Students, Parents, Administrators and Program Coordinators Celebrate First Year of LAYC’s After-School Programs at Wilson Senior High School and Deal Junior High

There was lots of dancing on June 7 at Wilson High School Library as the inaugural class of LAYC’s after-school program at Wilson High School and Deal Junior High celebrated the end of the year and showed off some of the moves they had learned as part of LAYC’s new after-school program for recent immigrants and other newcomers to the DC school system.

Four dance performances, including belly dancing, break dancing and Afro-Caribbean dance, highlighted the happy gathering, which was attended by students, parents, Wilson Principal Dr. Stephen Tarason, Wilson Director of Academic Development and LAYC Board Member Alex Wilson, Mercedes Lemp, Director of DC’s Office on Latino Affairs (OLA), and LAYC Chief Operating Officer Anita Friedman.

Last fall, with support from DC’s Department of Human Services, the Office on Latino Affairs and Marriott Corporation, LAYC began working with students at Wilson High School and Deal and MacFarland middle schools to provide English assistance, homework help and other educational, recreational and leadership opportunities to students identified by the DCPS Bilingual Education Office as Non-English Proficient or Limited English Proficient (NEP/LEP).

Students participating in the after-school program split their time between homework and enrichment activities, which included dance, web design, and art programming offered through LAYC’s Art & Media House.

At Wilson, 32 students from ten different countries participated in the program. Deal’s 18 participants represented 11 countries. Thirty-three volunteers, many of them students at American University and members of the National Cathedral’s Literacy Corp, offered assistance with homework, tutored students, and oversaw activities.

“This was a great first year for this important and needed program,” said Alex Wilson, Wilson’s Director of Academic Development. “It’s wonderful for the school to be able to tap the programmatic expertise that exists in our community and to be able to offer the programs in the schools, almost as an extension of the school day. Just looking at these young people today, you can tell they learned a lot during the year, had fun, and were exposed to positive educational and social opportunities through the new program offered by LAYC.”

Continued Wilson, “The wonderful diversity at Wilson is one of the school’s great strengths. Programs like this one help ease the transition for young people who have recently arrived in this country or who are new to DC schools. I am hopeful that this type of partnership between the schools and local non-profit organizations can be a model for future initiatives that really help young people in our community.”

An important feature of the program is that it reaches students in a school environment they're already used to and comfortable in. Additionally, coordinators at the schools are able to refer students and their families to other programs and services that LAYC offers, including computer classes, social services, and mentoring programs. As such, the program serves as a key connection point to other services for students and their families.

Added Anita Friedman, LAYC’s Chief Operating Officer, “This type of partnership enables students to benefit from additional services and programs and it enables schools to draw from the experience of local organizations that have particular knowledge working with certain communities. We’re very pleased to have been able to offer the program and look forward to building on what we’ve learned in the first year.”