BIDDEFORD — On Wednesday, at a press conference in Portland, representatives from LearningWorks joined Biddeford and Portland public school officials to announce the receipt of two Maine Department of Education 21st Century Community Learning Center grants, totaling $2.2 million.

School officials in Biddeford and Portland greeted the announcement of the grants, which will help provide early intervention for students in those communities, as good news.

The money will fund four new after-school programs and summer school programs at elementary schools in Biddeford and Portland. The programs will reach 1,400 students over a five-year period, said LearningWorks Executive Director Ethan Strimling.

Research shows that such programs can make a big difference in the education of the young students who these programs will target, said Strimling.

“Intervening early in the education of children who are struggling can make an enormous difference,” said Biddeford Mayor and Chairman of the school committee Alan Casavant.

Biddeford Superintendent of Schools Sarah-Jane Poli said she was pleased to be partnering with LearningWorks in these programs. The focus, she said, will be on academic instruction in the areas of reading and math.

“This grant came at the right time,” said Biddeford Assistant Superintendent of Schools Jeff Porter. He said the school district has lost Title I federal funds that have been used to pay for summer school and after-school programs in the past.

In addition, the new programs, which will be more intense, will have space for more children, he said.

In July, 70 students each from Biddeford Primary School, grades 1-3, and Biddeford Intermediate School, grades 4-5, will attend summer school for four hours, four times a day for four weeks.

In the past, said Porter, the school was only able to offer summer school for three weeks and for fewer hours.

In addition, the after-school program will take place on all school days throughout the academic year. In the past, the program was only offered a few days a week for six months.

A similar program with LearningWorks has already been in place for three years at two of Portland’s elementary schools. The new funds will add programs at two more Portland schools.

“Biddeford folks will find that learning works at LearningWorks,” said Portland Superintendent of Schools James Morse. “It’s made a remarkable difference in Portland schools.”

There has been documented student growth as a result of the programs, said Morse.

Eighty-eight percent of students participating in the after-school and summer school programs have improved their New England Common Assessment Program test scores in math, he said; in reading, 83 percent of students have improved.

“We know this program makes a real difference,” said Morse. “It helps public school students succeed.”

LearningWorks, in conjunction with the two school systems, received two of only four 21st Century Community Learning Center grants in Maine, from an applicant pool of 30.

Strimling said his organization was approached by city and school officials in Biddeford to work with them. Biddeford, he said, “has a lot of kids that really need this service.”

LearningWorks already has a presence in Biddeford, with a center at the J. Richard Martin Community Center on Alfred Street, for older students. Based in Portland, LearningWorks is a social service agency that works with young children, at-risk youth and immigrant families in Androscoggin, Cumberland and York counties.

— Staff Writer Dina Mendros can be contacted at 282-1535, Ext. 324 or dmendros@journaltribune.com.