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Section D · Page 10
The University Daily Kansan
Monday, August 21, 2000
Volunteers teach after-school fun
By Kelsey Patterson Special to the Kansan
A six-year-old girl ran to Vickie Graham and tugged on the hem of her shirt. Graham turned her eyes from the group of about 20 children playing, screaming and wrestling on the playground behind the school and looked down.
"Are you coming back tomorrow?" the girl asked, pushing tangled brown hair out of her blue eyes.
"Of course," said Graham, Haskell Indian Nations University junior.
Being appreciated is one reason Graham and more than 30 KU and Haskell students took part last spring in the after-school program in three east Lawrence schools that serve low-income neighborhoods: Central Junior High, East Heights Elementary and New York Elementary. The program focuses on building relationships and teaching social and cooperative skills to 215 students.
Tina Thompson, project coordinator, said that a federal grant — the 21st Century Community Learning Center — allowed Lawrence to develop the extensive after school program in areas designated to be at-risk.
According to a study by Unified School District 497, East Lawrence had characteristics of an inner city, which qualified the area for the grant. Lawrence must reapply in 2001 to continue receiving funds.
At Central, students are taught subjects such as video production Web design and cultural cooking At the elementary schools, students enroll in general education classes that incorporate arts and crafts recreational and traditional subjects. Although the format varies, the focus on relationship building and social skills is the same.
"We attempt to establish a relationship with the kids," said Erica Christy, a Wichita junior who volunteers at East Heights. "We try to incorporate school and fun. We might read a book, but they also learn how to take turns, how to
share and how to get along."
East Heights faced a special challenge because of the make-up of its student body, said site team leader, Rebecca Goodin. School district data from 1997 and 1998 showed that many East Heights students scored lower on basic achievement tests than students in other Lawrence schools. Goodin said she hoped to overcome these problems by focusing on reading and math and by enforcing the need for discipline and trust between students and teachers.
"It is hard for some kids to trust people," she said. "They tend to test the after-school instructors to see if they will hang around since so many people have been in and out of their lives."
Site team leader Carolyn Masinton said team teaching was an effective component of the program.
"The first several weeks of the program, all of the instructors are tearing their hair out, but with the support of other team instructors, bonds grow throughout the year," Masinton said.
The job becomes easier after a student instructor gains the trust of the students, site team leaders said.
"The best part of the after-school program are the smiles that I get," said Thad Rawls, Pompano Beach, Fla. senior. "The kids have finally found somebody who cares about them."
A student at New York, Katherine Reid, 12, said the program was beneficial.
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"I've come since the beginning of school because it is more fun than going home," she said. "I don't get bored, and I don't get in trouble. It is definitely worth it."
Site team leaders agreed that KU student instructors have been instrumental in the formation of relationships with students.
A student told me that he only had two friends," said Libby Blackburn, a Wichita sophomore and East Heights instructor. "I told him that he was wrong. He had four friends: the other teacher and me."
JoJo, a 7-month-old Beagle, sits in lock-down at the Lawrence Humane Society. Along with other dogs, cats and rabbits, JoJo is one of the many animals at the Humane Society that are looking for a home. Photo by Nick Krug/KANSAN.
Dog owners more careful about leash law
By Lauren Lenter
Special to the Kansan
A Lawrence city ordinance passed last summer requires owners to leash their dogs on the University of Kansas campus and in Lawrence.
Melissa Shaw, Wilmette, Ill., senior, and her dogs Tasha, a Labrador mix she bought a year and a half ago, and Jezebel, a Rottweiler she bought five months ago. Shaw enjoys taking her dogs to Potter Lake, where she and other owners let their dogs play in the water.
their dogs off leashes to swim in the lake, they should be more careful about controlling their pets.
"It was like a whole other subculture." Shaw said. "If you weren't down there, people would wonder."
people would wonder.
Although owners probably still can let
"Things are different now for dogs and their friends," said Lt. Schuyler Bailey of the University of Kansas Public Safety Office, which enforces the city ordinance on the KU campus.
Bailey said public safety officers are not out to give tickets to every violator. But they do want students to leash their dogs.
If officers see a dog that is not leashed, they will give the dog's owner a flyer that explains the law. A $30 fine is enforced for first-time offenders of the law. A second offense within 12 months carries a $40 fine, a third offense with a year a $60 fine and a fourth offense a $100 fine.
If an owner does not pick up their dog's waste, he or she can be fined $10.
From August 1999 to May 2000, police issued seven unleashed dog citations on the KU campus. This total does not include warnings.
Although no animals are allowed in campus buildings, dogs that aid people who are disabled are permitted.
Shaw now keeps Tasha and Jezebel leashed when she takes them to area parks.
"I have a job and I'm in school and I have plenty of time to take care of them," Shaw said. "It's expensive. Half of my paychecks go to their care, but it's totally worth it."
Edited by Chris Fickett