Looking for an afternoon hangout? How about Hunter High – The Salt Lake Tribune

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Education • Program gives students a safe place to spend their hours outside class.

By day, Troy Caldwell’s classroom at Hunter High is home to math students who learn geometry, algebra and pre-calculus.

But when the bell rings to signal the end of the school day, textbooks give way to board games and decks of cards as the room transforms into an afternoon hangout.

It’s a similar scene in Katy Magleby’s classroom, where after-school activities include scrapbooking and knitting.

The activities are part of Hunter’s Community Education Partnership, a before- and after-school program designed to offer a safe social atmosphere and tutoring. It also discourages students from loitering on campus after hours, or worse — finding trouble on the streets.

“I didn’t want to come at first, but it’s fun,” said sophomore Katherine Zavallos, who is one of about a dozen girls who meet twice a week to knit in Magleby’s classroom. “My dad’s really happy, too, because it’s something fun and safe to do, instead of other things.”

About 300 students and 30 teachers participate in the Hunter program — the first CEP at a Granite School District high school.

Most teachers offer three hours of tutoring per week, with math being the most popular subject. The more “social” activities include intramural sports, drama, art and two book clubs.

“It’s just a place for these kids to get help and have a little security after school,” Vice Principal Mark Ellermeier said. “These kids are very social, and they hang out. They just don’t really have anywhere to go. We’re trying to connect with those kids.”

The program is funded by CEP of West Valley City, a nonprofit founded in 2004 by former City Councilwoman Margaret Peterson. A total of 17 schools and approximately 4,000 students currently participate in CEP programs.

Hunter is in the first year of a three-year grant that pays teachers who offer the after-school tutoring and activities.

Ellermeier, who plans to review grades at the end of the year to see if the tutoring has made an impact academically, said he hopes participation in the program reaches 450 students — about 20 percent of enrollment — by the 2013-14 school year.

“This next semester we are going to try to set up a homework club,” Ellermeier said. “It would be a comfortable, safe place to be with their friends and be social.”

Ellermeier said most of the teachers who participate already were staying after school to tutor students. The grant offers a small monetary incentive.

Magleby, who uses part of the money she receives to purchase supplies for the knitting club, said her reward isn’t monetary.

“I only get to interact with a small number of students,” said Magleby, a special-education teacher, “so it’s nice to get to meet a wide range of students that I might not otherwise interact with.”

In Caldwell’s classroom, junior Kevin Chapman peered over the chess board set up in front of him, eager for a challenger. His unbeaten record is likely the reason no opponent could be found.

The potential of a game is still better than the alternative.

“I’d probably be going home to sleep,” Chapman said.

Hunter CEP

Hunter High is the first high school in the Granite School District to offer a Community Education Partnership program.

The program is funded by a grant through CEP of West Valley City, which offers before- and after-school activities in 17 area schools, involving approximately 4,000 students.

Through the program, about 30 Hunter teachers offer tutoring and social activities.