afterschool and community learning resources school, family, and community connections
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Afterschool and Community Learning Resources: School, Family, and
Community Connections.
For the International Middle Schooling Conference.
Adelaide, South Australia
by Terry Peterson, Director of the Afterschool and Community Resource Network, University of South
Carolina and College of Charleston
Young adults typically need a lot of connections to
caring adults and community institutions even
though they show in all kinds of ways that they want
less.
Many of these young people want the independence and
responsibilities of adults, but are often not equipped to fully
handle these changes.
Quality afterschool and summer programs have the potential to make positive connections for
young adolescents
These connections and extra time can be used to better equip them
to handle independence and responsibility.
We must always realize
that our children, whether
we want to recognize it or
not, are almost always
smarter than we think.
Many young people in the united States and other
countries do not have access to such programs and
partnerships during the typical afterschool hours or
summers.
Hourly Percent of Serious Violent Crime Committed by Juveniles on School Days
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
Time of Day
Per
cen
t
By all means not all young adolescents are involved in some type of crime…
There is another group that basically goes home and
“zones out.”
-Deborah VanDeil,
University of Wisconsin
We in America are starting
to get reports of the data
from these 21st Century
afterschool and summer
programs for middle grade
students.
Highland Park, Michigan:
40% drop in juvenile crime in their neighborhood after program implementation
Chattanooga, Tennessee:
Drop in absenteeism from 568 days per year to 135 days in one school and 148 to 23 days
in another school
Bayfield, Wisconsin:Middle school students no longer hang out near the
local liquor store, but rather they hang out at the afterschool program completing homework, doing
special projects, and playing games.
Plainview, Arkansas:An abstinence program implemented within the
afterschool program resulted in no pregnancies within the graduating class of 2000, as compared to 6
pregnancies in 1998.
In fact the ingredients for successful afterschool
programs almost jump out at you in the visit.
They must be engaging.
They must be enriching.
Successful afterschool programs for middle
school students must also have many partnerships with many community
sectors.
Engaging and enriching afterschool and summer programs combined with a lot of connections and caring
adults is a winning combination.
All types of sectors can be assets in helping develop successful
afterschool and summer programs for middle
school students that are community linked.
What sectors have potential in developing these programs and
opportunities? They are numerous…
• Senior citizens and grandparents
• Employers and employees• Artists, cultural groups, and museums
• Colleges and college students• High school students
Senior citizens and grandparents
automatically bring a certain level of respect
and history to an afterschool and summer
program.
Examples:
A knitting circle lead by elderly women that teach both the practical skill of
knitting, and how to have a roundtable discussion.
Senior citizens that introduced the art of making mountain music instruments, and
taught students how to play them.
Employers and employees are a great source of
people connections, but also worksite experiences for
adolescents.
Job shadowing in all types of for-profit and non-profit groups is a good way for young adolescents to get a sense of real
adult work and possible careers
In Charlotte, North Carolina the chamber of commerce has encouraged all
employer members to volunteer in local afterschool programs.
This partnership, on a Friday night, sponsored a “Science Night Stay Over”
in the school. Kids performed open-heart surgery…….. on pigs,and learned how to do CPR.
It was so popular that they are planning 3 nights next year
Artists, cultural groups, and museums offer an array of people and
experiences for middle school students in afterschool and summer programs.
This age group is really “turned on” by the creative connection
“Arts enable us to serve the diverse learning styles and
rates of our students”
- middle school teacher in South Carolina
Examples:
In Philadelphia, mural painting is now offered in 23 afterschool and summer sites involving 1,000
children ages 8-15 in art and community development.
In Salvador Brazil, one afterschool program uses drumming and another uses fashion design as a way to reengage homeless, street children into a
positive connection with society.
Another afterschool center offers a variety of creative learning
opportunities for middle school students through the arts, from dance
to visual and performing arts.
The martial arts are mixed in, too.
College and University students can be a major source of mentors and tutors for
afterschool and summer programs.
More advanced students can also serve as team leaders.
The traditional way is soliciting volunteers, tapping into the college
student’s sense of community service.
A recent initiative in the United States is AmeriCorps, which buys a year of
service from a future college student to be involved in service projects.
A third way, which is also growing, is through a new feature in our college work-study, financial aid program.
An interested afterschool or in-school tutoring program can receive 10-12
hours of a college student’s time at no cost to the elementary or middle
school.
An Example:
One program used college students in a game of “College
Jeopardy” to cleverly create awareness and readiness for
college among middle school students who, in the past, had not
gone to college.
High school students provide another good source of tutors and
assistance in afterschool and summer programs.
Members of a high school Spanish class became tutors for middle and elementary students who recently
arrived from Spanish speaking Central and South American
countries
High school students who are interested in creative writing are
partnered with middle school students afterschool to
strengthen their writing skills
There is another source of connections that is often underutilized for making
connections and that is the middle school student him or herself doing
community service
Students can give back to the community through service projects.
In one middle school, the students helped build and found the books to
stock a library in a community center in an isolated area of town
Many middle age working people have limited education and really have to
learn computer skills to survive.
Middle school students serving as assistants in beginning computer classes
for older adults provides a positive to serve and learn across the generations.
These types of partnerships and experiences not only show how to connect with young adolescents,
but they also help develop a set of skills that are going to be more and
more needed in the 21st Century.
• Know English plus 2-3 other languages and cultures.
• Employers want creative problem solvers – the arts and science can help develop
these attributes.
• Use technology to learn and work smart.
Future skills our students will need:
•Learn how to work in teams and develop civic responsibility.
• Prepare to go to some technical training or college beyond high
school
While the regular school day should help develop these skills as well as
the basics……..
Afterschool, weekend, and summer programs are particularly well suited.
They have the flexibility and community and other connections that
are so important to make it happen.
Hand is Time magazine’s 2001
Middle-School-of-the-Year
In the United States
The school is now so popular and getting such good
achievement results that people are moving into the
neighborhood.
“Hand Middle School keeps hours of a convenience store
from 6am to 10pm.”
Time magazine
“It isn’t a calamity to die with dreams unfulfilled, but
it is a calamity not to dream.”
- Dr. Benjamin Mayes
Be Connectors….
Bring families, schools, and community and youth groups together to provide our
young people with 21st Century skills and transform our schools, with
community partners, into 21st Century Community Learning Centers.
“ I slept and dreamt…that life was a joy.
I awoke and found…that life was duty.
I acted and behold…duty was joy.”
- Tagore, Indian poet