A volunteer after-school program for students at Kennett Middle School just turned 25, and there was a small party for the kids and the volunteers. The idea behind After the Bell was to give middle-schoolers something to do between the time school lets out and when their parents would get home from work.

After the Bell came into being in January of 1999, just a month after Rudy Karkosak was hired as Kennett Consolidated School District's superintendent. He speaks highly of the program.

"After the Bell does two things," he said. "It provides enrichment activities that these kids might not be exposed to. That's number one. Number two, there's a tutoring component. And the tutoring companion is to make sure those kids who are falling through the cracks have some fun place to get tutored. The kids love it."

During the past 25 years, more than 7,000 students have taken part in the program. Some of the activities are sports, seafood cooking, woodworking, Dungeons and Dragons, and learning to fly in a simulator at New Garden Airfield, among others.

Karkosak, now the former superintendent, said the attitude toward the program was good from the start.

"It was positive, very positive from the community, from the [school] board. You have to remember that this started at the Church of the Advent. The church did a study that found that keeping kids busy between the hours of 2:30 dismissal from school and 5-5:30 when their parents come home needed to be filled with something, some positive activity instead of them being on the streets."

He said former Kennett Square Police Chief Albert McCarthy told him there had previously been problems with kids on the street in the borough. McCarthy became a member of After the Bell's "semi-advisory committee. He really was very happy with [the program,]" the Karkosak added.

Paola Rosas, After the Bell's executive director, noted that the program became even more critical after COVID.

"Since COVID, kids need more assistance, they need more support. It's about mental health," she said.

And she understands the rise in suicides and suicidal thoughts that came with the lockdowns.

"That's the change we've seen the most in the last 10 years since I've been here. And that's why we think it's so important that we're here because this is the place where students can be themselves, we can support them, we can help them," she said.

Rosas is most grateful for the volunteers who operate the program. The program runs for three, six-week sessions per year, and there usually are 100 or more volunteers every one of those weeks. Volunteers give at least two hours per week during each of the six-week sessions.

Some skills she'd like to see in new volunteers include sewing… "and we desperately need music." She added that After the Bell is writing grant applications to buy instruments.

When After the Bell is not in session, Rosas said the kids "go home, go home to empty homes. Because we are run by volunteers, we just can't do it throughout the year…We do as much as we can."

Rosas wants After the Bell to grow, but that comes back to volunteers.

"I'd like to see more volunteers. We need more; we're always looking for more. I would like every single kid in Kennett Middle School to participate," she said.

State Rep. Christina Sappey, D-158, attended the event at the school Tuesday afternoon. She showed the students a citation from the state House recognizing the work of After the Bell volunteers.

While Sappey did not read the citation, she told the students that she liked that they were there.

"Taking advantage of opportunities after school will help you figure out who you are, what you like, and what you don't like. It's important to know what you don't like. You have to figure out the activities you like. That helps you to figure out what you want to be when you grow up…This program is helping you figure that out right now," she said.

Anyone interested in volunteering for After the Bell should send an email to [email protected]

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