Schools

Afterschool Program To Launch At Gallup Hill Elementary School

Early childhood eduction program will supplement school, PTO programs.

and school students may soon find themselves staying after school more often, but only if they want to have fun and learn more.

, an early childhood development center, will launch an after-school program that begins Monday at the Gallup Hill School.

“We’re very excited to get going,” said Linda Fecteau, the director of Little Learners on Gallup Hill Road. “I think it’s going to be a really good fit, it’ll just be nice to be part of the school community.”

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Fecteau began talking with the school district about an after school program this summer, she said. But the center had to get the proper license, certification and insurance in place before the program could begin.

“This isn’t going to be just a run-around-the-playground type of program,” she said.

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Fecteau, who used to work at the East Lyme Youth Bureau before opening Little Learners and is also a consultant for the Connecticut Afterschool Network, said she has a full calendar that allows time for homework, enrichment activities and health and wellness activities.

“We’re really looking forward to partnering with the school and supporting their academic goals,” she said.

The Board of Education approved of the program during their Feb. 15 meeting.

“It really sounds like more opportunity for children," said Sharon Hightower, the board’s chairperson.

Children in kindergarten through sixth grade are welcome into the program, which will run until 6 p.m. at Gallup Hill each day there is school. Fecteau said the class size would be approximately 10 students to one teacher.

Fecteau said her afterschool program will work collaboratively with the Gallop Hill Parent Teacher Organization’s enrichment programs. And, she hopes more students will have the opportunity to participate in PTO programming since she can now provide a place for children to wait for parents to pick them up.

Children are allowed to participate on a drop-in or scheduled basis. The program will also provide be available on school days with early dismissal and half-days.

“We saw a need in the community and in the school,” said Fecteau. “Parents are looking for more flexibility.”

Fecteau said the after school program she offers at the Little Learners Children’s Center is at capacity and, through a focus group, she found that there was a need for additional child care programs in Ledyard.

The program is yet unnamed, she said, and hopes that the first crop of students will help her come up with a name and poster for the program.

More information is available at Gallup Hill Elementary School and on Little Learner’s Children’s Center website.


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