The SHINE Afterschool program is getting larger.

Rachel Strucko, director of the SHINE Afterschool program in Carbon and Schuylkill counties, said that over the next three years, the program will grow to include a total of 14 SHINE centers throughout Carbon, Schuylkill and now Luzerne counties.Currently, there are seven centers operated through Lehigh Carbon Community College in Carbon and Schuylkill counties.Next fall, four centers will open in Luzerne under the direction of Wilkes University, with an additional three centers slated to open the following year.The new program, which was announced last December, is a result of collaboration between state Sen. John Yudichak and Congressman Lou Barletta, two advocates for Carbon SHINE, as well as Wilkes University and Luzerne Intermediate Unit 18."SHINE is a natural progression of what we have been doing through Operation Gang Up," Barletta said in December. "The goals remain the same: to improve public safety in our region of Pennsylvania, to involve students, parents, law enforcement and school officials, and to provide healthy and educational alternatives to getting immersed in gangs.""We all understand that afterschool programming is an essential tool to boost academic achievement, improve school attendance and engage parents in their child's education; but it is a tool Luzerne school districts do not presently have at their disposal," Yudichak said. "Luzerne County SHINE is the resource that can make a difference in outcomes of our schools and in the lives of our children."Moving forwardStrucko said that Jeanne Miller, the former director of the SHINE program who retired from Lehigh Carbon Community College in December, is currently helping Luzerne's initiative get off the ground. The new advisory committee met recently to begin the journey."SHINE is becoming an educational model that can fit in most districts," Strucko said, noting that the Carbon and Schuylkill SHINE programs initially started as a grass-roots initiative over a decade ago and has transformed into a program recognized nationally as a model that works."We have the data to say this works," she said. "We are the little engine that could."The new Luzerne SHINE program will operate on separate funding sources from the Carbon and Schuylkill centers, but will include the same educational model structure as its predecessors.Luzerne County SHINE projects that startup costs will be roughly $75,000, and annual operating costs will range from $1 million to $1.7 million depending on the number of students involved in the program. The majority of funding for afterschool programming comes from a combination of federal, state and private funding sources.One interesting thing that Strucko noted was that even though funding and leadership differ in the two SHINE programs, a collaboration between the two exists.All the Luzerne staff and administrative training as well as preparing the curriculums for both elementary and technical centers will take place in Carbon County.Building Luzerne SHINEThe idea for expanding SHINE into Luzerne County came through an initiative created by Yudichak and Barletta in 2011 called Operation Gang Up.The goal for this project was to address the ongoing gang activity in Northeastern Pennsylvania.Through research by The Institute for Public Policy and Economic Development, which is a partnership of nine colleges and universities in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre/Hazleton areas, it was determined that the SHINE program was the most successful program and one that could be replicated in Luzerne County with minimal modifications to address other issues in the county.According to the 2013 study "Deterring Gang Participation," the Institute concludes that "SHINE stands out as a program that addresses several chronic, regional issues poor school performance, lower higher education attainment, crime, higher poverty and workforce development issues. SHINE also addresses each of the recommendations presented ... reducing risk factors that lead to negative behaviors such as issues in academics, familial problems and neglect, peer influences and idle time are also important for delinquency prevention."The study focused on a number of afterschool programs from around the country and how they work to promote healthy youth growth in the community while curbing behavioral problems like peer pressure; negative attitudes toward self, others and community; and a risky time between when school ends and parents get home from work.About SHINESHINE has been a successful afterschool model, administered by Lehigh Carbon Community College in Carbon and Schuylkill counties, for over a decade.The program has also been made possible through the support of various legislators, including Yudichak, Sen. David Argall, the late Sen. James Rhoades, former House Speaker Keith McCall, and state Reps. Doyle Heffley and Jerry Knowles; as well as area schools like Carbon Career & Technical Institute; Jim Thorpe, Panther Valley, Lehighton, Mahanoy Area and Shenandoah school districts; the former Carbon County Child and Family Collaborative (now the Carbon County Interagency and Family Collaborative) and the Luzerne/Schuylkill Workforce Investment Board.It promotes academic excellence through hands-on projects in the areas of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. The projects help students learn about careers of the future and bolster an interest in these careers to help build a future workforce.The SHINE program aims to help students from birth through college through a seamless network of programs, from home visits and elementary centers to middle school career academies and college internship opportunities.Data proved that SHINE is a model that has helped hundreds of area students improve their grades, build stronger family relationships and create an interest in learning for the future.Strucko said the expansion of the SHINE program into Luzerne shows that the program works.