New LMS Programs Boost Student Performance
Lakeview Middle School received recognition from the Warsaw Community School Corporation school board Monday for the creation of two after school programs created to help engage students after hours.
“Starbooks” and “Success Club” were created in order to provide students with an after school venue that would endorse learning, reading, and community service, as well provide students with a location to meet and socialize with friends in a safe and monitored environment.
Megan Engelberth, a first-year media center specialist with the school, created the Starbooks program to get students passionate about reading. The club meets once a month after school in the media center and offers Lakeview Middle School students a cafe type environment to learn about and enjoy new books and spend time with friends.
The program offers students refreshments such as hot cider and decaffeinated coffee as well as snacks provided by the parent teacher association. The school has partnered with Warsaw Community Public Library in order to provide students with the most recent and popular teen fiction and nonfiction books. The students are able to check out these books at the event provided by the Warsaw Community Public Library’s teen librarian.
After Starbooks, students are granted a free ticket to Lakeview Middle School basketball games as well as a free bag of popcorn to enjoy during the game. Engelberth states that the event provides many students with an hour of chaperoned activities before they attend basketball games.
The school also has the new Success Club, hosted by FACs teacher Emily Shearer. The club, which meets once a week after school hours, focuses on connecting students who may not normally join an after school club to their school and community through homeworkk assistance, group activities and community service opportunities.
The Success Club helps to improve students’ grades through weekly grade checks provided by Shearer and attempts to keep children focused on improving their GPA and turning in any missing assignments. The club also offers homework assistance to children, granting them access to computers and tutoring.
Among the many activities students may partake in, Shearer also provides the students with activities to build relationships with peers as well as those in the community. Recently, students in the Success Club visited Grace Village Assisted living to spread the Christmas cheer through gifts of hand-made crafted snowmen to residents as well as assisted Tri Kappa with pumpkin painting.
The club also provides students with snacks through the meal assistance program, as well as transportation home through a transportation grant. Shearer states that many children involved in the club may not have been able to partake in after school activities without the provided transportation Success Club offers.
Shearer states that Success Club, which feeds into the Graduation Coaching Program at WCHS, has improved attendance, academic performance and decreased discipline referrals amongst the students who regularly partake in the club. Of the 13 children who have attended five or more Success Club meetings, 10 have improved their GPA.