Software available free to students, on all school computers
KINGWOOD — The After School Explorers (ASE) will be virtual this year through Teams.
Michelle Berry, director of elementary curriculum, said Microsoft Teams is a collaboration tool within Office365 that allows teachers to connect to students through chat and threaded conversations, meetings and video conferencing, calling and content collaboration.
She said Microsoft Office365 is provided at no cost to students by the West Virginia Department of Education (WVDE) and is available on all 1:1 devices and school computers.
Susie Huggins, project director of the after school program, said ASE will be offering tutoring services, homework help and enrichment through Teams. Teams is the approved platform from the central BOE office.
She said ASE will be offering tutoring services, homework help and enrichment.
Huggins said the vision of ASA is to enhance the lives of students in the Preston County community by offering experiences after school for intellectual, social, physical, nutritional and emotional growth in a safe and secure environment to succeed in a changing world.
- Goal 1: Make accessible to every student in Preston County a high-quality extended learning program, including before-school, after-school, and summer programming.
- Goal 2: Provide extended learning opportunities to raise student achievement in English Language Arts and Mathematics for students in the low Supplemental educational services (SES) subgroups.
- Goal 3: Provide extended learning opportunities that complement and enrich the regular school day curriculum for every student.
- Goal 4: Provide a parent education program to give support and learning opportunities to parents, grandparents and caregivers.
“Thanks to the efforts of Michelle Berry, ASE received two federal 21st Century Community Learning Center grants, bringing an additional $400,000 in services to Preston County,” Huggins said.
Berry said the grant was written, in collaboration with EdVenture, to provide academic support and enrichment opportunities to students beyond the school day and school year.
She said this includes funding for After School Explorers, parent education programs, Learning in Motion bus programming, Freshman Camp and gardening programs. Preston County Schools was awarded over $2 million to be used over a 5-year period for the extended learning opportunities.
“When your family participates in After School Explorers. you are helping your child learn in these crazy COVID times with dedicated highly qualified staff while you start dinner and have a minute to yourself. There will also be enrichment activities along with special family night events. You are not alone,” Huggins said.
She said last year 10 ASE sites served 500 children with 50 staff.
Parents can register children with ASE at tinyurl.com/y6zjuaba
Registration must be completed before attending ASE Teams.
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