Stanly County Schools and the Stanly County Family YMCA have formed a partnership to help high-risk students and their families make a positive change in their health, academics and life skills.

The 21st Century Community Learning Centers grant approved in September will fund a program called Students and Parents in Academics, Relationships and Knowledge (SPARK).

The grant-funded partnership is designed to assist 250 elementary school students in grades 2-5 during 34 weeks after-school and six weeks in the summer.

SPARK will take place both in schools and at the YMCA, according to the proposal.

Jeff James, superintendent for Stanly County Schools, said the 21st Century Community Learning Centers grant is open both to schools and nonprofits, adding that he was encouraged to partner with a non-profit organization when applying.

“SPARK ties right into our vision and mission statement here in Stanly County,” James said. “Our goal was, when we wrote the grant, to try to serve as many kids as possible, and, of course, that’s the goal of any grant.”

The grant is for about $400,000 per year for four years, coming to a total of about $1.2 million “by the time you take the in-kind contributions of everyone involved,” he added.

The grant proposal outlines the need for the program in Stanly.

“Parents in our district face barriers to helping their children succeed in school and life,” it says. “These barriers include but are not limited to: a lack of education (almost 84 percent of adults in Stanly do not have a bachelor’s degree), limited financial resources (the cumulative poverty rate among the feeder schools is 73.62 percent), predominant use of a non-native English language (our feeder schools saw a 13.5 percent increase in Limited English Proficient enrollment over last school year), a lack of affordable afterschool programs (Stanly County has no free afterschool programs that provide transportation), and limited time to engage with their child (over 30 percent of our youth are living in single parent homes.)”

The proposal notes that the feeder schools also have their challenges, adding that a large percentage of students in feeder schools failed to meet North Carolina College and Career Readiness standards in reading and math. Students also face a heightened crime rate.

“To address the need for increased wellness, we have chosen to use the evidence-based Botvin Lifeskills Training program, mentoring, certified physical education instructors to provide structured activities, and the YMCA’s Passport to Fitness program that provides a free health screening and access to the YMCA facilities to improve long-term health and wellness outcomes for our students and their families,” the proposal says.

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