AFTER-SCHOOL PROGRAM WINS GRANT RENEWAL; FUNDS EXPECTED AT VENA AVENUE SCHOOL.Byline: Deborah Sullivan Staff Writer A federal grant will allow four elementary schools elementary school: see school. , including one in Arleta, to continue offering an after-school program for three more years, a City Council committee said Monday. The council's Public Safety Committee recommended that the council accept a $2 million federal grant money to continue the program, called L.A.'s Best, at Vena Avenue Elementary School in Arleta and three other schools that adopted it in February. ``We have a very great need for after-school care for our children because most of our community is working parents, so we have 200 to 150 students after school with nowhere to go. L.A.'s Best has helped out tremendously, offering enrichment enrichment Food industry The addition of vitamins or minerals to a food–eg, wheat, which may have been lost during processing. See White flour; Cf Whole grains. programs that we could not squeeze in,'' said Linda Ariyasu, school principal at Vena Avenue. Ariyasu said L.A.'s Best provides recreational and educational opportunities for young people who otherwise might be victimized or recruited by street gangs in their neighborhoods. The federal grant came when parents were asking for more after-school programs for their children because of recent gang killings in the San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. . Arleta parents and school officials said the program is essential. ``I definitely would not want my kids in any other school that didn't have it,'' said Olivia Apodaca, mother of a first-grader and a kindergartner kin·der·gart·ner also kin·der·gar·ten·er n. 1. A child who attends kindergarten. 2. A teacher in a kindergarten. at Vena Avenue school. The program now operates at 28 elementary schools in the city, providing academic tutoring, sports and recreational activities for 5,800 children, said spokeswoman Rose Ann ANN, Scotch law. Half a year's stipend over and above what is owing for the incumbency due to a minister's relict, or child, or next of kin, after his decease. Wishaw. Also, an abbreviation of annus, year; also of annates. In the old law French writers, ann or rather an, signifies a year. Rasic. A 1994 review of the program by UCLA UCLA University of California at Los Angeles UCLA University Center for Learning Assistance (Illinois State University) UCLA University of Carrollton, TX and Lower Addison, TX researchers found there was better performance on lessons, fewer classroom behavior problems and a greater sense of safety and enjoyment at schools with L.A. Best programs, Rasic said. A follow-up study, tracking some of the first participants who joined the program 11 years ago through their college years, is under way, she said. Apodaca credits L.A.'s Best with helping give confidence to her two young children. She said she would have to rely on family members to baby-sit them if the program were not available. In addition to the federal grant approved in committee Monday, program operators expect state funds to expand to 34 more schools and 3,000 more children, said L.A.'s Best chief operating officer Chief Operating Officer (COO) The officer of a firm responsible for day-to-day management, usually the president or an executive vice-president. , Debe Loxton. ``The goal of this has been to intervene intervene v. to obtain the court's permission to enter into a lawsuit which has already started between other parties and to file a complaint stating the basis for a claim in the existing lawsuit. early at the elementary school level to give kids constructive alternatives, to spend their after-school time in a positive way, and to get them on the right track early, which I think will serve them well for the rest of their lives,'' said Councilwoman Cindy Miscikowski Cindy Miscikowski represented the 11th District on the Los Angeles City Council for two full terms from 1997 through 2005. Previously, she was an aide to Councilman Marvin Braude and the Executive Director of the Skitball Cultural Center in its beginning stages. , who chairs the Public Safety Committee. ``There is no better investment of our money and of the federal government's money than in this crucial and highly successful program,'' said Mayor Richard Riordan's senior press deputy, Jessica Copen. |
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