Westport's new 'Start Em Young' program continues to grow, with elementary school students now getting the chance to participate in flag football, basketball and journalism after school four days a week.

The program was approved by the school committee last year, and introduces youngsters to sports and other enriching pursuits that haven't been widely available to them over the past two years. It's geared toward students in kindergarten through the fourth grade.

"How many kids have been sitting on the couch doing nothing for the last 18 months or so?" asked Michael Fernandes, an educational consultant who helped create the program. "The goal is to create a culture that will get kids out and active, and that will carry on as they get older. This program is not just sports-related. It's about arts, it's about enrichment."

During the program's first sessions over the early part of the school year, close to 100 students enrolled in twice-weekly soccer and cross country programs. The most recent offerings include basketball, flag football and one of the biggest hits so far, News Team.

In that program, students record interviews with teachers, community members, themselves and others — last Wednesday, they had superintendent Thomas Aubin on the hot seat. Their interviews are edited together by instructors, and shown at lunch time.

"The kids love it," he said. "They're doing some awesome work. A lot of the kids are saying that they want to do it now because they see these kids as celebrities."

Flag football is popular too, with enough kids for four teams. Fernandes said that program in particular is part of a bigger picture — expanding the program into the middle school and possibly getting tackle football at the high school level. All told, there are just shy of 100 students enrolled across the three current programs.

"It's going great so far," he said.

Westport Elementary assistant principal Michael Grandfield has helped Start 'Em Young since the beginning. He said he is encouraged at the response it's received to date and hopes to continue to expand it, he said earlier in the school year.

"It's been a priority to get this program going," he said. "They're creating memories ... playing sports and enjoying all the benefits that come along with being physically active — that's really what we wanted to do."