Enrichment program after school free for a limited time
BY CAROL MOSLEY
Telegraph Staff Writer
BROOKER — Brooker Community School is busily putting the pieces in place for the August opening. They are posting yard signs and running ads for recruitment while volunteers show up for workdays to spiffy up the classrooms.
Each Wednesday is open house when parents and prospective students can drop by for a one-on-one visit with Principal Felecia Moss. The Board of Directors is meeting frequently to assure the legal and financial requirements are all satisfied in time.
The May 11 budget and board meeting covered a lot of territory. Positions are being filled rapidly with four teachers hired thus far, leaving two more positions to fill. Other support positions are still available, though some will be filled as needed once the school is up and running.
A bus driver position is one that must be filled as soon as possible. The school intends to provide some bus service. With the one bus available, the plan is to pick up at designated locations. There will not be door-to-door service. Currently, 29 students have signed up for transportation.
Food service provision still needs to be sorted out. One option is to have someone go to Starke each morning to obtain the lunches and bring them back to Brooker. Since the Brooker school has its own kitchen, hiring food service staff to prepare lunch on site is another option to consider. Once the students are enrolled, the school can see if the students schoolwide demographically qualify for free lunches. Otherwise, parents will need to fill out an income-based application for free or reduced-price lunches on a case-by-case basis.
Another major requirement in the works is getting the IT in place. One immediate glitch is that Kinetic won’t have the phone lines installed until mid-June. Meanwhile, there are hardware and software purchases that need to be made. The plan is for students to share laptops or tablets (to be determined) between two students. Staff will need laptops, monitors and docking stations. All will need software licenses, filters and security features. The usual projectors, speakers, document cameras and so on will be needed for each classroom.
A proposal was accepted by the board for initiating an extended-day enrichment program. The afterschool program is multi-purpose. It provides a safe environment for children of working parents whose job extends beyond school hours. It benefits students academically and socially in a less constrained environment. Plus, the clubs and special programs offered can increase students’ awareness of new options to explore through hands-on activities in areas such as agriculture.
The extended-day program will be available from 2:30–5 p.m. Monday through Friday at a cost of $60 per week, plus a $25 annual enrollment fee. Students who qualify for reduced rate will pay $45 instead of $60. For a limited time with early enrollment, the program can be available free for the month of August.
At the end of the meeting, Chairperson Suzanne McCree thanked the board and the community for the physical and financial support that has been so crucial in getting the school off the ground. Proving her point about community support, Charles and Sylvia Tatum of Tatum Sawmill in Lawtey quietly handed the board an envelope containing a $1,000 contribution.
