Kids gain an ‘Edge’ after school

Adrienne Packer

Friday, Nov. 12, 1999 | 10:45 a.m.

It's not easy being in middle school.

But try being an adult in charge of entertaining middle school students -- for three hours.

That is the unenviable task that Clark County Parks and Recreation staff members have taken on over the past month. Do you play basketball? Read? Play with clay?

"Everything I think is fun, they think is nerdy and dorky," said Kristin Conner, the Parks and Recreation Department's cultural program supervisor.

Although the after-school program created earlier this month is still in a developmental stage, it has drawn more than 40 students at Charles A. Silvestri and C.W. Woodbury middle schools.

Don't tell the students who participate in "the Edge," but the program is actually an extension of the county's 16-year-old Safe Key program in elementary schools.

The Safe Key program was created so that elementary schoolchildren whose parents work could partake in activities after classes rather than run home to an empty house and watch television.

As with the Safe Key program, students who participate in the Edge file into the cafeteria after classes, work on homework and have a snack.

"But they insisted on having juice, because the kids in the elementary schools drink milk in Safe Key," Conner said, adding that once students realized it was a different program, attendance increased.

After lunch the coordinators oversee a variety of projects. And surprisingly, the students have taken a liking to all of the activities -- including playing with clay.

The Edge is a program that Clark County Commissioner Dario Herrera promised residents when he ran for his District G seat last November. He said it's as important for middle school students to be entertained after school as it is for elementary schoolchildren.

"We're well aware of the mischief kids can get into when they're unsupervised," Herrera said. "Absent organized activities, they might turn to alternatives that are not in the best interest of the community."

Herrera launched pilot programs in Woodbury and Silvestri, but hopes to expand into every middle school in the county. The county provides the staffing, but the program is funded by parents, who pay $28 a week; they can also choose a four-day program for $22.50 and three days for $17.50.

Conner and Herrera said they purposely didn't provide a set curriculum and hope the program will develop based on the students' wishes. On occasion, the county will provide a guest speaker. Last week, for example, the students took part in a conflict resolution seminar.

"An issue kids deal with today is school violence," Herrera said. "The program is designed to address those types of pressing issues."

And the students so far have enjoyed the experience.

Jessica Lund, a sixth-grader at Silvestri, said her parents don't allow her to go outside when she is home alone. If she didn't take part in the Edge, she said she probably would spend the hours watching television. "I think it's fun to play lots of games; you can do what you want," Jessica said. "But you can't stand on the tables or run in the cafeteria."

Conner said the county will begin the program in other middle schools if they see an interest -- all it takes is 12 children to jumpstart the Edge. Parents interested in introducing the program at a county middle school can call Conner at 455-8251.