Update on Lights On program

Many parents in Hot Springs County have been wondering if the Lights On Afterschool Program will return to what it was the past few years with various clubs and outside interests for students.

According to Julia Scott, Lights On Coordinator, in the past, the school district and after school program have had a continuation of funding available through Cohort 12 grant funds, but this year are not eligible for the Cohort 12 funds so “we’ve never been in this position before.”

Scott said an application for Cohort 13 funding was submitted in August, the next level of funding available for the program.

As of October 1, they were informed that the Wyoming Department of Education had announced that Lights On did receive a score sufficient to be awarded the Cohort 13 grant.

“Although this is wonderful news,” Scott said, “we are still awaiting the amount of funding to be awarded. The official grant award notification has not been finalized yet, but the community will be informed as soon as I know.”

Our school district qualified for the 21st Century grant for Lights On in the past based on the expectations portion of our records. In other words, the district was “meeting” or “exceeding” educational expectations across the board or were falling into the “not meeting” or “not proficient” category.

Sometimes success has kind of a downside to it. The Lights On program has been so successful in getting our students up to speed that they no longer fall below the expectation lines and so we no longer qualify for the 21st Century grant.

In the past, the school district and afterschool program have always had a continuation of funding available. Due to the missing of Cohort 12, Lights On has never been in this position before. An application was submitted this August for Cohort 13, which would be the next 21CCLC funding option for our afterschool program. As of October 1st, Lights On was informed that The Wyoming Department of Education was pleased to announce that our organization did in fact receive a score sufficient to be awarded the Cohort 13 grant. Although this is wonderful news, we are still awaiting the amount of funding to be awarded. The official grant award notification has not been finalized yet and we are currently unaware of when this will occur. Once we are aware of the awarded funding amount, the school district and the community will be informed! We appreciate all of the support and hope to get programming running as soon as possible! Please contact Julia Scott with any questions/concerns.