When school's out, fun's in

When the school day ends, the education doesn't stop in several Akron elementary buildings.

Students are mastering kung fu. They're making commercials. They're learning to dance to hip hop.

The only catch: First, they have to study.

In Akron's popular and rapidly expanding after-school program, students have one-on-one tutoring with teachers for the first hour. Then, they do fun activities in the second.

``We want them to come back,'' said Desiree Bolden, an Akron parent who supervises the effort.

The Akron Board of Education voted Monday to spend about $152,000 to contract with eight more providers to expand the program's offerings. The activities include tennis, a ``Mad Science'' class, golf, theater and cheerleading.

The program is mainly being funded through $771,000 in federal grants and $150,000 from the city of Akron, which has partnered with the district since 2001 to improve after-school activities.

The 10 elementary schools offering the program this year are Barrett, Glover, Harris, Leggett, Lincoln, Margaret Park, Mason, Rankin, Robinson and Schumacher. About 1,000 students are taking part.

For now, spots are only available at Glover and Robinson elementary schools, the two newest buildings to join the program. Lincoln Elementary had 250 students apply and could only accept 100.

The schools were chosen because of low standardized test scores -- a problem organizers say the program has already begun to address.

Students who participated in the effort in the 2003-04 school year performed better on the reading portions of both the fourth-grade proficiency test and the new third-grade achievement exam than those who didn't, according to a Kent State University analysis.

``The more time we have with them, the better their scores will be,'' Bolden said.

Bolden said students have given the program high marks. In a recent survey, students listed interesting activities and parents signing them up and help with homework as their main reasons for participating.

One Mason Elementary student participant recently had a broken pencil in her ear. After the pencil was removed, the girl insisted that her parents bring her back to school so she could participate in that day's activity.

Bolden hopes the after-school program can eventually be expanded to more students at the schools now participating and in other buildings.

Though the program's 40 activities are aimed at being fun, Bolden said, the providers also try to educate. Many are focusing their efforts on reading. Others incorporate the other major subjects in their lessons.

In one of the new activities this year, students are learning how to make public service announcements. Their efforts could be used in a broadcast for the Ohio Truancy Task Force.

The students are learning how to operate a video camera, adjust lighting, arrange props, and write a script.

``They're enjoying it,'' said Becky Osborn, owner of Buckeye Digital Video Services in North Canton, who is teaching the class. ``They like seeing themselves on TV.''

Social workers with the Community Health Center of Akron are volunteering in the production. The public service announcements will focus on staying in school and out of trouble and not using drugs, alcohol or tobacco.

A returning activity this year is ``Marble Madness,'' which teaches students how to play marbles and about the history, science and economics of the activity.

Students will make their own clay marbles with the same device used 120 years ago. They will also learn about teacher Michael Cohill's theory that the pyramids in Egypt could have been built with the help of marbles.

Cohill, who heads the American Marble and Toy Museum in downtown Akron, said his students have been enthusiastic -- especially about getting free marbles.

``It's like you gave them a bicycle,'' he said.