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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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State
Rep. Steven J. Santarsiero |
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Santarsiero proposes innovative after-school program
HARRISBURG, Jan. 28 – State Rep. Steven J. Santarsiero, D-Bucks, last week proposed an innovative after-school program to the Pennsbury School Board that would provide social, academic and fitness/athletic opportunities for middle school youth between the hours of 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. at a school setting.
Santarsiero's proposed "Z Period" would provide a safe place to spend time with friends, get homework help and stay physically fit during these potentially unsupervised hours when teens and pre-teens can get into trouble. The program is slated as an 8-week pilot one day a week for this spring.
"Today's young people face more challenges than at any time in recent memory," Santarsiero said. "The middle school years are a particularly important time as the ongoing socialization process in conjunction with physiological changes pull young people in a lot of directions."
Santarsiero's "Z Period" program is a collaboration among the Council Rock Coalition for Healthy Youth, the Pennsbury LYFT Coalition and the United Way of Bucks County.
Santarsiero said expenses for the program would be minimal because it would rely heavily on volunteers and donations.
"The goal of this program is to provide a safe environment for our middle school students that will augment, not replace, existing programs and will do so at little to no cost to the taxpayer," he said.
Santarsiero will propose the program to the Council Rock School Board in February. The program is targeted to begin the first week in April.
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