By Dominik Lobkowicz
Marcie Abbot stands on the deck of her home in Jefferson where she will operate the new Young Explorers Before & After School Program. (Photo courtesy Marcie Abbot) |
An experienced teacher and child care worker is opening a new before- and after-school program to serve young students in the Jefferson area.
Marcie Abbot, the proprietor of Young Explorers Before and After School Program, said the program is open to kindergarten through fourth-grade students and participants can arrive as early as 6 a.m. and stay as late as 5:30 p.m.
Students will be able to take the bus to and from school from Abbot’s home, which has been inspected and certified by the state, she said.
Abbot described the afternoon sessions of her program as “structured,” starting with a snack and some outdoor time, followed by homework time and then games and crafts.
“We do have a very large back lawn and climbing structure,” she said.
The program will accommodate a total of seven students, and six spots are open as of Aug. 18, Abbot said.
The program will follow the AOS 93 school calendar and will accommodate early release days. Abbot said she plans not to be available during school vacation but she will decide that on an individual basis.
Abbot said this will be the first such program she has operated alone, though she did serve as director of a similar program in Skowhegan for two years.
“I do have some definite experience there,” she said.
In all, Abbot has ten years experience in working with children in this age group through other before- and after-school programs and teaching, she said.
Abbot holds a degree in teaching grades K-3, and is two classes away from earning her K-8 special education certification.
“I spent the last two years working with students with behavioral difficulties at Spurwink,” Abbot said.
Abbot’s program will be located at her home at 414 North Clary Road in Jefferson. For more information, call 399-3386 or email youngexplorersbasp@gmail.com.
