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Carver Recreation Center program expanded; Will Smith award to honor local student leadership at Great Mills
Summary
Recreation staff outlined a new one-night-a-week Carver Heights program with a computer lab, homework center and youth discipline classes; staff also announced the Will Smith award ceremony at Great Mills High School honoring middle school leadership and character.
Recreation staff told the board Feb. 5 that a Carver Heights Recreation Center program will begin one night a week in mid-March and will include a supervised computer lab, homework support, a boxing-style discipline class and partnerships with the public library and local law enforcement.
Arthur Carver said staff moved the program under the childcare/youth-development section to capitalize on licensed before- and after-school expertise and that IT staff had installed 12 computers and a printer for an on-site computer room. "We've identified, 12 machines, a printer, the networking system to do that right there on-site," Arthur said, adding that staff had coordinated with public schools to provide educational downloads and continuity with in-class learning.
Staff said the program will initially run one night a week and rely on a county-provided staff person plus two community volunteers who must pass background checks. The non-contact boxing-style class will operate three days a week and require homework participation to be eligible. Kathleen Reif, library director, is expected to provide mentoring and program support in the center. Arthur said staff tentatively scheduled program start for the week of March 16 and would hold a community meeting that night to finalize days and hours.
Separately, staff announced an awards ceremony to honor 11 middle-school students with the Will Smith award at Great Mills High School prior to the varsity basketball game. Coaching legend Tubby Smith, a Great Mills alumnus and uncle of Will Smith, autographed basketballs for each recipient and is supporting the program. "He's very supportive of this program and very involved in it," Arthur said.
What happens next: Staff will seek volunteer leaders from the Carver Heights community for marketing, volunteer recruitment and fundraising roles, and will continue to coordinate space, staffing and scheduling to open the program in mid-March.
