Cape Boys, Girls Club plans to move to junior high

The Boys and Girls Club of Cape Girardeau plans to relocate its operations to the Central Junior High School campus if the school board agrees.

Club director NaTika Rowles said the move would make its after-school and summer programs more accessible to students than at its current location at 232 Broadway.

The organization wants to move its offices and programs into empty or largely unused rooms in the basement of the junior high school and in a metal building on Whitener Street just south of the junior high's public parking lot.

The school district would provide the space free of charge, according to Rowles.

The school board discussed the move April 16, but did not vote because the administration had not yet presented a written usage agreement. The board could approve such an agreement with the club next month. Rowles hopes the club can relocate by the end of May.

Painting and some other renovations will be needed. Rowles plans to rely on volunteers to get the spaces including a former locker room fixed up for the organization's use.

The goal is to have everything in place for the start of the club's summer programs for youth.

The organization serves about 400 students, ranging in age from kindergarten to 12th grade. But more than 200 of its mostly at-risk students range in age from 10 to 13. Those students are in the middle and junior high schools, which are adjacent to each other.

Rowles' organization currently operates an after-school program at the junior high school, serving nearly 50 students twice a week. It's part of the local United Way's LIFE initiative, which also operates at the Cape Area Family Resource Center and Central Middle School.

About 100 mostly minority students participate in the program at the three sites combined. The program focuses on decision-making, problem-solving and self-esteem, and encourages greater parental involvement.

The Boys and Girls Club operates other programs for school-age youth at its Broadway location. But Rowles said those programs aren't easily accessible for children who don't always have reliable transportation. The junior high is more centrally located, making it more convenient, she said.

"We will be able to reach more kids," Rowles said. "I am excited. It is what makes sense in after-school programming."

Rowles said the junior high campus also makes sense for summer programs because it's within walking distance of the Central Pool, making it convenient for the students to go swimming. The club also expects to make use of the old football practice field and the gym at the junior high school.

Junior high principal Roy Merideth preaches the merits of the club to anyone who will listen. The after-school program at the junior high has improved student attitudes, reduced discipline problems, improved attendance and sparked greater parental involvement, he said.

"It reinforces what we are trying to do in school," he said, adding that he prefers to describe the students as "at-promise" instead "at-risk" academically.

"The more positive adult interaction you have, the better kids will do," Merideth said.

One eighth-grade boy in the after-school program has gone from getting failing grades to earning A's in his classes, Merideth said. "He is the ultimate success story," he said.

Having the club's operations centered on the junior high campus will make it easier to involve club staff members in dealing with issues involving particular students, Merideth said.

Rowles plans to have a full-time program director housed at the junior high school, as well as a part-time person who will focus on the junior high after-school program. The club expects to have several more part-time employees.

While more convenient to students, the junior high site has less program and office space than the Broadway building, formerly the Cape Girardeau Civic Center. Rowles doubts there will be sufficient space for her office. She said she'll probably have to rent office space elsewhere for herself and a secretary.

The club, which became affiliated with the Boys and Girls Club national organization in December 2000, has operated out of the Broadway building for more than six years.

First Presbyterian Church, across the street, owns the building. The club pays an annual rent of $1 to use the building.

The Rev. Paul Kabo Jr. said his church has yet to decide what it will do with the space.

But Kabo, who serves on the club's board of directors, said he believes the relocation would be a good move for the club. "To be located in a geographic area that has a high population of kids is advantageous," he said. "That location is critical for the club."

mbliss@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 123