BY JONATHAN CANNON

HERALD DEMOCRAT

SHERMAN -- Struggling elementary and intermediate school students will have a new opportunity to get some extra help, but Sherman Independent School District Director of Special Education and Health Cindy Lawrence said the learning experience won't come at the expense of fun.

"This is about (students) enjoying themselves," Lawrence said. It's "a part of the fun part of life."

Lawrence said the Sherman ACE (After-school Centers on Education) program will achieve this goal through experiential learning.

"Kids that go fishing at camp or with grandpa know what an angle is, because they hear grandpa talking about holding your pole at a certain angle," she said. "But for kids who don't have that experience, angles are just a line on a page."

Lawrence said activities will be as hands-on as possible, "science experiments that look like cooking with mom." The program will focus on using the hands-on activities to "build school related vocabulary."

However, the program is for more than just academic enrichment; it also has emphasis on improving student social behavior. School psychologist Greg House, who was heavily involved in writing the grant proposal for the program, said the Sherman program will be based in research that has identified a number of assets that help students become more successful.

Researchers have "identified 40 things that more (of them students have), the more likely they are to be successful," House said. "The idea was to find a way to increase as many of those assets for our students."

The assets include boundaries, constructive use of time, values and a number of other factors.

Students with more of these assets "develop that sense of empowerment," House said. "We see them engaged and taking responsibility for what they do."

In addition to the individual assets that aid students, a strong support system is something the grant-funded program will also seek to enhance.

Lawrence said there will be mandatory parent participation element in the program that will provide education to parents on subjects like keeping the Internet safe for their children. The program will also include business and other community leaders and provide ways for them to help equip children with the assets that make them successful citizens.

"It really benefits everyone," House said. "That's one of the things I really like about it."

The program will be funded by a state administered federal grant of $440,000 for the first year, with likely the same amount for years two and three and a declining amount for years four and five. The district will also make in-kind contributions to the program.

"This is a partnership with the community and we have to build it so we can sustain it after the grant money" runs out, Lawrence said.

She said one of the ways this will be done, which is required by the grant, is to create a board of community leaders to oversee the local program.

Student in the program will be bused to one of the three locations -- Crutchfield and Neblet elementary schools and Piner Intermediate -- where they will participate until 6 p.m.

Lawrence said it will not replace the Voyager program, nor will it be a substitute for after school daycare. She emphasized that the program will be targeted at students who need the extra enrichment with parents who are willing to commit to the requirements.

"I want to see all the kids in the program that really need it," Lawrence said.

The special education director said the program will also fulfill a desire to tie the community and school more closely together.

"This vision of bringing the community in is a vision that (Superintendent) Dr. Al Hambrick and the board has had for a while," Lawrence said. "This grant became a vehicle for that."

"We're really wanting to pull the community back into the schools," House added.

The pair learned that the district had been received the grant for the program, which has to start Sept. 8, only a month ago.

Originally they estimated that the district would serve about 550 students with the program, but both said they may have underestimated.

"We're sensing an interest in our program far beyond our expectations," Lawrence said.

If the interest is too high, Lawrence said the district will develop a set of policies governing the program that would give preference to students able to meet attendance requirements. She said they could also attempt to raise additional funding from the community or apply for more during the next grant cycle.

Besides addressing policy concerns, hiring staff and getting the program off the ground this year, Lawrence said the district will also be working to develop additional partnerships with community organizations and business.

The program has already received support from Big Brothers, Big Sisters and Austin College.

"I think we can do this," Lawrence said. "I think the community can do this, and I don't think it will be a reflection of the school district. I think it will be a reflection of the community."