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