Driven by a mission to create positive change for Nebraska’s children, Beyond School Bells focuses on providing K-12 students with high-quality expanded learning opportunities (ELOs) that promote hands-on, engaged learning. The Nebraska Department of Education (NDE) and Beyond School Bells (BSB) have a long-standing partnership built on innovative solutions to address the educational needs of Nebraska’s children.
The partnership between NDE and BSB highlights the critical effort to support students during unprecedented challenges. As schools across the country navigated the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the introduction of ESSER III funding became a vital resource to ensure that students received the support they need. Those needs extended beyond the pandemic to the impact it had on students learning and growth. Through the ESSER Collaborative ELO grant, NDE and BSB collaborated to leverage ESSER III funds to expand learning opportunities beyond the traditional classroom, providing students with the tools and experiences necessary to thrive academically and personally.
In the article, “Community Building through Career Exploration in Cozad, Nebraska’s Summer Learning Program,” readers are introduced to how the ESSER Collaborative ELO grant is creating impactful ELOs for Nebraska’s youth by ensuring that every student has access to the resources and support they need to succeed.
Community Building through Career Exploration in Cozad, Nebraska’s Summer Learning Program
In the heart of Nebraska, a summer program is making waves by blending career exploration with workforce development and enhancing community involvement in the program.
Karmen Morse, program director at Cozad Afterzone, developed summer programming focused on career exploration through community engagement. Students from kindergarten to 5th grade spent the summer learning about some of their community’s career fields and jobs.
Cozad, Nebraska, serves a culturally unique population with a thriving workforce and low cost of living. It is a community that values education and growth. This summer program, Cozad Afterzone, is integrated with the local school system, providing children with career insights and strengthening community bonds.
The Role Afterzone Plays in the Community
Now in its 18th year, Afterzone is a 21st Century funded program that has become an essential part of the Cozad community. Fully integrated into the local school system, Afterzone fills a critical need for expanded learning opportunities, acting as a bridge that connects students to additional resources and support beyond the regular school day. The program has earned strong backing from the school and the broader community and is recognized as an important element of the community fabric.
The program was implemented by Marcia Fritz and is currently led by Karmen Morse, who has led the program for four years. Morse plays a vital role as a connecting piece between the program and the community. These relationships were on full display this summer with the community’s involvement with Afterzone’s focus on career exploration.
Creating Expanded Learning Opportunities
The community is located in Dawson County and is deeply rooted in agriculture, which plays a significant role in its local economy. Farmland surrounds Cozad, making crop production, particularly corn, soybeans, and wheat, a major industry. Livestock farming is also prominent, and many local ranches contribute to Nebraska’s well-known beef industry with several major meat processing plants nearby. Additionally, Cozad has a manufacturing sector that produces a range of products from agricultural equipment to automotive parts.
Cozad is a thriving community with a solid industrial background and a vibrant blend of cultures and languages. These unique attributes fuel innovation, foster creativity, and strengthen the town’s cultural fabric.
Afterzone has answered this need by focusing on hiring bilingual staffing to ensure communication with families is clear. “Bilingual staffing has been a huge asset for our program,” Morse shared. Diverse staffing has also helped extend the services to a vital population in Cozad, who might otherwise not use the program.
Career Exploration: Bridging Dreams and Reality
It was only fitting to honor the rural community’s unique economic landscape by focusing summer programming on career exploration and workforce development. With input staff, including college and high school students and school paras, the program organized a series of activities and presentations focused on career exploration that specifically highlighted the unique workforce needs of the community. Community members were invited to share their career experiences, from agricultural scientists at Bayer discussing corn genetics to radiologists demonstrating how their equipment works. There was a focus on exposure to all types of careers, but an effort was made to share the wide range of STEM careers of community members. Field trips were planned to businesses, such as the local bank and grocery store, illustrating how various professions interconnect within the community.
Parental engagement was encouraged as parents were invited to share their careers. Additionally, this sharing helped build community amongst the students and community members that the students may not have otherwise met.
