Afterschool Summit Celebrates Municipal Leadership and Advances City-School Collaboration

More than 110 mayors, city council members, school board presidents and superintendents participated in the two-day summit to learn and discuss strategies for improving afterschool opportunities. The summit was sponsored by NLC’s Institute for Youth, Education and Families in partnership with the Afterschool Alliance, American Association of School Administrators and the National School Boards Association, and with support from the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation and The Wallace Foundation. 

Community Learning
A prevalent theme raised throughout the summit was the value of city-school partnerships in expanding learning opportunities after the school bell rings. 

“We talk about the importance of making connections with our kids as caring adults, but we need to make these connections among ourselves,” said NLC First Vice President Kathleen Novak, mayor of Northglenn, Colo.

Charleston, S.C., Mayor Joseph P. Riley Jr., chair of NLC’s Council on Youth, Education, and Families, discussed his city’s recent efforts to provide afterschool programs for children and GED programs for their parents at local schools.

“We can transform these schools from very quiet places in the afternoon to community learning centers where children can develop academically and emotionally,” said Riley.

Boise, Idaho, Mayor David Bieter described his work with schools on a restructuring plan that will build recreation centers within several new schools. The passage of a bond issue by 70 percent of Boise voters will enable the creation of two recreation centers that can be used without having to open the entire school. 

In St. Paul, Minn., Mayor Christopher Coleman has formed a partnership with schools to literally and figuratively drive youth to afterschool programs. Ten thousand young people now ride the city’s Circulator bus system to get to out-of-school time programs, after the city engaged residents in determining where the routes should go.

“We’ve really tried to change the culture of how we approach this, so that it’s not just the school system’s or a social worker’s job to care for children, but the job of everyone in the community,” said Coleman.

The summit also provided an opportunity for city leaders to learn about the knowledge developed through foundation investments. An-Me Chung of the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation discussed the foundation’s New Day for Learning Framework, which calls on policymakers to rethink the school day, redefine student success and align educational resources throughout communities to offer multiple ways of learning anchored to high standards (see www.newdayforlearning.org).

Nancy Devine of The Wallace Foundation outlined six key elements of an effective citywide system of high-quality out-of-school time programs: committed leadership, a public or private coordinating entity, multi-year planning, reliable information, expanding participation and a commitment to quality (see www.wallacefoundation.org).

Return on Investment
Heather Weiss, founder of the Harvard Family Research Project, cited evidence that high-quality afterschool programs improve attitudes toward school, promotion from one grade to the next, attendance, communication and problem-solving skills, and physical activity and nutrition.

Other findings show that afterschool programs have led to higher math scores, lower aggression and misconduct, reduced drug and alcohol abuse, and for elementary and middle school students, afterschool programs can be two to three times more effective than class size reduction in improving student achievement.  

These findings, and the experiences of municipal leaders in witnessing the power of afterschool opportunities in the lives of children and youth, have led to substantial city investments in improving program quality and expanding access. 

Mayor Mike Fahey of Omaha, Neb., who attended the summit with Omaha Public Schools Superintendent John Mackiel, discussed his city’s Building Bright Futures initiative, a comprehensive public-private partnership to support low-income children. “As we work through our afterschool programs, one of the goals is to address the work force needs of the community,” said Mayor Fahey.

Charlotte, N.C., Councilmember James Mitchell Jr., said that since the city began funding its first middle school afterschool program in 2001, it is now committing $1.3 million to fund additional middle school programs and is working to expand afterschool opportunities to all 33 of the city’s middle schools after seeing the public safety benefits.

Summit participants also highlighted the benefits of afterschool programs for older youth. In Baton Rouge, La., the city is working with Career Compass to provide high school students with college and career coaching. Of the more than 500 students in the program each year, 87 percent apply for postsecondary education compared with an average of around 30 percent for all Baton Rouge public school students.

Councilmember Paul Lopez shared how Denver is using afterschool programs to address dropout rates, school closure caused by underenrollment and the challenge of retaining families seeking good schools. The city has collaborated with Denver Public Schools to give 28,000 free recreation center memberships to low-income students.

Safer Cities
Many summit attendees highlighted the vital public safety gains from their afterschool efforts. Mary Ellen Caron, commissioner of the Chicago Department of Children and Youth Services, noted that of the 32 Chicago public school student homicides this year, 82 percent occurred between the hours of 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. The city is working intensively to ensure that more young people have a place to go after school.

James Shaw, director of the Florence, S.C., Mayor’s Coalition to Prevent Juvenile Crime, a community-wide collaboration with a strong afterschool component, reported how the coalition’s efforts have helped cut the city’s juvenile crime rate in half since 2004.

After the tragic murders of three youth in Tulsa, Okla., Mayor Kathy Taylor launched the Building a Safer Tulsa initiative, which is helping make a significant dent in homicide and crime rates. Among other aspects, the initiative involves mentoring, youth intervention, high-quality afterschool programs and bringing the community into local public schools.

Chief of Police Patricia Kneblick of Fort Worth, Texas, explained that citizens are more receptive to funding afterschool programs through her city’s Crime Prevention and Control District with a voter-approved sales tax.  In 2005, 92 percent of voters agreed to renew this initiative.  “We think the afterschool program is a crime prevention program,” said Kneblick.

Afterschool Champions
After the summit, participants joined more than 400 program providers and advocates at the Afterschool Alliance’s Afterschool for All Challenge to speak with members of Congress about the importance of afterschool programs to their communities.

In addition, during the Afterschool for All Challenge, numerous municipal leaders were honored at the Afterschool Alliance’s annual Breakfast of Champions. Providence, R.I., Mayor David N. Cicilline serves on the Afterschool Alliance’s Board of Directors and presided over the award ceremonies.

Awardees included San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom; Maxine Quintana of the Denver Mayor’s Office for Education and Children; Savannah, Ga., Mayor Otis Johnson; Boise Mayor David Bieter; Grand Rapids, Mich., Mayor George Heartwell; St. Paul Mayor Christopher Coleman; Omaha Mayor Mike Fahey; Jeanne Mullgrav, commissioner of the New York City Department of Youth and Community Development; Charlotte Councilmember James Mitchell Jr.; Columbia, S.C., Mayor Bob Coble; and Morgantown, W.Va., Mayor Ron Justice.

Details: To learn more about NLC’s assistance to cities on afterschool, visit www.nlc.org/iyef or contact Bela Shah at (202) 626-3057 or shah@nlc.org.