Media Advisoryfor Immediate Releasecontact Information

Riverside Educational Center

PO Box 4367, Grand Junction, CO 81502

(970) 589-5039

Media Advisoryfor Immediate ReleaseContact Information:

Date: July 13, 2018Joy Hudak (970) 589-5039

Riverside Educational Center Expands to Five New Schools in the Grand Valley

The Riverside Educational Center (REC)has been approved for $600,000 in funding from the 21stCentury Community Learning Centers Grant Programsponsored by the Colorado Department of Education. The grant award will be for five consecutive years. REC will expand their afterschool academic support services and enrichment activities to five new school locations (D51 granted $150k for one after-school site). REC anticipates serving approximately 250 additional students for the 2018-2019 academic year.

The new schools being served are Bookcliff Middle, Mount Garfield Middle School, Orchard Mesa Middle, and Rocky Mountain Elementary School. Also, REC has collaborated with Mesa County School District 51 (MCSD51) to provide services at Dos Rios Elementary School with the support from Cathy Ebel, Director of Student Options at MCSD51. The grant award will be a partnership between MCSD51, other government entities and local nonprofits providing services for youth and their families. In total, REC will be in seven locations which includes Grand Junction High School and the Riverside School.

REC has been providing services in the Grand Valley since 2006. Joy Hudak, the executive director, comments, “This grant award is about our community coming together to show how much we care about our kids.Many families are struggling in our community,and some kids have more challenges like poverty, single-parent households, not proficient at grade level, behavior issues, etc. REC is proud of the relationships we have built over the years with our partners,and we are thrilled to have the opportunity to reach more kids with a team of providers and community members.”

With the expansion, REC is looking to hire many new staff members to join the team. Interested individuals can visit the website at to apply for one of the positions. Also, REC is recruiting volunteers for the academic year to help deliver tutoring services.

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The Riverside Educational Center provides structured tutoring and diverse extra-curricular activities in the after-school hours for academically and financially qualifying K-12th grade students in order to improve academic achievement and foster positive social and emotional development in a safe and supportive environment.