School initiative targets kids from low-income families
Fairfield Success modeled after Lakota’s program

01.31.05 - A program to address the barriers to education for students from low-income families is coming to Fairfield, officials said.

The program, started at Lakota Local Schools a year and a half ago, is being funded with a $20,000 grant from the Butler County United Way. It is aimed to address the needs of children who receive free and reduced lunches based on their family income, Superintendent Robert Farrell said.

“If they are coming home to an empty house because their parent is working or in school, then a structured program could help them,” he said. “Our goal is to reach and teach every kid. This is a way to do that beyond the classroom.”

The program will be called Fairfield Success. The grant will be used to target more than 200 students at East and Central elementary schools, where the district has the highest numbers of children in low-income families.

Those children could be enrolled in Latchkey, a before- and after-school program, free of charge and a “community outreach liaison” will work directly with their families to refer them to existing services in the county, officials said.

In the Lakota Success program, liaisons helped families access medical care, purchase eyeglasses, seek therapy, get emergency food and find employment services, according to a report released Jan. 13.

There also were positive outcomes in the students’ academic achievement, including higher proficiency scores, reduced absenteeism and fewer behavioral problems. In the first six months of the program, 26 percent increased their grades in reading, and 31 percent improved in math, according to a program report.

“We constantly have parents who are looking for any assistance and they just don’t know where to seek it out,” said Paul Otten, principal of East Elementary, which has about 105, or 17 percent, of its students eligible for the program.

Debbie Vogt, who coordinates the Latchkey program, has been chosen as the Fairfield liaison, The additional hours she works for the program will be paid through the grant, as will the cost of educational aides. The Butler County Department of Job & Family Services is providing daycare credit to cover the enrollment cost of the Latchkey program, Farrell said.

The parents of Fairfield students can call Vogt at (513) 868-1654 about the program.