ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Members of the state House of Representatives Afterschool Caucus came to Trexler Middle School in Allentown on Wednesday to learn more about a program that offers enrichment and academic support opportunities to students.
The bipartisan group, headed by co-caucus chair Elizabeth Fielder, D-Philadelphia, were exploring the Nita M. Lowey 21st Century Community grant program for elementary through high school students.
- State lawmakers are visiting school afterschool programs to see what is working in what communities
- Local lawmakers state reps. Mike Schlossberg and Peter Schweyer attended
- Students discussed issues from bullying to inflation as concerns
Other attendees included caucus member Rep. Mike Schlossberg, D-Lehigh, and House Education Chairman Peter Schweyer, D-Lehigh, who is not a member.
They got a snapshot of the Cohesion Network’s five-week character development course available to students in grades 2-12 in the 21st Century program in Allentown, Executive Director Darian Colbert said.
'Ask permission later'
Students in grades 5-7 guided lawmakers through an obstacle course with pitfalls to avoid. Asked what problems they wanted to solve at Trexler, they yelled out issues such as “bullying and students’ behavior."
“You guys are raising pay now. But when inflation was going up, why didn’t you raise pay then?”Trexler Middle School sixth-grader Ashley Genao-Martinez
Asked what community issues she wanted to solve, Ashley Genao-Martinez, a sixth-grader at Trexler, told state lawmakers she wished to decode the answer to inflation.
“You guys are raising pay now,” Ashley told some of the lawmakers. “But when inflation was going up, why didn’t you raise pay then?”
Schlossberg told students the piece of advice he wanted to share with the was to “take initiative.”
Schweyer said outside of school, it was easier to ask forgiveness later than to ask for permission first.
“I’d rather have you guys pick up some litter, go do something than rather ask the mayor,” Schweyer said. “Or ask a teacher or principal. If you see something, fix it. Ask permission later.”
'The whole world that they're learning'
Fielder said they are visiting several afterschool programs around the state to see how quality afterschool is affecting students.
“I think that what we saw here today is a great example of mentorship of supporting young people during what can be a really really challenging time for them in a school building and also outside. the whole world that they’re learning to navigate as they prepare to head into high school and thinking about their future.”Afterschool Caucus Chair Elizabeth Fielder, D-Phila.
“I think that what we saw here today is a great example of mentorship of supporting young people during what can be a really, really challenging time for them in a school building and also outside," Fielder said.
"The whole world that they’re learning to navigate as they prepare to head into high school and thinking about their future.”
Trexler Middle School also has been the spot for a pilot program from the Fine Feather nonprofit program that started in March and ran through May 25.
Allentown School Board member Andrene Brown Nowell was chief executive officer of the group. There were seven courses from which children in the pilot were able to choose — including podcasting, film production, music production, poetry, modern dance and digital art.
The programs from Fine Feather were not typical of the activities the school district offers, Nowell said. They were unique to her organization.
She said she met with families and did surveys to discover the type of classes students were interested in.
The Fine Feather pilot program at Trexler held a recital on May 25.
