MIDDLETOWN – Some 900 elementary school students in the Middletown City School District will continue their education for six weeks this summer thanks to a $500,000 grant secured by Assemblywoman Aileen Gunther (D, Forestburgh).
Two years ago, then- State Education Commissioner John King took away money previously targeted for Middletown and gave it to charter schools and not-for-profits. That put the Middletown summer programs at risk, said Middletown Superintendent Dr. Kenneth Eastwood.
“We have had a lot of success academically with our students, which in data says would not success as well as they have, so we were a little stunned by the fact that they would actually take money for a very important program away from our kids, because once you take that money away, they lose those opportunities for extra time and that is the critical mass for getting our kids to be proficient,” King said.
Gunther said while the funds she secured will maintain the education of the kids, there is an added bonus.
“A lot of these children are from low-income backgrounds and they provide them with breakfast and lunch for six weeks and it’s a great thing to give to the children of Middletown,” Gunther said.
The Middletown school district has a student population of 7,300 with 76 percent of them coming from homes of poverty and 82 percent of the children are minorities with 20 percent of those English language learners. “We have an enormous number of students who are high-needs academically and socially.
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