Learning Beyond the Classroom

Public Group active %s

Through collaboration and cooperation, a retired school bus has been turned into a classroom fitted with everything necessary to function as a classroom, lending library and a food bank. The goals for the Learning Beyond the Classroom (LBTC) bus are driven by the needs of the population in Garrett County, and include increasing school readiness for children ages 0-5, providing fine arts programs and implementing hunger programs for families in need.

Group Admins

Health Improvement Strategy

Learning Beyond the Classroom

https://mygarrettcounty.com/groups/learning-beyond-the-classroom/

Goal:

At each stop, the Learning Beyond the Classroom bus provides school readiness lessons, nutrition and cooking activities, literature and art experiences as well as valuable play interaction for children.  The Learning Beyond the Classroom bus provides fresh fruit and vegetables and other basic necessities that the family may lack at each stop.  The goal of the bus is to reach the at-risk populations of Garrett County and bring services to them that help the family as a whole.

Strategy Description:

The Learning Beyond the Classroom (LBTC) bus travels to ten (10) sites throughout Garrett County during the third week of every month.  These sites have been determined to have a high percentage of children ages 0-5 that are not currently enrolled in an early care program.  Most of the participants of the program live ten miles or more from the nearest grocery store and have limited transportation resources.  The population was identified based on low-income housing environments and proximity to food.  By focusing on children from birth to age five, the LBTC bus reaches target areas serving families of poverty and lower income levels throughout Garrett County.

Level of Change:

Programs

Primary Focus Area:

Access to Care and Linkages to Community Resources

Data Category Tag:

GCHD Local Management Board

Strategic Planning Alignment:

Estimated Implementation Date:

2019-07-01

Estimated Completion Date:

2022-12-30

Estimated Ease of Implementation:

Moderate

Estimated Cost of Implementation:

Moderate

Potential Community Benefit:

Very High

Health Equity:

Research:

Last Modification

Carrie Wampler edited this group on January 15, 2025.
Juliet Sanders edited this group on April 14, 2023.
Juliet Sanders edited this group on April 14, 2023.
Juliet Sanders edited this group on March 24, 2023.
Juliet Sanders edited this group on October 17, 2022.
Juliet Sanders edited this group on August 26, 2022.
Juliet Sanders edited this group on June 24, 2022.
Juliet Sanders edited this group on March 21, 2022.
Juliet Sanders edited this group on March 18, 2022.
Juliet Sanders edited this group on August 04, 2021.
Juliet Sanders edited this group on August 04, 2021.
Juliet Sanders edited this group on April 19, 2021.
Juliet Sanders edited this group on April 19, 2021.
Juliet Sanders edited this group on March 26, 2021.
Juliet Sanders edited this group on March 26, 2021.
Juliet Sanders edited this group on October 19, 2020.
Juliet Sanders edited this group on October 19, 2020.
Juliet Sanders edited this group on October 16, 2020.
Juliet Sanders edited this group on July 24, 2020.
Juliet Sanders edited this group on January 10, 2020.
Juliet Sanders edited this group on January 10, 2020.
Juliet Sanders edited this group on January 10, 2020.
Juliet Sanders edited this group on October 16, 2019.
Juliet Sanders edited this group on October 16, 2019.
Juliet Sanders edited this group on September 09, 2019.
Juliet Sanders edited this group on September 09, 2019.
Juliet Sanders edited this group on September 06, 2019.
Juliet Sanders edited this group on September 06, 2019.
Juliet Sanders edited this group on June 13, 2019.
Juliet Sanders edited this group on June 13, 2019.

Contributing Community Participants

Carrie Wampler, Jamie Spano, Lindsay, Fred Polce, Brianna Evans, Candy M DeGiovanni, Steve Putnam, Kimberly Alexander, Nan Gangler, Lacy Coffren, Gillian Shreve, Kaitlyn Glotfelty, Jennifer Hare, John Corbin, Juliet Sanders,

