Greg Dohler/The Gazette Marvin Silver (front), pastor of Amistad Saint Paul United Church of Christ in Lanham, takes part in a Dec. 30 mixed martial arts class as part of the church's new Jubilee Empowerment Center.

• 
• 
Greg Dohler/The Gazette Marvin Silver (front), pastor of Amistad Saint Paul United Church of Christ in Lanham, takes part in a Dec. 30 mixed martial arts class as part of the church's new Jubilee Empowerment Center.
• 
Greg Dohler/The Gazette Ciana Abrams (front left), 9, of Lanham and Jada Silver (front right), 13, of District Heights follow along as a mixed martial arts class takes place behind them Dec. 30 at Amistad Saint Paul United Church of Christ in Lanham. The class was part of the church's new Jubilee Empowerment Center designed to increase community engagement.

Greg Dohler/The Gazette Marvin Silver (front), pastor of Amistad Saint Paul United Church of Christ in Lanham, takes part in a Dec. 30 mixed martial arts class as part of the church's new Jubilee Empowerment Center.

<< Prev

Next >>

More News

Mixed-use development proposed for Laurel’s arts district

Thurmont to ask Congress to reimburse money spent during G-8

Takoma Park police aim to catch fleeing thieves

State chamber: Income tax hike will unfairly hurt Montgomery

Push for Shady Grove arena refueled

A clarification was made to this story Jan. 24, 2012. An explanation follows the story.

The Jubilee Empowerment Center, a new community outreach effort by a Lanham church, has made a New Year’s resolution to support children in Prince George’s County schools through an after-school care program, a parent resource center and other initiatives.

“Education became an important issue for us to work on,” said Marvin Silver, pastor at Amistad St. Paul United Church of Christ. “We have a strong passion for empowering God’s people.”

Officials for the center — founded in October by about five board members — are discussing with the school system the details of establishing a low-cost, after-school program for the students at Gaywood Elementary School in Lanham, brainstorming ideas for training sessions for parents on conflict management, advocating for their children and effectively helping with school work, said Silver, who lives in Upper Marlboro.

The after-school program, which likely will start this fall pending approval by the school system, will include tutoring and structured enrichment activities such as dance, softball and chess at the church from about 2 to 6 p.m. on school days, said Ingrid Reynolds-Lawson, principal at Gaywood Elementary.

“My children are economically disadvantaged, and it’s hard for parents to choose between ... the essentials and things like dance classes,” Reynolds-Lawson said of Gaywood, where more than 85 percent of students receive free or reduced-price meals.

“It is something that is going to expand the horizons of our students in a positive way,” she said.

Reynolds-Lawson estimated 25 to 30 of her 450 students now are enrolled in after-school programs in the community, but she said parents have been excited to hear about the center’s idea for a program at the church.

Catherine Hollingsworth, whose 6-year-old son is in first grade at Gaywood Elementary, said after-school programs can supplement instruction offered during the school day with classes on cooking, a foreign language or other topics.

“There’s a lot of things that are missing from the curriculum,” said Hollingsworth, who lives in Lanham. “An after-care program can fix some of the holes and gaps.”

Hollingsworth said she is happy with her son’s current after-care provider, who charges $85-$95 per week, but she supports the creation of additional affordable and quality after-school programs.

Fees for the center’s after-school program will be based on families’ ability to pay, Silver said, although the center’s board members still are working to establish a fee scale.

Other after-school programs can cost Gaywood Elementary parents $80 to $100 per week, Reynolds-Lawson said.

Volunteers from the empowerment center and the church or other community members will run the program, Silver said.

In December, the center began offering free weekly martial arts classes for adults and children older than 12. The classes, which take place at the church on Friday evenings, will continue indefinitely, Silver said.

Parents also will benefit from a parent resource center where former educators such as Sandra Hudson can explain education jargon — such as free and reduced-price meals or Montessori program — and instructional strategies, said Hudson, one of the empowerment center’s board members and a former assistant principal in Florida’s Miami-Dade County school system.

“Everybody does not know how to be a parent,” said Hudson, a Columbia resident and a member of the church. “When you empower people and perhaps give them the skills to take responsibility for their lives, they do that. … Sometimes people just need access to information.”

This life skills programming for parents is necessary across the nation, said Glenda Willis of Lanham, a prevention specialist for the county school system and a board member for the empowerment center.

“Especially during these times when everybody’s feeling the pressure of how things are economically, a lot of families are in survival mode,” Willis said. “Everybody needs to link hands and help each other.”

The empowerment center board members also might organize two or three seminars this year on hot-button topics for local high school students such as bullying, sex and self-image, Silver said.

“It’s about training our children in the way they should go and when they are old, they will not stray from it,” Silver said, paraphrasing Proverbs 22:6.

abrownback@gazette.net

Clarification: Catherine Hollingsworth, whose son is part of another after-school program, is not considering enrolling her son in the one started by Jubilee Empowerment Center.