PALOMINAS, Ariz. (KGUN) — The Boys & Girls Clubs of Sierra Vista is expanding its after-school program to serve more youth and Cochise County families. It is partnering with the Palominas School District to provide an after-school program to students enrolled in the district.
Sherri Rosalik, superintendent of Palominas School District, says she wanted to bring a comprehensive after-school program to the district to help families and students. She knows there are activities and programs the Boys & Girls Clubs of Sierra Vista can provide that the school cannot, like 3D printing and other STEM-related activities.
“We’ve got some kids who are so into STEM, and we don’t have those resources, but we could set up a room that has those 3D printers and Chromebooks, and we could do cool STEM activities in there,” Rosalik said.
The Boys & Girls Clubs of Sierra Vista currently has two clubs located in Sierra Vista. The Palominas location will be the first outside of the city. Boys & Girls Clubs of Sierra Vista CEO, Jay Hamwright says expanding outside of the city limits means they can honor their mission of helping as many kids as possible.
“Our board at the Boys & Girls Club and staff leadership really desire to basically serve more kids, more often," he said. "And that’s where we line up in our vision on how we can make a difference here for the kids in this community.”
The club will be located at Valley View, which currently houses the district office and the preschool. The district is opening the gym and some of the unused classrooms up to the club so they can run their programs. Students enrolled in the program will be bused from their school to Valley View, where parents will be able to pick them up.
Hamwright says the plan for the Palominas club is for it to be locally funded with grants and community support.
“We serve local youth, we have local programs and the impact is done by individuals and businesses and community members locally to make this program happen,” he said.
Rosalik and Hamwirght agree that funding will determine how many kids can participate in the program. She says there are 850 kids in the district across their two schools.
“We just want this to be a comprehensive program for every student in the Palominas School District,” Rosalik said. “We just want this to be a fantastic program for our kids.”
Rosalik and Hamwirght expect the club to open in the fall, when the new school year begins. They say the club will be open to any student enrolled in the Palominas School District.
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Alexis Ramanjulu is a reporter in Cochise County for KGUN 9. She began her journalism career reporting for the Herald/Review in Sierra Vista, which she also calls home. Share your story ideas with Alexis by emailing alexis.ramanjulu@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook.
