MONTICELLO — The third and fourth objectives in the milliondollar 21st Century Learning Grant received by the Lawrence Countyschool district is to establish extended library and media servicesat school sites and provide limited after school opportunities tohigh school students.

Superintendent John Bull said the first goal of objective threewas to open the library media centers on all five campuses in theafternoon, at night and on Saturday mornings.

“There is still a need for more opportunities for students tohave access to reading materials and to be tested on books thatthey have read,” he said.

The district has also made previous strides in this area. Theyjoined the “accelerated reader” program two years ago and haveenjoyed strong success with it. More books are being made availablewhen school is out, too.

“The school district renovated an old school bus and outfittedit as a Book Mobile that makes regular visits to communities duringsummer months,” Bull said.

Another facet of objective three is to incorporate more seniorcitizens to help in the education of the students.

“One component of this effort would be the coordination of thesenior citizens and retired teachers as reading models,” Bull said.”The use of volunteers from the retired citizens of the county willstrengthen the ties between public school and the community andpromote the love of reading among students.”

The goal of objective four, he said, is to provide more afterschool services and opportunities for high school students.

“This grant will address the needs of students in grades 9-12 inseveral ways,” Bull said. “First, students will serve as tutors inthe academic portion of the After School Program as well as helpingwith extracurricular activities. This work will be incorporatedinto a service project framework that will be submitted to thestate for consideration as a pilot course for Carnegie unitcredit.”

By having high school students become more pro-active, Bullsaid, he hopes to not only provide “wholesome involvement” for allstudents, but to also provide younger students with positive rolemodels.

“Secondly, students who have been identified as at-risk forfailing subject area tests would have access to content specific”while in a school setting, he said.

Subject area tests are being phased in over four years as areplacement for the current test to gauge if students have learnedall the key elements they needed to at their grade level.

Study groups of high school students will also be formed topromote effective study habits and reinforce the lessons learned inclass, Bull said.

Although the grant cannot cover all of the areas in thedistrict, the superintendent said it does allow them to address anarea they have prioritized for the past five years.

“This is a big grant,” Bull said, “and it addresses some veryimportant issues. The next few months look very promising as webegin to put these services into effect.”