Measurements Target Goal Status Desired Trend Contributor January 2017 February 2017 March 2017 April 2017 May 2017 June 2017 July 2017 August 2017 September 2017 October 2017 November 2017 December 2017 January 2018 February 2018 March 2018 April 2018 May 2018 June 2018 July 2018 August 2018 September 2018 October 2018 November 2018 December 2018 January 2019 February 2019 March 2019 April 2019 May 2019 June 2019 July 2019 August 2019 September 2019 October 2019 November 2019 December 2019 January 2020 February 2020 March 2020 April 2020 May 2020 June 2020 July 2020 August 2020 September 2020 October 2020 November 2020 December 2020 January 2021 February 2021 March 2021 April 2021 May 2021 June 2021 July 2021 August 2021 September 2021 October 2021 November 2021 December 2021 January 2022 February 2022 March 2022 April 2022 May 2022 June 2022 July 2022 August 2022 September 2022 October 2022 November 2022 December 2022 January 2023 February 2023 March 2023 April 2023 May 2023 June 2023 July 2023 August 2023 September 2023 October 2023 November 2023 December 2023 January 2024 February 2024 March 2024 April 2024 May 2024 June 2024 July 2024 August 2024 September 2024 October 2024 November 2024 December 2024 January 2025 February 2025 March 2025 April 2025 May 2025 June 2025 July 2025 August 2025 September 2025 October 2025 November 2025 December 2025
How Much: # of parents/guardians, with or without children, attending a mobile outreach education event, who received a backpack containing educational supplies (duplicated count) 40 Active Increase LMB 235 218 183 99 107 151 107 156 111 117 42 47 111 204 91 59 65 42 30 42 36 16
How Much: # of LBTC events completed in underserved, low-income areas addressing preparation of healthy meals and snacks 10 Active Increase LMB 42 29 26 11 8 8 8 12 4 24 15 5 23 27 16 5 5 9 5 5 3 3
Better Off: # of LBTC participants engaging in two or more wellness activities 40 Active Increase LMB 56 149 158 19 226 0 79 51 58 34 25 90 91 67 47
Better Off: # who have completed an Identified Pathway Planning Outcome or other educational/vocational goal measured by the crisis to thrive scale 70 Active Increase LMB 17 4 0 -0.00 0 0 0 0 3 4 0 56 91 43 47 4 2 2 2 3 4

Data Narrative

The Learning Beyond the Classroom (LBTC) bus addresses the specific needs of Garrett County families, with key goals including enhancing school readiness for children ages 0-5, providing fine arts programs, and implementing feeding initiatives for families in need. To support these efforts, partnerships have been formed with local organizations such as fire departments, apartment complexes, and churches, offering restroom facilities and additional space for expansion. At each stop, the LBTC bus provides a diverse range of services, including school readiness lessons, nutrition and cooking activities, literature, arts experiences, and essential play interactions for children. The bus visits five sites across Garrett County during the third week of each month. These sites were selected based on a high concentration of children ages 0-5 who are not currently enrolled in early childhood programs. By focusing on young children from birth to age five, the LBTC bus directly serves families in poverty or lower-income areas. In addition, the bus hosts pop up events throughout the program year. The five sites visited include:

  • Kitzmiller School Building (21539)
  • Loch Lynn Church of God (21550)
  • Crellin United Brethren Church (21550)
  • Grantsville Senior Center (21536)
  • Friendsville Park (21531)
Data for the program is collected semi-annually and annually each fiscal year. For FY25:  In the program's tenth year, the Learning Beyond the Classroom bus has had an excellent first half of the year in Quarter 1 and 2!  The program continues as a county-wide, collaborative initiative, partnering with the Garrett County Judy Center, Garrett County Health Department, Maryland University Extension Office, Garrett County Public Schools, the WGW Foundation and several other local partners. Highlights:
  • LBTC had community partners attend bus events to share resources with families (AHEC West, Priority Partners, Ruth Enlow Library, Garrett County Health Department, Head Start).
  • 231 Bags of healthy food and educational resources were distributed.
  • 36 families completed the LBTC midyear Family Survey with 100% satisfactory results.
The goals of LBTC remain the focus of both services and outreach. Through the mobile platform, the program continues to reach families that would be excluded from school-based events due to transportation deficits. With the continued teamwork of a plethora of community partnerships, the LBTC program is able to meet the unique needs of families including food security, early childhood developmental concerns, health/vision/dental screenings, and school readiness.  Together with the established partners, the Learning Beyond the Classroom program will continue to meet the needs of children and their families utilizing the ten vital locations throughout the county.

Scaled Data Visualization

Fiscal Year 2017 Data Visualization (July-June)

Calendar Year 2017 Data Visualization

Fiscal Year 2018 Data Visualization (July-June)

Calendar Year 2018 Data Visualization

Fiscal Year 2019 Data Visualization (July-June)

Calendar Year 2019 Data Visualization

Fiscal Year 2020 Data Visualization (July-June)

Calendar Year 2020 Data Visualization

Fiscal Year 2021 Data Visualization (July-June)

Calendar Year 2021 Data Visualization

Fiscal Year 2022 Data Visualization (July-June)

Calendar Year 2022 Data Visualization

Fiscal Year 2023 Data Visualization (July-June)

Calendar Year 2023 Data Visualization

Fiscal Year 2024 Data Visualization (July-June)

Calendar Year 2024 Data Visualization

Fiscal Year 2025 Data Visualization (July-June)

Calendar Year 2025 Data Visualization

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