LEAP receives large grants

By LAURA BEHENNA

Bigfork Eagle

Bigfork's after-school program, LEAP, has received a grant of more than $40,000 to allow lower-income children to participate, the program's director said.

A partnership project among Bigfork, Creston, Columbia Falls, Kila, Marion and Swan River schools has brought in a total of $85,000 a year for five years, Cathy Gaiser said.

Bigfork's LEAP program will receive a little more than $40,000 a year and serve an estimated 160 elementary school children, she said.

The "21st Century Community Learning Center Program" will expand or develop after-school learning programs in seven schools, while covering costs for children who qualify for free or reduced-price school lunches to participate in the programs at no cost. The Montana Office of Public Instruction awarded the grant, which is funded by the federal No Child Left Behind Act, Gaiser said.

Twelve adults, four college students and about 15 high school students volunteer to teach and lead the children in a variety of activities, including gymnastics, art, music, theater, choir and academic enrichment in math, science and English. LEAP children write for and publish a newspaper called the "By Golly News."

The goal of the program is to give children a safe place to go after school where they can learn new skills while having fun, Gaiser said. Safety is the most essential part of the program: Most crimes perpetrated on or by school-age children occur between 3 and 6 p.m., she said. After-school activities have been shown to reduce drug abuse and crime among youth and young adults, she added.

"You gotta get 'em before you need to fix 'em," she said.

LEAP also benefits the high school students who come to mentor the younger children, she said. Some teens "just come and hang out" and become friends with the children. Gaiser has received notes from teenagers telling her how much they enjoy the time they spend with the kids.

"The high school kids may get more out of the program than the kids they mentor," she said.

LEAP has its own school bus that will transport participating children from Bigfork, Swan River and Creston schools to Crossroads Christian Church, where the program is situated, Gaiser said. LEAP is not a church program; the church simply provides the facilities, she added.

Gaiser praised Bigfork school superintendent Russ Kinzer, Bigfork principals Jackie Boshka and Wayne Loeffler and Swan River School principal Peter Loyda for their commitment to making LEAP happen.

"We will constantly be getting together, brainstorming, collaborating," she said. "We're in this thing together to make the valley a better place and hopefully make Montana a better place."

LEAP is currently seeking volunteers to teach and mentor children for the 2007-2008 school year. Gaiser can be reached at 837-0246.