We celebrate Before-school and After-school professionals
We are celebrating Before-school and After-school Professionals Appreciation Week on April 19-23, 2021.
“We believe after-school and before-school professionals make a profound difference in the lives of young people,” said Erin Lightfoot, Associate Director for School-Age Programs. “We encourage everyone to join us this week in thanking the before-school and after-school professionals in their lives.”
Community Education has been providing after-school programs in local schools since the fall of 1983. Community Ed currently has almost 50 full-time and part-time staff members working in their School-Age programs, with the majority of the part-time staff members current WKU students.
Community Education currently operates before-school programs in four Warren County schools and 12 after-school programs. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, programs were also offered in Bowling Green Independent School District schools. “We look forward to being back in the City schools this fall,” said Lightfoot.
Before and after-school professionals are skilled individuals who work with children and youth in diverse school and community-based settings to provide a wide variety of positive developmental relationships and experiences during out-of-school hours. Currently, in the US, an estimated 850,000 individuals are practicing members of the profession. An estimated 10.2 million children participate in afterschool programs nationally each year, and for every child in an afterschool program, there are two more waiting to get in.
“Every young person deserves quality after-school experiences that positively impact their development. It takes skilled professionals to create these experiences. Because of the important role before-school and after-school professionals play in the lives of kids, they deserve recognition and support,” said Lightfoot.
Support our Programs
Community Education relies on the support of our generous community to continue to meet the needs of Bowling Green-Warren County through the programs we offer. Remember, ALL donations are tax-deductible.
Did you know that by supporting Community Education through your donation you will be supporting children in our program? For children with special needs, a one-on-one aide can be provided at $5,300 per child for two semesters. The aide provides additional support for the child to be an active and engaged participant in the program. Your support will make a difference for families with special needs children that are enrolled in our program.
Absolutely 100 percent of the money raised stays here in Warren County and will be used for our programs. Such programs include before- and after-school programs that provide child care to about 1,000 local children of working parents; Teen Angel, which provides Christmas assistance to needy teenagers in school; enrichment opportunities for adults; summer activities for children, and much, much more.
We could not feasibly cover such costs without generous donations from our community.
Thank you!
For more information about the many ways to support us, go to our DONATE page at https://www.commed.us/donate/
POSTPONED: US Bank’s Young Artists’ Competition
We are postponing the U.S. Bank Young Artists Competition until further notice. Once the health situation settles down we will reopen the competition using the entries we have already received and any new ones. Thank you for your understanding.
POSTPONED: 16th annual Summer Activities Fair
The 16th annual Summer Activities Fair scheduled for April 14 has been postponed. If things return to “normal” quickly enough for there to still be summer activities, we will try to reschedule the event. It’s possible we could do a virtual event if it is not possible to pull off the actual event like in year’s past. Thanks and stay safe.
Seeking to fill opens positions for Extreme Summer Club
Extreme Summer Club: staff positions
Know a high school grad or college student who needs summer work? Community Education is hiring for our Extreme Summer Club (camp for K-8 grades)!
Applicants wanting to work in the summer all-day programs must be available from 7 a.m.—6 p.m. (hours can vary daily between a.m. and p.m.) each weekday.
Minimum requirements include a valid driver’s license; reliable transportation; good written and oral communication skills; dependability; flexibility and the ability to work well with school personnel, parents and students. Applicants also must meet minimum state requirements for child care providers. Background checks are required.
Extreme Summer Club: instructor positions
Would you love to teach the fun part of your subject area that you just can’t get to during the academic year? Come teach it at Community Education’s Extreme Summer Club (grades K-8).
Must be a certified teacher to serve as instructors.
Apply online for either position at https://www.commed.us/employment/
2020 Young Artists’ Competition
Community Education announces annual U.S. Bank art competition for students
(Bowling Green, KY) Community Education and U.S. Bank invite students in Bowling Green and Warren County to participate in the annual U.S. Bank Young Artists’ Competition.
This year’s theme is “Imaginary Places”. Warren County students in kindergarten through seniors in high school are encouraged to let their artwork show who they are, what they think about, dream about, or can imagine.
The winners will each receive $50 VISA gift cards from U.S. Bank. The original winning artworks will be displayed at the Warren County Public Library’s Smiths Grove branch from May 12th – June 30th and then at the Kirby branch for the month of July.
The official call for entries and entry forms have been sent to art teachers in all public and private schools in Warren County. This information is also available on the Community Education website, www.commed.us (click the Events pull-down tab) and on their Facebook and Twitter accounts. All artwork must be turned into Community Education by Wednesday, March 25 by 4 p.m. Parents/guardians can turn in their student’s artwork individually or you can collect them and turn them in as a group.
“We appreciate U.S. Bank for once again supporting the creative expression of the area’s students,” said Bill Oldham, Executive Director at Community Education. In addition to prizes for the winning entries, the teacher with the most qualifying entries will also receive a prize and recognition. “We would love to have artwork from every Warren County and Bowling Green city school,” Oldham said. The competition is also open to homeschooled students.
For more information email Oldham at [email protected] or call the Community Education office at 270-842-4281.
Staff Spotlight
We are making the introduction of our first weekly Staff Spotlight. Each week, a different program’s staff will be featured.
For week of Oct. 28 meet our staff at Plano Before-School.
Collecting Soccer Cleats
Do you have soccer cleats that are no longer used but do not know what to do with them?
Community Education is joining with Refuge Bowling Green to collect and redistribute soccer cleats through the Kentucky Ambassadors Soccer Club. If you or someone you know loves soccer but has outgrown cleats that are gently used or new, this would be a great way to recycle them and enrich the lives of other children.
Cleats can dropped off at the Community Education office, one of our school-age programs, or our summer camps.
Give back and share the joy of the game with others!
