Beacon Schools of the Virgin Islands has been selected for the first time as winner of a prestigious national award, executive director Valerie George announced Monday.
The 2000 Metropolitan Life Foundation Outstanding After-school Partnership Award was given the program for an "extraordinary after-school partnership." Though the program has operated since 1996, this is the first time George has applied for an award.
"I was thumbing through the awards available." George said, "And I just decided to apply." And a good idea it was. George said it shows the community and all the volunteers who conduct the program what a winner it is.
"One of the things the awards committee looked at, "said George is the sustainability feature of the program." She explained that the enormously successful Mahogany Run golf tournaments Beacon has held for the past four years go a long way in supporting the program. That, she said, got the judge's attention.
"We netted $64,000 this year," George said. "That's the amount of last year's gross," she said, "so you can see how the tournament is growing."
The after-school program also depends on federal grants, but they're "time specific," George said. The proceeds from the tournaments can be spent as needed.
The Beacon concept was first introduced to the territory in 1996 at a Youth Symposium conducted by Sen. Lorraine Berry, who had invited New York's Beacon Schools to participate.
The idea caught on immediately and the first V.I. Beacons got started in 1997. "We've grown unbelievably," George said. In 1997 the enrollment was 634 and today it's more than 4,000, she illustrated.
Goal of the schools is to improve performance of troubled youth, reduce violence and to provide a safe learning environment. Both students and parents attend the territory's five learning centers which are all located in public schools on all three islands.
Criteria used for selection of the award include the program staff and management, safety, experiential learning opportunities, effective partnerships with local businesses, family involvement, and, importantly the sustainability issue.
George will go to Texas in November to receive the award which she stresses is "for all our volunteers and students." It will be presented from Metropolitan Life and the National Association of Partners in Education Association, which for more than 30 years has been a big voice in developing school volunteer, intergenerational and community service partnerships.
