SDE Grants $1.76 Million for School-Age Care Programs

(Santa Fe, NM)—The New Mexico State Department of Education (SDE) announced today that 17 grantees will receive $1,768,800 for School-Age Care and Family Support Programs in Fiscal Year (FY) 2004. Through the grants, children ages five to eight and their parents in the New Mexico Works/Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program, will receive quality before and after- school programs, holiday and summer programs and parent education. Additional funds may be awarded to districts as more TANF-eligible students are recruited throughout the year to participate in programs.

The program is funded by the New Mexico Works Act and SDE administrative funds. The initial $1.76 million will serve 2,211 children in FY 2004, which begins on July 1 and ends on September 30, 2004. The 17 grantees and the amounts awarded are as follows:

Albuquerque Public Schools (seven sites) $416,000
Bernalillo Public Schools $64,800
Central Consolidated Schools $70,400
Clovis Municipal Schools $144,800
Espanola Public Schools $78,400
Farmington Municipal Schools $78,400
Gallup-McKinley County Public Schools $31,200
Grants-Cibola County Schools $88,000
Middle Rio Grande Consortium (25 sites) $422,400
(Middle Rio Grande Consortium is a group of schools working in collaboration with the University of New Mexico. The consortium includes schools in the Belen Consolidated Schools, Isleta Elementary School [B.I.A]., Los Lunas Public Schools, Moriarty Municipal Schools, Mountainair Public Schools and Rio Rancho Public Schools.)
Pecos Independent Schools $71,200
Regional Education Cooperative #9 (Ruidoso/Tularosa) $20,000
Roswell Independent Schools $40,000
Santa Fe Public Schools $68,000
Socorro Consolidated Schools $70,400
Taos Municipal Schools $48,800
West Las Vegas Public Schools $56,000

“The School-Age Care and Family Support Program offers poor children the same advantages that are available to more affluent children and helps them to understand the factors that lead to self-sufficiency and the ability to work. Through this program, we are helping to alter the generational cycle of poverty in New Mexico,” said Daniel Clavio, the SDE’s School-Age TANF coordinator.