Expanded Learning

(PVUSD) serves a predominantly agricultural area. While neighboring cities enjoy relative prosperity, the farming towns of Watsonville, Freedom, and Pajaro, where most of the after school programs are located, are pockets of striking poverty. Census 2010 data places the poverty rate for Watsonville families (population 51,000) at 27 % (over double the county average); in Pajaro, the overall poverty rate is 27.8%. Watsonville’s unemployment rate stands at 18.9%, over double the county average. Other rural Census Designated Places (CDPs) served by our ELP also show high unemployment, e.g. Freedom at 16.1% and Amesti at 16.1%. As many of our residents are migrant workers, unemployment rises higher in winter. The cost of living in our area means that a family of four would need an annual income over $66,000 to meet basic needs, In Pajaro, the median household income is just over $36,000 and in Watsonville it is $46,675. Very high rents ($1,730/ month for a two-bedroom apartment) result in crowded living arrangements without adequate space and quiet for study and homework.

Extended Learning provides comprehensive expanded day learning, after school centers in 20 schools. Programs serve over 4,000 students kindergarten – twelfth grade daily. Our comprehensive after school learning centers show clearly that school, after school and community partnerships benefit student learning and the community. Extended Learning is focused on constantly improving program quality, while increasing integration at site and district level. Our programming & infrastructure provides the district with an essential partner in the roll out of Common Core. Program profiles are bound into this directory format for your easy reference.

Our academic program consists of two key components, academic intervention and homework assistance, aligned to the school day and to California state standards in core areas. The academic intervention programs that we offer include reading intervention, math intervention and ELD support. Our reading intervention is a two-tiered program depending upon the student’s needs as identified by the school’s School-wide Review Team, (SRT) of which our Site Coordinator is a member. Because the need for academic support is so acute, 35% of our after school staff for academic assistance is certificated teachers, working alongside college-age near-peer. The research-based California Essential Program Components (EPCs) support and strengthen grade- and departmental-level collaboration and pacing of instruction through common homework. In response to feedback from our Site Coordinators, parents, and classroom teachers, and Common Core in language arts and math, we redesigned our homework model to support the pacing of instruction and maximize instructional support for our students.

The Family Literacy Project aims to server high need of afterschool program parents with direct services in the areas of literacy development and technology access and training via family literacy nights and home visitation outreach. Our programs are based on the belief that parent involvement in their children's education improves student achievement and that it is most effective when it is comprehensive, supportive, long lasting, and well-planned culturally based programs.Furthermore, the extent of parent education.  We also know we cannot look at the school and the home in isolation from one another; families and schools need to collaborate to help children adjust to the world of school and the world around them including how to access needed resources.