by Donald J. Borut

It is no secret to local elected officials that the quality of the education system in their cities is a profound, if not defining, measure of the quality of life and future prospects of their communities. How we invest in, respect and regard our youth is a clear statement of our priorities. This was the genesis of NLC?s Institute for Youth, Education, and Families, created to provide a lens through which to see our communities and to identify and share creative approaches to address the needs and interests of our young people.

We are learning that the quality of the education system is far more than just the school system and the hours kids spend in school. That is why NLC, in conjunction with the Afterschool Alliance, hosted our first National City Afterschool Summit bringing together more than 100 local elected officials and senior staff to explore how municipal leaders can use the non-school hours to improve and enrich the lives of our children and youth.

Mayor David Cicilline of Providence, R.I., framed the challenge as well as any. ?We recognize that kids actually spend more time out of school than in school, and yet for many years, we as a society have viewed the school hours as our only opportunity to build up our kids, and worse than that, school time was seen as our only collective responsibility to our kids. Meanwhile, it has been clear that too many of our children aren?t experiencing the intellectual and emotional growth they need to succeed as effective wage earners, good citizens and healthy adults. Our cities and our nation are suffering for it. And with the stiffening economic competition from abroad, it poses an even greater threat to our future economy and the strength of our democracy.?

Today 6.5 million kids are benefiting from the creative mix of quality afterschool programs available across the country. At the same time more than 14 million latch key children (25 percent of the country?s K-12 youth) have no adult support or supervision after school even though there is overwhelming evidence that well organized and well funded afterschool programs can make this quality time. This is an enormous lost opportunity for the individual kids and the community as a whole.

Many mayors ? including Cicilline; Michael Coleman of Columbus, Ohio; and Kwame Kilpatrick of Detroit, who were honored by the Afterschool Alliance?s Breakfast of Champions, have recognized the strategic significance of afterschool programs and have teamed up with their school systems and the private and nonprofit sectors to create programs that target the unique interests and needs of their communities.

Mayor Cicilline made the case that ?afterschool is an opportunity to teach things like character, compassion and civic virtue ? a love of music, good athletic skills, the art of mediation and so much more??

Mayor Coleman noted that ?kids are like sponges, they soak up everything. It can be from good sources or bad sources. With creative afterschool programs we can expand and enrich the good sources.?

Today with most kids living in homes where both parents work or in single parent households the need and demand for quality afterschool programs is enormous, but the supply, and specifically the resources to pay for them, is less than adequate. However, this is not a moment to bemoan what isn?t happening. In fact, as one speaker observed, ?afterschool is ?hot.??

Philanthropic leaders at the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, Wallace Foundation and Atlantic Philanthropies are supporting creative and successful initiatives in individual communities as well as supporting national organizations like NLC and the Afterschool Alliance to provide technical assistance.

Mayors in cities like Philadelphia; Indianapolis; Caldwell, Idaho; and Lawton, Okla., are making afterschool programs the centerpiece of their agendas.

In Philadelphia, Mayor John Street has worked with Philadelphia Safe and Sound to develop an annual report card that tracks 26 indicators for child well-being, including a set of factors relating to school performance for every child. Based on that data, the city, in cooperation with the school system, created programs during ?non-school hours? in both neighborhood facilities and schools.

Indianapolis Mayor Bart Peterson, NLC first vice president, has created a cabinet-level afterschool coordinator who has led city efforts to establish a broad afterschool coalition and to build community support for a wide range of programs.

In Grand Rapids, Mich., Mayor George Heartwell has tracked afterschool programs throughout the city and established standards to drive quality improvements over time. In smaller cities, mayors such as William Mattiace in Las Cruces, N.M., have made afterschool a major focus of their agendas.

Local elected officials who most often have no formal authority over the traditional education system are recognizing that they do have a leadership responsibility to address the overall needs of their youth. And a significant component of that system is the non-school or afterschool time when significant learning occurs.

Quality afterschool programs ? just like the K-12 school system ? are a critical measure of a community?s values and how they value their most precious asset ? their kids.

The work of these local elected leaders on ensuring quality afterschool programs again demonstrates the remarkable commitment of individuals from cities and towns of all sizes in every corner of the country to do whatever it takes to meet the needs of everyone in their community ? including kids who need something to do afterschool.  It?s another way city leaders are building inclusive communities.

And it?s another reminder of why cities ? and their elected leaders ? really matter.