West Virginia State University 4-H Seeks to Expand After-School Programs

5/1/2014

---

Contact: Kimberly Osborne
(304) 766-3363
kosborne@wvstateu.edu
     
INSTITUTE, W.Va. – West Virginia State University (WVSU) Extension Service, the Bob Burdette Center and PRO-Kids Inc. are partnering to strengthen after-school programs in Kanawha County. The agencies are collaborating on a funding proposal to the West Virginia Department of Education's 21st Century Community Learning Center Program that will increase educational opportunities at four sites throughout Charleston.

"This funding will increase programming efforts at these after-school sites, giving the kids more opportunities for educational enrichment," said Kelli Batch, WVSU Extension Service assistant program director.

If received, funds will be used to supplement and increase existing offerings at the Bob Burdette Center's three after-school sites and at the PRO-Kids site, all on Charleston's West Side. WVSU Extension Service's 4-H staff will begin offering enrichment programs related to science, agriculture, health and nutrition to youth, as well as learning opportunities such as financial literacy to parents and families of participants.

The proposal is due to the Department of Education in late May. Funding announcements will follow in July.

The West Virginia 21st Century Community Learning Center supports the creation of community learning centers that provide academic enrichment opportunities during non-school hours for children. The program helps students meet state and local student standards in core academic subjects, offers a broad array of enrichment activities to complement regular academic programs, and offers literacy and other educational services to the families of participating children.

The Bob Burdette Center Inc. and PRO-Kids Inc. are non-profit organizations offering after-school enrichment programs at sites throughout the Charleston area.

Follow West Virginia State University on Facebook and Twitter @WVStateU.
 
West Virginia State University is a public, land grant, historically black university, which has evolved into a fully accessible, racially integrated, and multi‐generational institution, located in Institute, W.Va. As a “living laboratory of human relations,” the university is a community of students, staff, and faculty committed to academic growth, service and preservation of the racial and cultural diversity of the institution. Its mission is to meet the higher education and economic development needs of the state and region through innovative teaching and applied research.