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BY MORNING SENTINEL STAFF 04/21/2008

enlarge Staff photo by Jim Evans

SAVED: Jacob Witham is pulled to safety in the game Shark Attack at the The Neighborhood after-school program at Winslow Elementary School recently. The program is among few in Maine to earn accreditation from the National Afterschool Association.

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That team approach took 12 months and covered 144 standards related to child care, a laborious task but one that succeeded because Lizotte had a willing team.

As a result, Lizotte's "The Neighborhood" is one of only eight after-school programs in the state to earn accreditation from the Charleston, Mass.-based National Afterschool Association.

The after-school program at Waterville's George J. Mitchell School holds the distinction of being first in the state to obtain such status, gaining it in February 2004.

School Administrative District 49 (Fairfield, Albion, Benton, Clinton) also has an accredited program, based in Benton.

Relationships, Lizotte said, are the strength of The Neighborhood, and by this she means the bonds between staff, parents, school faculty and children.

Lizotte said Winslow Elementary principal Steve Frank is one of her program's biggest boosters.

"I'm just so proud of the support Mr. Frank has given me," she said. "He has been tremendously supportive of the improvements we have made, not just for the children but for the school in general."

Stephanie T. Brumbeloe is program director for the National Afterschool Association's program improvement and accreditation division.

Brumbeloe said going through the process required to gain accreditation is a worthwhile endeavor.

"It certainly is a beneficial process to go through," she said, "because the parents are involved, the children are involved and the staff is involved. It gets everybody working together as a team."

Brumbeloe said The Neighborhood is well deserving of accreditation.

"They worked hard to get there," she said, "and we're very proud of them for having gone through (the process) because it is totally voluntary."

Colin Hickey -- 861-9205

chickey@centralmaine.com

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