Additional funding for 21st Century Grant restores after school POUNCE Program

Lincoln Schools administration learned May 3 they had been selected to receive funding from the 21st Century Community Learning Center grant for the POUNCE program.

In June 2019, POUNCE program director Jackie Grantier received notice just one day before the end of the POUNCE program that the school had not secured the 21st CCLC grant for the next five years, according to a Blackfoot Valley Dispatch article.

The grant structure had changed reporting requirements, and two of the schools that Lincoln partnered with, Helmville and Ovando, decided not to participate again.

Recently, the state received additional federal funding that allowed Lincoln to be selected for the grant, said Lincoln Schools Superintendent Jennifer Packer. 

"We just got a phone call, and the federal government had given the state some more money towards that grant. Not enough to apply again, so they just decided to take the top schools that didn't get chosen, but we were at the top of the list," Packer said. 

Lincoln will be partnering with Augusta to share the grant funding of $113,000 per year for the remaining three years of the grant cycle, which will fund POUNCE through the summer of 2024. Lincoln will keep about $83,000 of the grant each year, with the remainder going to Augusta. 

"We had the program for 10 years, and we were able to do a lot of great things with kids. I'm just super excited it's back because it's great for kids, it's great for parents, it's great for the community, it's great for the school. It's an awesome opportunity. We were pretty crushed when we didn't get it," said school counselor Kathy Heisler, who has been with the school since the inception of the POUNCE program. 

Heisler noted that the name POUNCE is an acronym that grew from wanting to tie the program to the school's Lynx theme, and it stands for Positive Outcomes UNiting Creativity and Education.

During the two years the school didn't receive 21st CCLC grant funding, they found it difficult to replicate the program. 

"As much as we tried to get an after school program going, you don't have the funds to do it. We did have the community try and donate some money and things, but it's not $113,000 to help with all of that," said Packer. 

The POUNCE program is open to all students, Pre-K through 12th grade, and is free of charge. The summer portion of the POUNCE program has included activities like hiking and camping trips, swimming lessons, pottery classes, creative writing, STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) programs, sports, and cultural trips, said Heisler. 

"I'm waiting for information, but we're hoping to get some more of the summer programs going. That won't happen right away because we don't get the money until July, but we will have some programs this summer," said Packer. 

"We might be able to do some summer school opportunities because we're just at the stage of going through transcripts and grades and trying to address learning gaps and that might be something that gets put in this summer, which would be beneficial to students for their academics," added Heisler. 

The second component of the POUNCE program is an afterschool program. 

"It's wonderful for working parents. Usually the afterschool program is set up, they go out for recess, and they come in and have a snack and then go to tutoring. And then after that's over, they have enrichment. Kids sign up for it on a daily basis, and they're here til 5:30," said Heisler, adding, "We kinda work on two sides of it, the academic side and enrichment."

Through the program in the past, the school already has equipment for some of the programs, including archery equipment, waders, fly-fishing equipment, and more, said Heisler. 

Jackie Grantier will be returning as the program director, said Packer, and that job will include managing the reporting requirements for the grant. 

"There's a lot of state and federal requirements for attendance and grades and test scores and everything like that that we have to track. And then there's an outside evaluator that reviews all of our information and makes sure we're complying with all the federal requirements and the state requirements. It'll just be exciting to get it going again," said Heisler.

Packer and Heisler said information would be going home to parents as soon as it is available, and that additional information would likely be placed on the school's website.