Knott, Rota – AHS8200 - Week 8 Journal

Monday, March 5, 2018 (9 a.m. to 5 p.m.)

The Maryland State Department of Education released its request for proposals for
the 21st Century Learning Centers grants that currently fund the Somerset County Local
Management Board’s afterschool programs. Our afterschool program coordinator and I
attended a meeting in Baltimore that was hosted by MSDE to review the RFP and answer
questions. It’s a relief to learn that funding will be available again through the federal 21 st
Century grants because without it we would have to significantly scale back our afterschool
programs.
In addition to applying for funding to continue our existing afterschool programs,
which target students in grades 3 to 8, we are hoping to seek funding for a new program to
support high school-aged youths. The new program will dovetail nicely with my capstone
program on college and career access as it will focus on supporting at-risk high school
students in that same area.
Because the students who participate in our afterschool programs are
overwhelmingly African American, but our staff and board of directors is largely Caucasian,
it is important to address issues of cultural competency in program development. The site
directors are the program sites are also African American and help us to ensure that we are
truly address the needs of the target population through our programs. We hold monthly
leadership meetings to discuss a variety of topics, including cultural strengths and
capabilities, so we can improve parental participation and community engagement.
Tuesday, March 6, 2018 (11 a.m. to 3 p.m.)

The Maryland Association of Local Management Boards and Governor’s Office for
Children held their monthly meetings, and I participated via conference call. MALMB is
very concerned about the impact of legislation that is under reviewing the House of
Delegates Appropriations Committee. The bill would “fence” a percentage of each county
LMB’s funding and designate it for family navigation services, essentially removing local
control of how we spend some of our state funding. MALMB is actively opposing the bill in
the House.
While I support MALMB’s opposition to the legislation in general, I feel that state
association does not truly represent the interests of Somerset County. Its leadership is
composed of representatives from much larger counties. As a result, the voice and needs of
smaller counties is often not hears. Regardless of our concerns, the association leaders do
and say whatever they want to legislators. I find this to be ethically questionable, as they are
supposed to represent all 24 jurisdictions equally.