As most working parents know, afterschool childcare is not as easy to access for many families as they would like. The Boys & Girls Clubs of Mid Central Coast has been at the forefront of providing high-quality, affordable afterschool programming since 1966 and is now poised to expand their services into San Luis Obispo. Thanks to the leadership of the San Luis Coastal School District, under the direction of Dianne Frost, the Assistant Superintendant, along with enthusiastic support from the principal of Laguna Middle School, John Calandro, BGCMCC has entered into a partnership to open a Club at Laguna Middle School. Opening on April 1, this new Club–the 15th Club operated by Boys & Girls Clubs of Mid Central Coast–will have capacity to serve 80 Laguna Middle School Students with the evidenced based programming, Boys & Girls Clubs of America is known for. With learning options that cover everything from financial literacy with the Money Matters© program, to leadership building with Torch Club©, to health and fitness opportunities through the Triple Play© program, and everything in between, Club members will have the most enriching afterschool experience available.
The Middle School student is frequently the most over-looked age group when it comes to afterschool services and experiences. More than half of the achievement gap between lower- and higher-income youth can be explained by unequal access to after-school or out of school time learning opportunities. With limited access to out of school learning opportunities through a child’s school aged years can amount to years of loss. Causing low -income students to fall further and further behind and ultimately endangering their chances of high school graduation. Club Members have a 95% rate of graduating from high school and 88% of teenage members report that they plan to attend some post-secondary education so robust after school programming not only provides immediate service to kids and families but helps build success in the long term.
The Club at Laguna Middle School will have a dedicated space for Members and the Club Director, Griffin Cook, has begun developing his staff of Youth Development Professionals who will develop and lead all of the programs and services for Members. In addition to the afterschool programming, BGCMCC is known for, in this partnership, Club Staff will also lead lunch time programming for all students at Laguna Middle School who are interested–they do not need to be Club Members to benefit from lunch time programming.
“We currently serve an area of over 2000 square miles north of and south of San Luis Obispo. It just makes sense that we bring our expertise and excellence in caring for kids to the youth of San Luis Obispo,” shares Michael Boyer, CEO of Boys & Girls Clubs of Mid Central Coast. He goes on to say, “We know parents, families, local businesses, and community leaders value the services we have to offer and their support and donations will go a long way to ensuring we have the high quality staff and other resources necessary to be the program of choice for kids in San Luis Obispo.”
BGCMCC is currently hiring to fill staffing positions at the Laguna Middle School Club and families that are interested in joining can look at our Membership Information online. If you are interested in learning more about how you can support expanding this Club or help with any of our plans for growth, please contact Alanna Andruskiewicz, Chief Philanthropy Officer.
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