Local Video
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| Center offers students fun and support |
By: DAVID HENKE, Staff Writer
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Posted: Friday, February 6, 2009 9:35 pm
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NORTHFIELD — When sixth-grader Adilene Valerinao gets home from school every evening, she eats dinner, and then babysits her 3-year-old brother and her two younger cousins for a few hours while her parents are away at work.
Those extra responsibilities, Valerinao pointed out, make it tough to do any homework.
That’s why Valerinao attends the Middle School Youth Center, a free after-school educational and recreation program that offers sixth- through eighth-grade students a chance for some one-on-one homework help from tutors, and time to hang out with their friends in a setting supervised by school district staff and volunteers from the community.
The center, administered by Northfield School District youth development coordinator Jennifer Winterfeldt, has served as a safe, after-school drop-in program for several years. This past fall, however, Winterfeldt decided to add an educational component to the Monday through Thursday program. Now, students who need a little extra help with tough homework, or, like Valerinao, just need some supervised, designated homework time, can get it at the youth center.
Each two-hour daily session at the youth center is divided up into two halves. From 3 to 4 p.m., students spend time studying alone or in small groups overseen by tutors, volunteers and teachers. At 4 p.m., supervised studying ends, and the students get to play Nintendo Wii video games, foosball and air hockey, or just hang out with friends.
Typically, Winterfeldt said, roughly 20 to 30 students attend the youth center every day, although she has more than 80 students on her registry. Many of the students are referred to the center by teachers or guidance counselors, who have identified the students as needing extra academic support. Parents also sign their students up for the center, Winterfeldt said, and many of the students stop by of their own volition.
The added tutoring time has helped students overcome academic challenges, Valerinao and seventh-grader Brian McCracken said.
“It’s a good thing because I can get my work done,” McCracken said. At home, McCracken said, there are too many distractions and he has trouble staying focused on his math and Spanish homework.
“Not every student can go home to a parent that can help them with homework,” said youth center staff member Regina Hassanally. “We provide support and encourage them, and help the kids realize there are more adults in their lives that think they can learn learn and succeed.”
Although it’s occasionally difficult to keep the students focused on homework at the youth center, AmeriCorps Promise Fellow and youth center assistant Jason Hallen said, he’s noticed improvements in students’ work ethic and grades.
But the real benefit, Hallen said, is the way the middle school students connect to the larger community through the volunteers that spend time at the youth center.
“Going to the youth center starts bridging the students into the rest of the community,” Hallen said. “I think it benefits the kids by having a safe place to hang out after school and to be able to hang out and interact with volunteers.”
— David Henke can be reached at dhenke@northfieldnews.com or 645-1100.
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