Burnet County schools to offer after-school enrichment studies for fun, learning
DANIEL CLIFTON • PICAYUNE EDITOR
BERTRAM — Burnet County schools are giving a revision to the old stand-by of reading, writing and arthithmetic thanks to a federal grant to provide enrichment programs and opportunities for students.
“It’s not even outside the box, it’s throwing the box away,” said Jason Zoll, Bertram Elementary’s after-school coordinator.
The program, called the Burnet County Consortium ACE Program, doesn’t replace the regular classroom studies and activities; it offers students a range of enrichment studies — both academic and non-academic — before or after classes.
“It’s something beyond your normal academics,” Zoll said. “It’s about rounding out the whole person.”
The program could include guitar lessons, sports activities, art classes or even small-engine repair. The offerings all depend on two things: student interests and instructors.
Zoll is reaching out to community members interested in teaching a class.
“Maybe there’s somebody who has a hobby and wants to share it,” he said. “It really is totally open to what people want to teach as long as it’s appropriate for the students.”
Earlier this year, Burnet and Marble Falls school districts joined efforts in applying for a 21st Century Community Learning Centers Grant as the Burnet County Consortium. Out of 340 applications, 19 earned the funding.
The beauty of the grant, Zoll said, is it really does leave the implementation and program to the imagination of the folks closest to the students.
In the Burnet school district, the program includes Bertram Elementary, Burnet Elementary, R.J. Richey Elementary and Burnet Middle School. In the Marble Falls district, Highland Lakes Elementary, Marble Falls Middle School and Marble Falls High School are initially instituting the program.
And with each campus, the classes and enrichment opportunities probably will look a bit different.
“Each campus can develop classes and programs that are best for that campus,” Zoll said. “But at the same time, we have so many campuses that we can also share resources.”
Bertram Elementary School Principal Terra Singletary said she loves that the program gives students a chance to explore activities they might otherwise never get the opportunity to try.
“We’re excited about the after-school program and what it brings to our Bertram students,” she said.
But it’s not just “fun” classes. Zoll is creating a Betram model that includes academic enrichment as well, so after-school students can get one hour of academic programming and two hours of other enrichment.
“We definitely want some life-skills classes the kids can benefit from, maybe it’s job-related or technical,” he added. “Whatever we can do to help the kids out.”
He’s still working out all the details and trying to line up instructors but will send out brochures to students and parents as it becomes more formalized.
Along with providing enrichment opportunities for children, Zoll said it’s also a great way to connect the community to the schools. The instructors don’t have to be a district teacher, just somebody with some knowledge he or she wants to share.
The after-school program won’t require a daily commitment. Instructors may teach once a week for an hour and whatever best fits their schedule. Zoll said having several one-hour classes also opens up the opportunity for more selections.
The program is free and open to all students.
“We also see this as a way to get kids excited about school,” he added.
Anybody interested in instructing a class or helping out, may call Zoll at (512) 715-5192 or (512) 355-2111.
daniel@thepicayune.com