When the last bell rings, the fun begins in 21st Century After School program

NEW BEDFORD — Few elementary and middle school kids can debate the finer points of gun control policy or whether Puerto Rico should gain statehood.But Jovanny Rivera, 12, can and did last Thursday as he and other students involved in the 21st Century After School program at Carlos Pacheco Elementary School showed off what they learn once the final bell rings and classes let out for the day.

"I like watching the news, knowing what's going on here and in other countries," Jovanny, a fifth-grader, said. "Politics, I like seeing that stuff."

The 21st Century program allows students to walk out of class and into some practical learning with projects or activities ranging from making duct tape wallets to debating and dance. Carlos Pacheco's program offers 12 projects and enrolls about 65 students, program coordinator Rafaela Defigueiredo said at Thursday's showcase.

"They're having fun while enhancing their academics," Defigueiredo said while dance project students prepared to hit the stage with a rendition of Carly Rae Jepsen's "Call Me Maybe."Throughout Carlos Pacheco's auditorium, students performed plays, fired paper rockets or showed their families how they use a program named Scratch to design computer games. There were also impressive presentations by Jovanny's debate team and a "Meet the Authors" club whose members research their favorite writer

The program runs from Monday to Thursday and Fridays are optional, Defigueiredo said. It takes plenty of money to keep the program running, although school officials said New Bedford schools have grabbed larger and larger slices of the federal pie in recent years as the city snatched up several competitive grants.

"We're been very successful ... As the federal funding declined, we've become more competitive at getting funding," said Andrew O'Leary, director of federal and state funded programs for the school district. Funding for 21st Century comes from the federal government and is disbursed by the state after communities apply for grants. New Bedford currently has 10 schools running 21st Century programs, more than a number of other urban districts, O'Leary said.

Impending 50 percent cuts for Carlos Pacheco, the Thomas R. Rodman School and others in the city mean the district needs to start seeking alternative funding sources soon, grants facilitator Jennifer Ferland said. Once programs reach a certain age, the state tends to cut their funding in half, leaving it up to the school district to find the rest, she added.The program already makes use of significant in-kind donations from organizations such as North Star Learning Centers, Ferland said. Finding new sources of cash, however, could prove difficult. The program used to receive corporate support but that money has mostly dried up in recent years.

"It used to be easy," Ferland said. "We're always continuing to look but the fact is that funding is few and far between."Money issues aside, the students were all smiles Thursday as they led parents through exhibits of their after-hours work."They call him 'Duct Tape Jordan,'" said Melissa Gonsalves of her third-grader, Jordan Gonsalves.The 8-year-old's project involved making wallets, pens and Christmas trees out of duct tape.

"Back in my day we didn't have any of this, back then duct tape fixed things," Melissa Gonsalves said.The program's instructor said the projects just add a dash of fun to academics."They come up with a lot of ideas themselves, they love this," said program teacher Karen Wheeler, who teaches sixth grade at Keith Middle School. "I just love it so much. I teach sixth grade and coming down to this level is so great for me.