by Bela P. Shah and Jessica Burch Hembree

Registration is now open for the National City Afterschool Summit to be held May 22-24 in Washington, D.C., at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel.

The summit will offer local officials the opportunity to network and learn about afterschool investment and sustainability strategies, funding options and innovative city partnerships with schools, community organizations and states.

Municipal leaders attending the summit will also have the opportunity to attend workshops on polling, advocacy and public engagement, and will meet with Congressional leaders to help make afterschool programs a national priority.

The summit will conclude with a call to action for all municipal officials to recognize afterschool as a vital strategy in improving quality of life for children and youth in cities and towns.

Municipal Leadership on Afterschool
This event stems from the increasing role of city leaders in supporting and strengthening afterschool efforts. To highlight the impressive commitment and work of these leaders, the summit celebrates the efforts of mayors and councilmembers who are champions for quality afterschool programs.

The summit, sponsored by NLC?s Institute for Youth, Education, and Families, is being held in partnership with the Afterschool Alliance?s ?Afterschool for All Challenge,? which will bring together afterschool providers, advocates, educators and youth from around the country.  Holding the two complementary events at the same time and location will enable local officials to network and develop partnerships with challenge attendees.

Summit Agenda
On Tuesday, May 23, sessions on municipal funding approaches, sustainability strategies and building effective partnerships will be offered exclusively to summit participants.  The sessions will feature panels of mayors and councilmembers who have taken noteworthy leadership roles in their cities to advance afterschool efforts. 

These leaders will highlight why afterschool is critical to the safety and economic growth of cities, discuss how it has made a difference in their communities and share best practices from cities and towns around the country. 

In the afternoon, local elected officials will join challenge participants to discuss city and state leadership for afterschool, what is being done and what needs to be done. This discussion offers a unique opportunity for local officials to speak directly with afterschool providers and youth about how to best use municipal leadership to advance afterschool efforts.

After this discussion, city leaders and advocates will jointly participate in advocacy training sessions to prepare for the next day?s visits to Capitol Hill. The day will close with a joint reception for local officials, afterschool advocates and youth.

On Wednesday, May 24, all summit and challenge participants will gather at the Breakfast of Champions to celebrate the success of the afterschool movement and to honor mayors and councilmembers for the leadership they have taken for afterschool.  More than 500 people are expected to attend this celebration.

Following the breakfast, delegations led by municipal officials will visit their Congressional representatives and senators to discuss the increased need for afterschool programs.  Members of Congress will be invited to join participants at a lunchtime reception on Capitol Hill.

How to Register
Registration is now available and will remain open through May.  Due to generous support from the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, NLC is offering a low registration fee of only $75.  Summit participants must make hotel reservations by April 17 to receive the guaranteed group room rate.

For more details and to register for the National City Afterschool Summit, go to www.nlc.org/iyef. 

Registration for the summit is open exclusively to municipal leaders. Non-municipal leaders are asked to register for the Afterschool Alliance?s Challenge event at www.afterschoolalliance.org.

Details: For all questions regarding the summit or NLC?s broader efforts on afterschool, please contact Bela Shah at shah@nlc.org or (202) 626-3057.