The City of Moreno Valley's Afterschool Expanded Learning Program is being honored by the League of California Cities with its prestigious Helen Putnam Award for Excellence in the category of Counties/Cities/Schools Partnership Intergovernmental Collaboration. The Helen Putnam Award is considered the highest honor bestowed upon a City project or program in California.
The Afterschool Expanded Learning Program uses a state After School Education and Safety (ASES) grant to fund the Think Together program at elementary and middle schools in the Moreno Valley and Val Verde unified school districts. The program served 4,000 students in the 2019-20 school year, and has served more than 46,000 since beginning in 2007.
"The hours between the time when school lets out and parents get home from work are the riskiest time of day for children," said Dr. Yxstian Gutierrez, Mayor of Moreno Valley. "The City's Afterschool Expanded Learning Program provides students with a fun, safe learning and socializing environment that keeps them out of trouble and on the path to success."
The successful collaborative partnership among the City, Think Together, and the two school districts has also allowed the City to be awarded a five-year federal grant to fund a similar program at an elementary school for the summer.
“We’re honored to receive this award alongside our esteemed community partners at the City of Moreno Valley and Moreno Valley and Val Verde unified school districts,” said Adriana Garcia-Kingston, M.Ed., General Manager for Think Together. “This recognition exemplifies the need for afterschool programs in our communities and the potential they have to make a big difference in the lives of the students we serve.”
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