Howard County Library?s Teen Time after-school program will feature a new aspect in the fall ? character building.
Students will learn about responsibility, respect and kindness through a national program called Character Counts, which is also used in the county public school system.
“These are kids who are going to be our future generations,” said Contobia Adams, young adult coordinator and Teen Time project director.
About 35 teens, ages 11 to 15, participate in the program, which began in 2005 and features homework assistance, tutoring and cultural enrichment.
Adams said Cradlerock School Principal Jason McCoy has agreed to provide the program with either a teacher or instructional assistant for homework assistance and tutoring for one hour a day, four days a week.
Many of the school?s students participate in the program, and Cradlerock is near the library.
“We intend to increase the academic focus with a greater assistance on homework and tutoring,” she said.
Teen Time recently received a much-needed monetary boost ? a $20,000 grant from the Howard County Local Children?s Board to keep the financially struggling program going for another year.
“It?s a win-win for the community,” said Keri Hyde, director of the children?s board.
“We are completely funded, and we?re ecstatic about that,” said Valerie Gross, director of the county library, who said it costs about $34,000 to operate Teen Time on an annual basis.
Gross said the library is overseeing a five-year funding plan to keep the program operating on a long-term basis.
She said a total of about $85,500 in pledges have been made. The money has come from the Friends of Howard County, a nonprofit group that supports the library?s program through fundraising and advocacy; three anonymous donors; and Ascend One Corp., a Columbia-based company that provides support services to credit counseling companies.
If you go
» What: Teen Time
» When: 3 to 5:30 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays
» Where: Howard County Library?s East Columbia branch on Cradlerock Way
