Miss McNaney, director of RASP, told the Dickinson Public School District board that the district’s after‑school enrichment program saw substantial summer growth and faces funding uncertainty heading into the school year. “Despite increasing those fees, though, we saw a 37 increase in students this summer from last summer,” she said, citing 272 summer attendees compared with 199 in 2024.

The increase led RASP to hire additional staff and expand programming, McNaney said. New features this year include grade‑specific floaters (paraprofessionals assigned to grade bands), an improved calm‑down room with timed exits, a staff‑led gym program, an art curriculum run by the district para who serves as curriculum coordinator, and a small‑group tutoring program that offered 30‑minute reading, writing and math sessions. “Approximately 90% of those that were referred into our program from the principals attended at least one of their sessions for the week,” McNaney said.

McNaney described the student population served this summer to illustrate program scope: 17 students with individualized education programs (IEPs), 12 on 504 plans, one with a behavioral health intervention plan, two with safety plans and one student placed by Full Circle. She said RASP’s admission is broadly inclusive and that staff aim to serve “as many and all students as we absolutely can.”

On operations and hours, McNaney said RASP will be open from school dismissal until 5:45 p.m., most no‑school days will run full‑day programming at Hagen, and the district is still deciding whether to offer minimum staffing for the winter/Christmas break. Staffing remains a concern; McNaney said the program is verifying returning staff and reviewing new applications to meet anticipated registrations.

McNaney also flagged funding uncertainty tied to the program’s historical reliance on the “20 first century learning grant.” She said that uncertainty was a key reason the program raised parent fees for summer and will monitor inquiries; as of her report she had not received questions about the new rates. Board members asked clarifying questions about whether the district had applied for the competitive grant and about locations for school‑year programming; McNaney confirmed summer programming had used Berg and school‑year programs will operate in all six elementary schools.

The presentation concluded with McNaney reporting about 100 students already registered for the coming school year; last year the program served 267 during the school year. She characterized the update as informational; the board took no formal action at the meeting.