by Bela P. Shah and Lucinda M. Stickney
NLC recently selected 12 cities to participate in the City Leaders Engaged in Afterschool Reform (CLEAR) technical assistance project.
The project is being carried out by NLC?s Institute for Youth, Education, and Families (YEF Institute) with support from the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation.
This initiative will assist mayors, city councilmembers and other municipal officials in creating or strengthening citywide systems to support expanded learning opportunities for youth in the afterschool hours.
The 12 selected cities are Alexandria, Va.; Baton Rouge, La.; Boise, Idaho; Bridgeport, Conn.; Burlington, Vt.; Carolina, Puerto Rico; Chicago; Denver; Florence, S.C.; Las Cruces, N.M.; Salt Lake City; and Waterloo, Iowa.
Forty-seven cities applied for the CLEAR technical assistance project, demonstrating a strong interest by municipal leaders in addressing the needs of young people in the critical hours after the school day ends.
?Afterschool programs are essential to the success of Denver?s students,? said Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper, ?not only academically, but socially, emotionally and physically as well.?
?The CLEAR project will help us enhance positive outcomes for Denver?s youth and, by extension, our community as a whole,? Hickenlooper said.
These 12 cities are participating in Phase I of the CLEAR project ? a six-month project that will engage the selected cities in an ?opportunity scan? in which YEF Institute staff will work with each city to assess the city?s readiness to develop a citywide system that supports afterschool.
Each city will receive individual assistance and access to related resources and expertise through conference calls sharing on materials and cross-site networking opportunities.
Only Phase I cities will be eligible to apply for Phase II ? an additional 12 months of more intensive technical assistance intended to accomplish the project?s goal.
Four to six cities will be selected to participate in Phase II.
Each of the selected cities has identified afterschool as an important strategy for addressing broader city concerns such as
? safety;
? workforce development;
? community engagement;
? greater use of public facilities;
? developing stronger public/private partnerships;
? providing a healthy, enriching environment afterschool;
? helping to raise the academic achievement level of school-age youth; and
? breaking the cycle of poverty.
?Afterschool programs provide a critical safety net for our children and youth by providing a safe environment in a structured setting with caring adults,? said John M. Fabrizi, mayor of Bridgeport, Conn.
?Afterschool opportunities keep kids safe, help working families and support student learning,? said Mayor Tim Hurley of Waterloo, Iowa. ?We welcome the focus of NLC?s expertise and look forward to moving our agenda forward to positively impact our community?s youth.?
Details: For further information about this project, contact Bela Shah at 202-626-3057 or shah@nlc.org.
Local Plans for the CLEAR Technical Assistance Project
The following details the plans for the 12 cities chosen to be part of the first phase of the City Leaders Engaged in Afterschool Reform (CLEAR) technical assistance project being carried out by NLC?s Institute for Youth, Education, and Families with support from the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation.
Alexandria, Va.
City and school leaders in Alexandria will use the assistance to build upon past efforts and increase community support for afterschool programs.
The challenge is to develop a model that offers a city-wide curriculum that is both sustainable and accessible to all school children ? regardless of income ? and to unite around issues of licensing.
The city manager?s task force will come to city council this fall with a plan that needs the participation and backing of the community.
Baton Rouge, La.
The City of Baton Rouge sees the opportunity scan as a way to identify city best practices as well as linking and coordinating existing programs.
Through this process, city leaders plan to identify gaps that may inhibit successful delivery of programs and potential resources for program sustainability.
?We are willing to provide facilities for afterschool programs at various public venues,? said Mayor Melvin ?Kip? Holden, ?such as libraries, museums and recreational facilities throughout the parish.?
Boise, Idaho
City leaders have spent the past year identifying ways to develop a citywide strategic planning process.
Through the technical assistance, the city hopes to increase the number of youth involved in safe, structured activities with caring adults; reduce juvenile crime; invest in areas of need; and better coordinate services and programs in a citywide long-term facilities plan.
Bridgeport, Conn.
In 1993, the city and the Board of Education combined resources to create the Lighthouse Afterschool program to provide high quality afterschool programming.
Participation in CLEAR will help Bridgeport address the following issues: linking in-school instruction with afterschool programming; improving student achievement; identifying sustainability mechanisms and funding sources; strengthening community partnerships; and maintaining strong fiscal and reporting policies.
Burlington, Vt.
Burlington Mayor Peter Clavelle hopes that ?CLEAR can help us create a forum for community engagement, leading to a thoughtful long-term plan to address those needs.?
The city will develop a resource map to ensure that limited resources are being fully stretched to meet the needs of youth.
Issues to address will be fragmentation between the city?s parks and recreation department and the youth service providers; accessibility of programming for middle school youth; and increased financial support.
Carolina, Puerto Rico
By having access to national experts, Carolina will look at issues surrounding school retention, drug use, self-esteem and street violence.
As city leaders gain insight into these issues, they will build on their already existing services, to make them more responsive to children?s needs and interests.
Chicago
The opportunity scan will help develop a new governance structure for the city?s Department of Children and Youth Services to coordinate and align youth programming and enhance efforts to partner with the Chicago Public Schools, Afterschool Matters, the Chicago Park District and other youth-serving agencies.
Areas of need include mapping highly effective programs; building a high level of political will to support quality programs citywide; developing champions to act as catalysts to bring together fragmented systems; and creating innovative leadership to break down barriers and build a common agenda.
Denver
City leaders in Denver seek technical help in forging city leadership and a common vision among all providers.
They aim to create a citywide program as well as an assessment of program and quality gaps for a seamless curriculum between in-school and out-of-school learning opportunities.
Florence, S.C.
The Mayor?s Coalition for the Prevention of Juvenile Crime ? a partnership between the police department, parks and leisure services department, the parks commission, the school district and the city manager?s office ? examined the underlying needs and conditions that contribute to youth-related challenges and ?identified a need for systematic reform to coordinate the efforts of our in-school and after-school providers,? said Mayor Frank E. Willis.
?With NLC?s assistance, we can increase the number of young teens who have something constructive to do,? he said.
Las Cruces, N.M.
Bordering Mexico, the City of Las Cruces faces numerous challenges including high poverty rates, high dropout and teen pregnancy.
?CLEAR will help us [the city and the school district] assess current resources, identify gaps and overlaps, develop consistent messages and strategize how to maximize the use of the ?bully pulpit? by city and school district leadership to achieve our goals for students? well-being, afterschool programs and additional community involvement,? said Mayor Pro-Tem Dolores Archuleta.
Salt Lake City
City leaders plan to identify and engage missing links in core stakeholder groups; identify opportunities to connect out-of-school time programming with in-school learning; mobilize grassroots efforts to secure on-going support from future elected leaders; and identify elements for sustainability and on-going financial support.
Waterloo, Iowa
Upon completion of the technical assistance, Waterloo hopes to see community benefits such as continued focus and opportunity to expand existing community linkages; increased grassroots involvement; greater business involvement in local and state efforts; and being a model community for afterschool programming in the state.
?Our city looks forward to increasing both family involvement, our base of volunteers and linkages with local businesses and corporations for afterschool support,? said Mayor Tim Hurley.