City Council authorized the acceptance of an allocation of funds to implement the After School Education and Safety (ASES) Program.

A request for a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) among the Stanislaus County Office of Education, City of Turlock and Turlock Unified School District authorizing the acceptance of an allocation of funds and execution of a grant agreement to implement the ASES Program was voted 5-0 at Tuesday’s meeting.

ASES is a state grant that funds six of Turlock’s 13 after-school program sites including, Brown Elementary, Crowell Elementary, Cunningham Elementary, Osborn Elementary, Wakefield Elementary, and Turlock Junior High School.

“The ASES program is intended to serve those that are in need of additional academic assistance,” said City of Turlock Senior Recreation Supervisor Karen Packwood. “The program includes extensive homework assistance — an opportunity for the children to continue to work with their teachers throughout the afternoon, to get [those] one-on-one tutoring opportunities, [and] to hear guest speakers in regards to career advancement.”

Packwood explains that the guest speakers give children ideas of opportunities “they can work towards with good education.”

Registration for the 2014-2015 school year has already taken place according to Packwood. The registration opened in January and closed in February with most of the school sites already looking at full enrollment, and some with waiting lists.

The ASES Program is the result of the 2002 voter-approved initiative, Proposition 49, which amended California Education Code (EC) 8482 to expand and rename the former Before and After School Learning and Safe Neighborhood Partnerships Program. According to the California Department of Education’s website, the ASES Program funds the establishment of local after school education and enrichment programs.

Packwood attributed the success of the ASES Program to the partnership between the City, its schools, and the Stanislaus County Office of Education. She explained that the City sees the programs as an extension of the school day for children — a safe place where they can continue to learn after school.

According to Packwood, in total the City of Turlock receives $488,000 through the grants to help offset the cost of the program, which include staffing and expenses. As for those school sites that do not have an ASES Program, a fee-based program, the Positive Leisure Activities for Youth (PLAY) Program, is offered. A total of 120 CPR and first aid trained part-time staff work for both the ASES and PLAY programs. Staff also has opportunities throughout the year to take place in trainings like Common Core and classroom management. As of Aug. 12, 1,065 students were registered in their after school programs.

Applications for the ASES programs at participating school can be found in English and Spanish here.