Atlanta ISD’s BLAST cancelled

By Bobby Horn Jr.
news@casscountynow.com

Atlanta ISD’s popular after-school program BLAST (Being Lifelong Achievers Starts Today) will not continue this school year.
The school district has learned that the grant which funded the program will not be renewed, Superintendent Sidney Harrist said.
“We’re shocked,” he said. “We’re not happy about it.”
The program has been in operation since 2006, when the district was first awarded a three-year grant through the federally funded 21st Century Community Learning Center. The grant is awarded in three-year cycles.
Harrist said that more than 300 school districts applied for the grant this year- 31 were approved and none of those are in Northeast Texas.
“We knew this day would eventually come,” Harrist said. “That is just the nature of grants. It is a sad day for Atlanta.”
The district offered the program in grades K through 12, providing tutoring, mentorship, homework help, academic enrichment and community service opportunities. The program also featured family literacy, family game nights and English/ Spanish classes.
This past year between 300 and 400 students participated in the program.
Harrist said that while they will continue offering tutoring they would not have an after-school program in the fall. “We know this is going to be hard on families,” he said.
He added that he wanted to thank all of the teachers and volunteers who helped with the program over the past nine years and that the program was able to be a success because of their efforts.
“We will reapply (for a grant) the next time they allow us,” he promised.