Dr. Sam Abram

Sam Abram, director of the Delaware County CAPE program, and Jim Needham, a telecommunications professor at Ball State University, will give a keynote talk.

Ball State University will oversee the community learning centers and Muncie Community Schools will expand its involvement with the Priority School, CAPE's executive director Sam Abram said.

The CAPE office and Abram's position will be phased out by the end of the month, he added.The phase-out would have started a year ago, but the original three-year, $5 million grant was extended into a fourth year.

"It was never intended that our office will go on beyond the grant period," Abram said.
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Dr. Abram has done a wonderful job helping set things up so they would be sustainable."
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A 21st Century Community Learning Centers grant, coupled with the Lilly grant, will help Albany and Eaton elementary schools operate four days a week, Abram said.
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"There is more flexibility in how each school corporation chooses to schedule students for their program," Abram said.

The Priority School is funded by CAPE, but operated by Muncie Community Schools, CAPE executive director Sam Abram said.

"We anticipate receiving the grant, and the grant will allow us to sustain our program along with funds that are left from our first phase that were a part of monies given from local foundations and interest income," Abram said.

The CAPE office and executive director Sam Abram were phased out as part of the original grant agreement established in 2001.

"We've met our goal of establishing 5 centers in Delaware County," CAPE director Sam Abram said.

CAPE is an after-school program designed to work with academically at-risk elementary students.The program began with first- and second-graders and is intended to grow with students until fifth grade.

"This is not just a remediation program.It's an opportunity to work and assist with some needs.It's also an enrichment program," Abram said.

Students will attend the program for 2 1/2 hours instead of last year's 3 hours.

"We've met our goal of establishing 5 centers in Delaware County," CAPE director Sam Abram said.

CAPE is an after-school program designed to work with academically at-risk elementary students.The program began with first- and second-graders and is intended to grow with students until fifth grade.

"This is not just a remediation program.It's an opportunity to work and assist with some needs.It's also an enrichment program," Abram said.

Students will attend the program for 2 1/2 hours instead of last year's 3 hours.

Sam Abram, director of CAPE, said that several partnerships within the community have already been formed.In fact, the use of the housing authority building for the Longfellow center is an example, Abram noted.

"The reason this is working is because of the teaming effort," he said.

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"The major factor that we are attempting to address is the family [by] trying to figure out how we can have a greater impact on how the family develops and how the family works together to practice [what students begin at the centers] and make a commitment to this whole idea that learning is important, but it's also fun," Abram said.

The goal is to have another five centers opened this fall.An application process for school officials interested in opening a center within their district will be announced later this spring, according to Abram.

Each year, about 15 new students will attend each center, which will eventually serve grades 1-5, Abram said.

Trailblazer awards: Renzie Abram, Berea Apostolic Faith Church pastor; Sam Abram, CAPE director; Phyllis Bartleson, Muncie Human Rights Commission director; Blaine Brownell, Ball State University president; David Cartwright, Hazelwood Christian Church senior minister; Angelia Gordon, Equal Employment Opportunity investigator; David Heeter, Mutual Federal Savings Bank executive; Carl Kizer Sr., retired postal employee; James McElhinney, director of BSU doctoral program in higher education, and Charles Weatherly Jr., Muncie Housing Authority director.