By Brandon T. Bisceglia
Students in Orange’s 21 Century After-School Program were treated to a “Slime Time” activity as part of the expanded offerings in 2018. Photo courtesy of Orange Public Schools.
In late 2016, the Orange Board of Education created a committee to give organization and direction to its after-school program.
That committee held its final meeting Dec. 17, having completed its task. Orange’s 21st Century After-School Program has grown into one of the most dynamic and comprehensive services the town has to offer its children.
Tricia M. Lasto, principal of Mary L. Tracy School and after-school program lead, gave a presentation before the entire BOE Jan. 22 demonstrating just how much progress has been made.
Among other things, the program has unveiled a new logo and a slogan: “You walk in and the adventure begins!” The slogan was submitted by Peck Place School student Brooke Houst and voted on by the program staff.
The new logo for Orange’s 21 Century After-School Program. Image courtesy of Orange Public Schools.
The logo and slogan were part of an effort to unify the programs at each school, which had been running more or less independently.
Lasto, who is in her second year as lead, was the first person to take on the role of overseeing the entire program.
“It wasn’t exactly fractured before, but it wasn’t unified either, because there was no one unifying it,” she said.
The program is currently servicing 1,259 seats per week, up 133 seats from 2017. A single student may take up more than one seat.
It includes an hour-long before-school session and an afternoon session from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Almost all the growth came in the afternoon sessions, which Lasto attributed mainly to the fact that most parents are still working when school ends.
One of the biggest gains for the program was the creation of STEAM rooms, which allowed students to move outside the cafeteria space where they had been confined. STEAM stands for science, technology, engineering, arts and math.
“We have more places and avenues for them to go so we can meet their needs on a much smaller ratio,” she said.
She said students voted on elements of the rooms and participated in their creation.
“They were part of designing the rooms, and they really took a lot of ownership,” she said.
The after-school program also entered a one-year partnership with the Wallingford-based CT STEM Academy, which offered training for both students and staff so that they could offer new programs around technology. They include programs on computer science, coding and maker kits. The training also allows the staff to break the programs up by grade level to better reach students at their current level.
“It’s really made an impact on how we use our technology,” she said.
One of the activities that has been especially successful is Lego Mindstorm, which challenges students to create, build and code in elaborate, multi-component projects. Four teams entered the regional competition in Shelton this year, with one team placing sixth.
Students in Orange’s 21 Century After-School Program participated in the Lego Mindstorm challenge and competed in the regional competition in Shelton. Photo courtesy of Orange Public Schools.
On top of the regular programs, the students are treated to monthly “enrichment guests,” each with a unique focus, including magic shows and a trivia game show.
Lasto said one of the benefits of doing double duty as a school principal is that she can seamlessly tie the after-school activities to what’s happening during the school day.
“I get to have the knowledge of what their curriculum is, and I can carry it over into the after-school program – in a stealth way,” she joked. “But I know it’s meshing in with the needs of the students in the district.”
Board member Charles Flynn praised Lasto and the entire group for their efforts in advancing the program after she finished her presentation.
“There was a lot of drama in my house last week when the calendar came, and my son was torn between ‘Do I go to coding or do I go to robotics,’” he said, adding that his kids can’t get enough of the programs.
“As a parent, I can’t believe what I’m hearing, that you want to be at school studying science in some fashion,” he said.
Lasto was quick to give most of the credit to the site managers who put the time and effort into making the program work for each student.
“Sometimes I think they don’t get enough credit,” she said. “They run the entire site. I oversee the program, but they’re the boots on the ground.”