Tulare County Office of Education - CHOICES After School Program

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About the Program

The History

The CHOICES After School Program consortium began operation in the Fall 2006. It is funded by the After School Education and Safety (ASES) grant from the state of California. In December 2006, three pilot sites were opened and by May 2007, 15 additional schools joined the consortium. Today, the consortium has evolved into a team of 29 schools, serving an average of 1600 students each day.

The Purpose

One of the primary functions of after school programs in California is to help close the achievement gap by providing students with consistent academic support that is aligned to the regular school day. We believe that in order to support students' academic progress, we must offer a well-rounded and balanced program. Our lessons and activities are created with consideration to our students' intellectual and academic interests; social, emotional and character development; need for creativity and imagination; and, physical activity.

A second function of the after school program is to promote student safety. Studies have shown significant spikes in juvenile crime and risky behavior during after school hours. Offering a safe environment after school provides students with an opportunity they may not have otherwise.

The Program

CHOICES offers programming to K-8* students 180 school days per year, Monday through Friday. The program begins immediately upon the conclusion of the regular day and until at leaset 6:00 p.m. Students are expected to attend daily.

CHOICES After School Programs are only offered at schools that have met the requirements set forth by the California Department of Education and have joined the CHOICES After School Program consortium.

* NOTE: Each program is assigned an enrollment cap, based upon funding. We do our best to ensure all grade levels are enrolled; however, enrollment is impacted by assessing which grade levels at a school site are in most need for academic support. Therefore, classes for kindergarten are not available at some schools.

Daily Schedule
20 minutes - Snack time
45 minutes - Homework assistance
20 minutes - Physical fitness
40 minutes - Math and Language Literacy
45 minutes - Enrichment Clubs / Project-based or Service Learning

CHOICES After School Program

The Impact and Leadership Composition

Since 2007, we have impacted the lives of more than 3000 students.
Over the last four years, our program has brought hundreds of job opportunities and thousands of dollars into low-income neighborhoods.
Students gain 15-20 hours per week developing essential life skills needed for their long-term interest.
Students experience positive interaction every day after school versus 25+ hours of empty television viewing.
On-going staff development continues to build the capacity of staff as leaders and educators in an emerging field.
Of the four full-time After School Program Leadership team, two are Certificated Teachers with classroom experience.
Collectively, CHOICES staff have more than 25 years of experience in After School and Education.
Nearly half of our after school staff are actively pursuing their Bachelor's Degree. Approximately 10% are enrolled in teacher preparation programs or are student teaching.

Tulare County Office of Education
CHOICES
7000 Doe Avenue
Building 300
Visalia, CA 93291

Virginia Sepeda, Program Coordinator
Guadalupe Solis, Ed.D.,
Student Academic Services Administrator
(559) 651-0155
fax: (559) 651-0172

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