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

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

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
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
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
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

Data Narrative

Through collaboration and cooperation, a retired school bus was turned into a classroom fitted with everything necessary to function as a classroom, lending library, and food bank.  The goals for the Learning Beyond the Classroom bus are driven by the needs of the population of Garrett County and include increasing school readiness for children ages 0-5, providing fine arts programs, and implementing feeding initiatives for families in need.  The project has partnered with local facilities including fire departments, apartment complexes, and churches to provide restroom and expansion areas.  At each site, there are 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 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.  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.  The ten sites visited by the LBTC bus include:

  • Bloomington Fire Department (21523)
  • Kitzmiller School Building (21539)
  • Lions Club Pavilion/Glades Park (21550)
  • Loch Lynn Church of God (21550)
  • Swan Meadow School (21550)
  • Crellin United Brethren Church (21550)
  • Grantsville Senior Center (21536)
  • Finzel Park (21532)
  • Friendsville Park (21531)
  • Accident Town Park West (21520)
Data for the program is collected semi-annually and annually each fiscal year. For FY22:  In the program's sixth year, the Learning Beyond the Classroom bus is back in the community!  The program continues as a county-wide, collaborative initiative, partnering with the Garrett County Judy Center, Garrett County Health Department, Maryland University Extension Office, and several other local partners. Highlights:
  • LBTC added AETNA as a new partner and they were able to attend two events within the quarter.
  • 42 families, 58 children, and 5 partners participated in LBTC in quarter 2.
  • 32 families completed the LBTC midyear Family Survey with 100% satisfactory results.
For FY21: With great excitement, the Learning Beyond the Classroom (LBTC) program was able to begin hosting in-person events again! During the month of April, events remained a virtual experience, however, during the months of May and June LBTC was able to host in-person events at all pre-determined locations. They continue to utilize a highly effective collaborative approach with Garrett County Judy Center, Garrett County Health Department, Maryland University Extension Office, and numerous other community agencies as the 2020-2021 year concluded. In accordance with the CDC and GCPS guidelines, the LBTC program was unable to utilize indoor locations, but the weather cooperated and all events were held outdoors. 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.  They have had great success in partnering with Mountain Laurel Medical Center in meeting basic medical needs in the county. Their new mobile van has been a fan favorite and provided invaluable information to families. 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. Highlights from Quarter 4  132 children and 91 adults attended the April Giveaway stop. This event featured a Wellness Promotion challenging families to increase their intake of fruits and vegetables. Each child received a Fruit and Veggie Log to complete by May’s event. If children returned their logs they received a puppet set.
  1. 81 children and 100 adults attended our first in-person event since Covid-19. The May events highlighted our newest partner, Mountain Laurel Medical Center. The Mobile Health Van was a hit. Families received a wide variety of information and enjoyed the services the van provided. All attending families completed the Life Scale Progression and our family support staff received several leads of families to contact and work with.  In addition, Birth to Five joined us at each stop to share in the experience and complete informal observations, and provide services for current families.
  2. 69 children and 113 adults attend the June stops. Priority Partners joined us and shared with families the importance of Sun Safety. Families completed a Tobacco Survey and participated in an activity delivering facts on tobacco. Children also had the opportunity to taste some healthy foods with the MD University Extension Office and explore the Edible ABC Curriculum.
  3. All families at each event received fresh produce and an engaging children’s book.

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

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