As nighttime temperatures drop, a hint of color change in leaves on local trees, and a tiny dusting on the tops of the Chugach, the signs are all there: school is back in season!
Cook Inlet Tribal Council's Schoolyard after-school program celebrates this time, as it means the students will be back each weekday from 2pm to 5pm.
Our guest on Morning Line today, Youth Advocate/Counselor Kimberly Smith, says this year is, in some ways, a fresh start, as the program adds a component for Middle School age students.
Another change is that there will be new faces in the program - this past summer, many of the participants graduated High School, and so recruitment for new students is in full swing. "We're having a potluck on September 14th to showcase the Schoolyard, and all we have to offer."
The program has transportation available to two schools by van, and mechanisms in place to help get students from other schools to the Cook Inlet Tribal Council Transportation Building as well. The building looks like a garage with three bays from the outside, but has been converted to a Fabrication Lab inside, stocked with laser cutters, 3D printers and other high-tech creative gizmos. The upstairs is where the Schoolyard program meets, at a computer lab/ classroom.
More information about the program can be found at the Cook Inlet Tribal Council Website: https://citci.org/education/schoolyard/
or the program'sFacebook Page.
