Building Citywide Afterschool Systems That Expand Opportunities to Learn and Grow

Throughout 2009, NLC will feature mayors who have developed innovative strategies to help children and families succeed, and who are using the Mayors’ Action Challenge for Children and Families to bring their efforts to a new level.

Mayor Joseph P. Riley Jr., of Charleston, S.C., who served as 2008 chair of NLC’s Council on Youth, Education, and Families, recently authored a commentary on how he has connected the challenge to efforts to expand afterschool learning opportunities in Charleston and across the nation. 

The timing of this initiative could not be more urgent. Mayors are on the frontlines of a series of crises that threaten the vitality and long-term stability of our communities — from families’ growing financial strain to the unacceptably high numbers of youth who are dropping out of school. 

I am excited about the innovative strategies that mayors and other municipal leaders are developing to tackle these problems, including creative partnerships with school districts to help more students succeed. City leaders are playing new roles in guaranteeing college affordability, engaging parents and businesses in school improvement efforts, and providing wraparound services to support learning. 

No city-led solution is more important, however, than expanded access to high-quality out-of-school time learning opportunities. Mayors increasingly understand the importance of having an array of enriching afterschool programs that introduce students to the arts, provide recreation and physical activity, or reinforce the learning gains made during the school day. 

As the mayor of Charleston, S.C., I get a close-up view of how high-quality out-of-school time programs contribute to the vitality of our city. When available, they offer great opportunities for learning and development while also reassuring working parents that their children are in safe, supervised settings. In the absence of such programs, the afterschool hours become prime times for drug and alcohol abuse, car accidents, violence, and other dangers and risky behaviors. 

In the 21^st century, there is an inseparable link between a community’s economic vitality and the human capital of its residents. Every city throughout America is currently engaged in global economic competition. Our high school graduates need to be equipped with critical thinking, problem-solving, teamwork, and communication skills, in addition to achieving greater academic proficiency. Building citywide afterschool systems helps ensure that all of our young people gain these essential skills and have a chance to succeed in this new and more challenging environment.

Under my leadership in Charleston, the city has collaborated with the Charleston County School District to transform our schools into “community learning centers.” They provide youth and their families with an array of programs and services:  academic support, health and social services, arts and cultural enrichment, recreation, adult education and technical skills enhancement, and financial literacy and career assistance. Partnerships with school officials, business leaders, and community groups also help us keep the lights on after school is out. For instance, the Charleston Police Department works with other local organizations to operate Camp Hope, an evening program housed in neighborhood schools during the summer months for at-risk children and youth.

Of course, I am only one of the scores of mayors who are developing and leading out-of-school time initiatives in their communities. In recent years, municipal government has become the nation’s center of leadership and innovation for out-of-school time programming. Local officials are partnering with school district leaders to build citywide out-of-school time systems that coordinate disparate program options, raise standards, enhance professional development, expand choices, align with in-school learning, and remove barriers to participation.

I learned a great deal about efforts in other cities at last spring’s National City Afterschool Summit in Washington, D.C., sponsored by NLC’s Institute for Youth, Education, and Families in partnership with the American Association of School Administrators, the National School Boards Association and the Afterschool Alliance, with the support of The Wallace Foundation and the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation. More than 100 mayors, councilmembers, superintendents, school board members, and municipal and school district staff shared their success and their challenges at this event.

Omaha Mayor Mike Fahey and Superintendent John Mackiel showcased their Building Bright Futures partnership, a comprehensive effort involving a broad range of community leaders that seeks to boost academic achievement, graduation, and postsecondary enrollment. Mayor Fahey chairs a partnership task force on afterschool tutoring and mentoring. 

During the summit, I also heard from Boise, Idaho, Mayor David Bieter, who has brought together city agencies, the school district, business leaders and community-based organizations to launch the Boise After3 online program locator, which allows parents to quickly find afterschool programs for their children. Mayor Bieter’s strong partnership with the school district has also led to the creation of three new school-based community centers in the city.

The list of city-led innovations goes on and on. In Denver, city and school district leaders have enabled 28,000 low-income students to receive free recreation center memberships. In St. Paul, Mayor Chris Coleman’s Second Shift initiative provides transportation to afterschool and summer youth programs. And just north of us here in South Carolina, the Florence Mayor’s Coalition to Prevent Juvenile Crime has enhanced public safety by expanding afterschool opportunities at local public housing sites. 

From Providence and Chicago to Charlotte and Tulsa, mayors and other city officials have shown tremendous vision, leadership, and creativity in taking the out-of-school time movement to a higher level. In the process, they are steadily expanding opportunities for our children and youth to learn and grow.

Education is too important to the prosperity and vibrancy of our nation’s cities to leave the full burden on the shoulders of school personnel. Municipal leaders can serve as important partners and allies by supporting out-of-school learning. Several key steps that mayors and other municipal leaders may consider taking include:

•    Convening parks and recreation staff, school district leaders, and other key stakeholders to forge a shared vision and goals, and to identify gaps in or duplication of afterschool programs and services;

•    Using the “bully pulpit” to build public will for afterschool, such as the sponsorship of Lights On Afterschool celebrations;

•    Gathering evaluation data to assess needs and improve program quality;

•    Expanding access by reducing barriers such as cost, transportation, or inconvenient times or locations; and

•    Leveraging funding to promote long-term sustainability.

The Mayors’ Action Challenge provides a platform on which mayors can build as they promote high-quality out-of-school time programs and drive progress in other areas of critical importance to our children and families. It is also vitally important that we as mayors find our collective voice and urge the new Administration and Congress to join us in charting a new course that prioritizes investments in children and families. 

More than 80 mayors – and counting – have already answered this call to action by joining the Challenge. As this number continues to grow, so will the ranks of city leaders who are committed to raising student achievement and getting the most out of those critical afterschool hours.

Details: For more information on how your city can strengthen afterschool programs, visit www.nlc.org/iyef or contact NLC’s Institute for Youth, Education, and Families at (202) 626-3014 or iyef@nlc.org. To learn more about the Mayors’ Action Challenge for Children and Families, visit www.mayorsforkids.org.