty of others, like the Summer Feeding Program, which led to the Free School Snack Initiative. Before long, Central was becoming flush with beneficial programs, but she still hadn’t found exactly what she was looking for—until last spring. 

That’s when Lechtenberg found out about a “new, large-scale grant” from former Central educator and colleague Ann Gritzner, who was aware of Lechtenberg’s efforts and the benefits provided by after school programs.

“After school programs improve grades, test scores and attendance rates. They help keep kids safe and give the working parent some flexibility and peace of mind. Students can also explore and experience diverse interests while building social and life skills along with making community connections,” Lechtenberg said.

After receiving approval from administration, Lechtenberg went ahead with the application process for the Learning Beyond the Bell competitive grant, provided through the Iowa Department of Education’s portion from the American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ARP ESSER) Fund. 

The stated purpose of the grant is to build, evaluate, enrich and/or sustain evidence-based before- and after-school programming for schools with the most intense needs in Iowa. Central received a “substantial amount” to start and fund the program at no cost.

“Needless to say, I was ecstatic,” Lechtenberg said. “As a teacher and parent, I could see there was a strong desire and need for us to provide a program such as Kid Central. Our number one priority is our kids and we need to take care of them, and that truly goes ‘beyond the bell.’”

With funding in hand, a passion was fulfilled and a goal achieved. After “lots of pondering,” Kid Central was created.

“It suddenly clicked like a light bulb...we are Central, and our main focus is always our kids, while being a kid-friendly zone. Kid Central!” Lechtenberg said.

The purpose of Kid Central, as Lechtenberg explained, is to provide participating students with academic support and enrichment activities that are centered on STEM subjects. There’s a focus on reading and math, with tutoring available, as well as hands-on activities, choice-based special interest clubs and off-site adventures within the community.

Kid Central will offer opportunities for fine arts and physical activity to promote a well-rounded experience, while also developing partnerships with outside organizations, in hopes of simplifying the sharing of resources, best practices and collaborative initiatives. The end goal is enhancing the overall impact of out-of-school experiences in the community. 

“When community organizations contribute by offering specialized services and visits, field trips and mentorship programs, they enrich the students’ learning experience. By fostering open communication and partnerships, the after-school program can create a supportive environment that nurtures students’ academic, social and emotional well being,” Lechtenberg said.

But getting the funding and creating Kid Central was only the beginning. They still needed to find someone to be the program coordinator, a problem solved when Beth Gilana came across the ad for the position on Facebook and decided to reach out. 

Gilana moved to Volga about six years ago with her husband, Isaac, who is a pastor at Calvary Bible Church, and immediately fell for the kindness of the community. It was friendly and welcoming with helping neighbors. Put simply, they “loved it,” and along the way, they got involved because of an urge to “be a blessing to people.”

Being a blessing to people is one reason Gilana has been a sub at Central for almost as long as she’s lived here, and it’s also one reason she reached out about the Kid Central job. After an interview with elementary principal Amy Pope and superintendent Nick Trenkamp, she was hired. 

In Gilana, they picked someone who was interested, knew the students, understood the district and had familiarity with staff and the building, which means she wouldn’t’ get lost. And anyone who has ever tried to navigate Central will tell you, getting lost is easy to do.

Pope also mentioned Gilana brought ideas, structure and enthusiasm, and was able to “step in the door” with knowledge. Lechtenberg said she was an “excellent hire” who “understands the vision and importance of the program and brings so much compassion, calmness and creativity to the students, staff and school.”

The first order of business for Gilana, a self-professed “organizational geek,” was creating a schedule and organizing the program, which runs after school on Monday through Thursday, between 3:15 and 5:15 p.m., and on Fridays from 1:15 to 5:15, for grades K-5. 

The current set up of Kid Central is broken down into days, groups and learning activities. On Monday and Wednesday, the 76 kids currently in the program do breakout activities like pickleball, soccer, board games and arts and crafts. Tuesday and Thursday are academic days, geared toward free reading and educational games like flash cards, puzzles and matching.

The academic days also involve what’s called the “What I Need” (WIN) program, which is intended to serve as a breakout time when kids will work on items placed in a special Ziploc bag that their teachers think they need additional work on. This type of individualized learning is one of the benefits of the program, but for Gilana, it’s also about providing a place for students to go after school while providing new learning opportunities in creative ways. It opens students up to learning new things and possibly making new friends.

The program will also utilize partnerships with local organizations, such as the Iowa State Extension Office, Osborne Nature Center and once-a-month travel to the Driftless Region to provide learning experiences beyond the classroom and the school. Kids will hear from different voices and experts on subjects like ice fishing and how to harvest prairie seeds. It will get them out in the community. There’s even a goal to have the kids sing Christmas songs at the care center during the holiday season.

With a Pinterest board of ideas and a schedule mapped out, the next order of business for Gilana was finding volunteers willing to lend their time and talents for a few hours a week. One volunteer currently helping out is Central library associate and paraeducator Marianne French, who got involved to help support the elementary students, while also getting to know them at a younger age. 

So far, French has been involved with recess, board games, a walking scavenger hunt, free reading and with the WIN program for fifth graders.

“I love their joy and enthusiasm. I believe Kid Central has a positive impact on our students by providing our students with unique opportunities,” French said.

Another volunteer is library associate and paraeducator Tonia Robinson, who so far has helped out with after school recess and activities like board games, library time and helping with extra school work. Robinson also mentioned the breakout days, where students can learn rules to a new game or a community member comes in and teaches them about something, such as fire prevention or robotics by a member of the AEA.

“I have enjoyed the kids and being involved in the different activities we have for them to do. I feel it is important for the students to learn different social skills and how to interact with each other,” Robinson said.

However, there is still a need for community members to volunteer and lead a breakout lesson or an activity for an hour a week on an array of topics, like fossils, bee keeping, gardening, science or an original idea the community member comes up with. All the necessary resources are provided by the grant the program received. All the community member has to do is show up with a smile and enthusiasm, ready to provide a valuable experience to a group of Central students. 

“It takes a village, “Gilana said.

Under the grant that was awarded, the program is set to expire in May. Gilana, Pope and Lechtenberg are all looking for ways to make the program sustainable, by continuing to search for new grants or other funding opportunities to sustain a program that is like a second “home for the kids,” Pope said. It’s a place where they can learn, develop school pride and make friends. 

While the future remains uncertain, Gilana and Pope affirmed that no stone would be left unturned in trying to continue Kid Central in the future because, when students benefit, an entire community benefits.

“My hope is that Kid Central will have a positive impact among students and within our community to help bridge and support communication and connection between school and home,” Lechtenberg said.