Over the past decade, thousands of students in St. Mary’s County Public Schools (SMCPS) have had access to daily, high-quality, after school programs with bus transportation provided. These programs are primarily funded by competitive grants awarded to SMCPS from the federal 21st Century Community Learning Centers program that is administered by the Maryland State Department of Education. Since 1999, approximately $10,000,000 of competitive grants have been awarded to SMCPS along with approximately $500,000 of matching funds provided by the St. Mary’s Board of County Commissioners and significant in-kind contributions from St. Mary’s County Public Schools and local partners.
In the most recent grant competition, the Bright Futures After School Program, serving Green Holly Elementary School, Park Hall Elementary School and Great Mills High School was not selected for funding. Programs at these sites will not open in the fall, affecting approximately 200 students.
The 21st Century grant that funds the Dream Team After School Program at George Washington Carver Elementary School, Lexington Park Elementary School, Spring Ridge Middle School, and the Carver Recreation Center is not affected, and these programs, serving 300 students daily, will continue to operate in the fall.
The 21st Century Program has been jointly operated at five schools with a non-profit partner, the Boys and Girls Clubs of Southern Maryland. That organization will focus on their core operations in Calvert County this year and will no longer be involved in after school programs in St. Mary’s County. The Dream Team 21st Century Program will continue to be a partnership involving St. Mary’s County Public Schools, St. Mary’s County Department of Recreation and Parks, St. Mary’s College of Maryland, Future Leaders of the World (FLOW) Mentoring, Cooperative Extension, 4-H, and the Kiwanis Clubs of St. Mary’s County.
