District Gets Grant for Homework Centers

Homework centers at four local elementary schools and the Boys and Girls Club are set to open by the end of the month, John Bennett, deputy school superintendent, said this week.

A $28,560 grant from the 3M Foundation will cover the full cost of the centers for their first year of operation, Bennett said. The Santa Ana Unified School District hopes to win grants from 3M and other businesses to maintain and expand centers after that.

According to the school district, the area that will have the centers has the largest concentration of children in California and the second largest in the nation.

“The district saw the greatest need there,” Bennett said of the neighborhoods around Monroe, Monte Vista, Garfield and Madison elementary schools and the Santa Ana Boys and Girls Club.

The school district also plans to track the students who attend the homework centers to determine whether they are deterred from dropping out of school.