One parent working in agriculture highlighted the numerous products derived from corn and wheat, while a construction project manager shared the steps they take to complete a project. These experiences opened the children’s eyes to traditional and non-traditional roles, vital in a town like Cozad. The kids learned about the interconnectedness of community jobs, such as how a farmer raises meat sold to the grocery store and how the food truck owner purchases the beef and sells it in his products, demonstrating the local economic ecosystem.
The Role of ESSR III Funding
Afterzone utilized ESSER Funding to expand the impact of the career exploration programming by incorporating career-themed activities and field trips. The program created a dramatic playroom with career-themed areas like a kitchen, grocery store, doctor’s office, and vet clinic. Career puppets and dress-up clothes further enhanced the immersive experience.
Each week the program featured a different career field and speakers, providing continuous community engagement. ESSER grant-funded field trips brought the students of Afterzone out to the community, with many area businesses being surprised by the volume of students and families who rely on the program.
Impact on Families and Community Involvement
The program’s impact extends beyond the children to their families and the broader community. Family Night, featuring bounce houses, Cub Scouts, and snow cones, saw the highest attendance ever, reflecting the program’s growth. New families, guest speakers from the career exploration programming, and community partners including the new school principal all joined in the fun, fostering stronger community bonds.
Parental engagement was a key piece of the summer programming. Not only did the students learn about career options in their community, they also met the community members who held these jobs and formed community connections across generations. From firefighters and EMTs to city planners and real estate agents, community members contributed to the program demonstrating the multifaceted nature of the local workforce.
Envisioning the Future: Career Aspirations and Community Building
The career exploration programming at Afterzone encouraged students to think beyond traditional roles in their communities, considering careers like marine biologists and astronauts, even in the middle of Nebraska. Field trips to the North Platte Children’s Museum and space exploration activities at Edgerton Explorit Center in Aurora broadened their horizons, nurturing their ambitions.
Building Confidence in the Afterschool Community
One significant outcome has been the program’s ability to help children build self-confidence. Morse sees this happening as a new kindergartner brings their security stuffed animal and leaves it at home after a few days of attending. It happens when the shy teenage staff member decides to lead a new activity. It occurs when a previous Afterzone student comes back as a staff member so that they can pay forward what Afterzone meant to them.
Lessons Learned and Looking Ahead
Asking children about their interests and career aspirations has been a critical lesson, ensuring the program remains relevant and engaging. The summer program educated the students about various careers, and strengthened community bonds, highlighting how intertwined and supportive Cozad’s community truly is.
The lessons hit home when a strong storm swept through the town during the summer. Golf ball and softball-sized hail left a trail of destruction, impacting almost everyone in the community. The students saw the impact that jobs in construction play in their community because it was all hands on deck to repair the damage across the town. The students of Afterzone also saw first-hand what it means to come together as a community.
In conclusion, the career exploration summer program at Afterzone has been a remarkable success. The program provided students with exposure to career paths, fostered community pride, and built stronger family and community connections. As the program continues to evolve, it promises to keep inspiring the next generation of Cozad’s workforce, one career at a time.
About Beyond School Bells (BSB)
Beyond School Bells is a statewide public-private partnership that supports sustainable, high-quality, school-community collaborations that provide youth with what they need to be successful in school and in life. These collaborations offer kids access to areas of learning they may never experience, including hands-on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) activities. Through the process, participants exhibit increased school attendance, positive behavior and improved academic performance. Visit the Beyond School Bells website.
Examples of ESSER III Funding in Action
Explore more stories about how Nebraska communities are leveraging ESSER III funding to provide impactful ELOs:
- Impact of ESSER III Funding
- Building Community in the Heart of Cherry County: Expanded Learning Opportunities in Valentine, Nebraska
- Beyond the Classroom: Transforming Learning with Real-World Skills in Mitchell, Nebraska
Nebraska Children’s mission is to create positive change for Nebraska’s children through community engagement.
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