Students to get a farm hand

Lolita Harper

Students with lower than average test scores, disciplinary

problems or overall difficulties in school will be invited to a

special after-school program designed to motivate them into learning

through hands-on techniques, fair officials decided Thursday.

The Orange County Fair & Exposition board approved the Ranch

after-school program, saying it would give children an unparalleled

opportunity to learn various agriculturally themed lessons not always

available in traditional academic courses.

About 25 Davis Elementary fifth graders who have been determined

“at risk” by educators will take part in the pilot program, set to

begin in January. The Costa Mesa children will learn about horses,

other livestock and vegetable gardening. They will also be able to

take advantage of the Centennial Farm, also at the fairgrounds.

Officials from the fair, the Newport-Mesa Unified School District

and Costa Mesa’s Recreation Department all worked together to create

the one-of-a-kind program to offer more than the usual after-school

program.

In the proposed “horse education unit” of the program, children

will learn about the animal’s history, safety, grooming, the various

breeds and colors, tacking, feeding, equipment and health, said Jim

Bailey, the fairground’s director of special projects, who outlined

the program.

The Orange Villa Buckaroos 4-H Club, who keep their horses at the

fairgrounds, will develop the unit and walk the youngsters through

that portion of the program, using their horses and equipment.

Similarly, the other on-site 4-H clubs have volunteered their

animals for the livestock unit. This portion of the program will

highlight the different types of farm animals and their uses, Bailey

said. One of the stalls will be converted into a chicken house for

the children to care for hens and hatch incubator chicks.

Finally, in the gardening portion of the program, students will

each have their own 8-foot square plot to plant, fertilize and

harvest.

Stacia Mancini, recreation manager for Costa Mesa, said the

program will give children access to hobbies and interests they may

never have dreamed of. It will also allow those who may not flourish

in a typical academic setting -- which generally involves listening

and retaining information -- a chance to get “hands-on” and really

connect with the subject manner, Mancini said. The agricultural theme

should tie in nicely with fifth-grade science curriculum, she said.

“I know that when I was a kid it helped me to be able to do what I

was being taught and then see the results of my work,” Mancini said.

The program, aimed at students whose schoolwork is not up to

expectations, will run from 3 to 6 p.m. at the fairground’s

equestrian center for about six months, Bailey said. Ultimately, a

year-round schedule that would include summer camp sessions would be

developed, Bailey said.

For now officials are excited to get the first session up and

running.

* LOLITA HARPER covers Costa Mesa. She may be reached at (949)

574-4275 or by e-mail at lolita.harper@latimes.com.