| The Portland Housing Authority education center services are available to approximately seven hundred students, who attend both public and private schools in Portland, and live in public housing. Students who are immediate neighbors of public housing sometimes use the centers as well. Five hundred thirty-eight students used one of the four education centers at least once during the 1995-1996 school year. The centers' collective goal is to help students become academically and socially successful and thus remain in school. The need for the education centers was identified after the PHA reviewed the performance of low income and public housing students. In general, students from low income households tend to have above-average suspension rates, more absences, and poor study/work habits when compared to the average student. The education centers were developed to address these issues by helping students develop their talents, instilling a desire for lifelong learning, greater self-discipline, a sense of academic responsibility and drug abuse awareness education. The centers also perform the primary function of providing an atmosphere condusive to quiet study, which in many cases is difficult for the students to find elsewhere, in addition to which is provided the presence of adult supervision with an eye to assisting the students with any questions or problems they may have in regards to the work they came there to do. The original education center opened at Riverton Park in September 1992. We designed it primarily to be an after-school program aimed at helping students become academically successful, promoting inter-generational learning, and performing as a liaison between the local schools and public housing families. Residents in the other family public housing developments heard of the center's success and requested that installations of the same type be replicated in their communities. The program has now grown to include four centers, one in each of the major family developments. The centers have become the community focal point for educational assistance and referral for residents of all ages. Participation in the centers is voluntary. The centers are available during the day for adult students in adult education classes or independent work on the computers. The after-school program operates Monday through Thursday from 3:00 to 7:00pm. The centers try to follow the school calendar as much as possible, but due to the timing of grant-related and financial constraints, we cannot often hire coordinators until the end of August. The centers tend to open a couple of weeks after school starts, and close shortly before the end of the school term. The centers on average are open for thirty-two weeks per school year. Two coordinators share the task of supervising each center. The centers have also been used for summer recreation programs and as a year-round meeting site for many community groups. Student participation is only one measure of the education centers' success. This year we started working closely with the Pine Tree Council of Boy Scouts and recruited public housing youth (both male and female) for the new Urban Scouting Program. To date (06/30/96), one Boy Scout troop and one Explorer Scout unit are operating in Kennedy Park, and one Boy Scout troop and one Cub Scout pack are located at Front Street. At the end of the '95-'96 school year, six students received PHA Scholarships. The scholarships range between $500.00 and $1,000.00. Although we didn't have a PHA resident valedictorian this year, a senior from Riverton Park was awarded one of the six Brown Medals given out by the Portland school system. Earlier in '96, a reporter from the Portland Press Herald visited the Kennedy Park center and wrote an article on the work being done there, titling it "Federal Program that Works." So long as the funding continues, we will continue to work for progress. |