By Steve Esack, Of The Morning Call, originally published 1/24/12
It used to be hard to tell when Principal Sonia Vazquez’s school in south Bethlehem was closed. Then money for after-school and summer programs dried up after Gov. Tom Corbett cut the $47.6 million funding for the state’s education assistance program to help plug a $4 billion state deficit.
“The fact I had to stop completely cold was very upsetting to them [students] and families,” said Vazquez, Donegan’s principal for the last three years.
But, those programs soon will be back at Donegan and other schools that serve mostly poor children in the Bethlehem Area and Allentown school districts and other parts of the Lehigh Valley area. Bethlehem Area has been awarded a three-year, $1.5 million federal grant to provide after-school activities for Donegan, Fountain Hill, Freemansburg and Marvine elementary schools. The Allentown School District got about $1.5 million, and Roberto Clemente Charter School in Allentown received $504,000 over three years.
The grant was established under the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. It is to be used to provide an after-school snack and tutoring in math, reading and English by certified teachers. When tutoring ends, students can unwind by participating in sports, academic or hobby clubs.