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Sunday, May 6, 2007
Any after-school programs for middle school kids in Gwinnett?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I was talking to a co-worker the other day. Her daughter is graduating from Chattahoochee Elementary in about a month, and she will start at Duluth Middle School in August.
“Are you nervous about your daughter going to a new school?,” I asked.
“Of course I worry,” she replied. “I’m a mother. But, my daughter is a good girl. She has good friends, she does well in school, and she’s not dating until she’s 30.”
“Do you worry about her now that she’s getting older?,” I asked.
“Yes, I worry,” she replied. “There is only so much that I as a parent can do. But it’s not so much school that I worry about. It’s the hours between three and six. That’s when children have the best opportunity to get in trouble.
“My daughter goes to an after-school program now. It’s run by a Korean couple, they are very nice. She does educational activities, homework, extra problems, things that exercise her mind. As a single parent, I want to make sure that my daughter has supervision and gives her something productive to do.
“But there isn’t really any kind of program available for kids who are 12, 13, 14 years old. This is the most crucial time of their development, but there really isn’t anything available to them, at least not that I found.
“I suppose when you’re in high school, you have extracurricular activities in which you can get involved. I just think it strange that, when children are the most critical age, there’s nothing available to help them. Fulton County has an after-school program, but there’s nothing like that in Duluth, or in Gwinnett.”
“I suppose it must be difficult to be a single parent,” I said.
“That’s not important,” she replied. “I’m her mother. Every parent should take care of the child. It doesn’t matter if you’re single, or if you’re married. I will do what’s best for my daughter. I would like to find something productive for her to do during those hours that I can’t be there.”
She has a point. Parents who want to do the right thing, would love to find productive alternatives for their children. I don’t have any of my own, so I have to kind of plead ignorance on this. However, it got me to thinking. So, I’m asking you: what kinds of programs are available for children aged 10 to 14 in Gwinnett County?
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