EnCompass Afterschool Programs Will Continue To Make Up Lost Ground Thanks To NYSED ESD Grant!

EnCompass was awarded a $1.7 Million Grant to fund its Extended School Day (ESD) programs at three of our partnership Rochester elementary schools in the upcoming five years! 

Extended School Day, more commonly “afterschool programs,” provide safe, enriching experiences for our students and families, and they address opportunity gaps and below grade-level proficiency, which are serious concerns within Rochester schools. Now so more than ever because of school closures, remote instruction, and shuttered programs during COVID-19.  Aiding students to make up lost ground will require coordinated, well-funded efforts, and Extended School Day programs will play a critical role in achieving this! 

The NYSED ESD grant will fund afterschool academics and enrichment programming for 225 of our students in grades K-8, each year for five years, at RCSD’s John James Audubon School No. 33, Andrew J. Townson School No. 39, and World of Inquiry School No. 58.

Elementary students can look forward to three-days-per-week, 2.5 hours per day of targeted tutoring, hands-on learning and projects, healthy meals and snacks, afterschool clubs (including step-team and art club), and safe bus transportation from school to home. EnCompass delivered the afterschool program remotely during the 2020-21 school year, and our teachers are looking forward to being safely in-person with students this fall. Afterschool programs provide families with peace of mind and have proven success addressing barriers to learning students face, both in and out of the classroom; 100% of EnCompass program families feel the ESD program provides a safe supportive setting for their child to learn.

Now in its eleventh year, the EnCompass ESD program selects schools based on School Safety and Educational Climate (SSEC) data, and evidence of factors that negatively impact students’ achievement including high rates of chronic absenteeism, high percentages economically disadvantaged students, and/or large populations of students with disabilities. Students who attend are in the greatest need of additional time for academic intervention, social-emotional learning, and health-benefiting opportunities. Since 2004, EnCompass has worked collaboratively and effectively with RCSD to provide innovative, evidence-based academic enrichment and intervention programs.

What does EnCompass do? EnCompass serves 2,400 students and their families each year in a holistic, pre-K through graduation pathway of service and supports. Students hail from 37 different Rochester public schools, and programs are delivered by EnCompass staff educators and Navigators, within local schools, and on EnCompass’ 16 Lakeview Park campus. Learn more at: educationsuccessfoundation.org/encompass .