Cox Elementary students who participated in the 2013-2014 Moultrie YMCA afterschool program showed significant improvement in math and reading grades, according to an evaluation submitted to the Georgia Department of Education and the Colquitt County Board of Education.

The Moultrie YMCA 21st Century Community Learning Center, operated at Friendship Alliance Church, served 69 students in grades K-5 from Cox Elementary. The program provided an academic component and additional learning opportunities in such areas as computers, dance, arts and crafts, and life skills. The program, funded by a grant from the Georgia Department of Education, will operate again at Friendship Alliance Church during the 2014-2015 school year.

Almost two out of three (63 percent) of participating students in the 3rd, 4th and 5th grades met or exceeded state standards in math on the Georgia CRCT, and 66 percent of regularly participating students improved their math grades by at least one point from fall to spring. This same group of students also showed improvement in reading grades; 51 percent improved their reading grades from the first nine weeks in fall to the last nine weeks in spring. In addition, 74 percent of the participants in 3rd, 4th and 5th grades met or exceeded reading standards on the Georgia CRCT end-of-the-year competency tests.

Besides the program’s academic successes, school-day teachers said that 83 percent of the afterschool participants improved their behavior in class during the school day.

Parents and students also were pleased with the program. Parents had an extraordinarily high level of satisfaction with the program: 88 percent of parent surveys said they were very satisfied with the program. All of the parents were either very satisfied or satisfied.

The afterschool program also held five Family Night events, including guest speakers who discussed math strategies and healthy eating. The students received programming and activity support from Beans and Strings and bus transportation from the Colquitt County Board of Education.

To attend the after school program, a teacher referral must be made to Misty Trouille or Janet David, Moultrie YMCA 21st CCLC site directors. Referrals are accepted at the start of the school year. The YMCA will operate four programs in the 2014-15 school year through Cox, Stringfellow, Okapilco, and Sunset elementary schools.

Anyone interested in becoming a youth development leader or lead teacher working with the 21st Century Community Learning Center should fill out an employment application at the Moultrie YMCA. All program sites are hiring for these positions. Applications may be found on the Moultrie YMCA’s website, moultrieymca.org, or at the Moultrie YMCA.

For more information about the afterschool program, please contact Misty Trouille, Janet David or Lynn Hamm at 229-985-1154.