Providence after-school program becomes national model
The Providence School Alliances AfterZones program, which is the citys network of neighborhood programs for middle school youths, is in the spotlight again.
A report released by the National League of Cities on Tuesday identified AfterZones as one of the nations most innovative city programs for children and families.
The organizations first State of City Leadership for Children and Families report highlights innovative city programs in early childhood development, education, youth-violence prevention, youth-civic engagement and family economic success. It also cites emerging and established trends in those fields.
National League of Cities Executive Director Clifford M. Johnson said the report is about putting together the interesting things that cities are doing so that other cities might replicate them. Were really looking to accelerate change and the rate of progress in cities, he said. Johnson said the report shows that even as cities grapple with the worst budget outlook in decades, mayors and other municipal leaders are maintaining a strong commitment to children, youth and their families.
The report was compiled by the leagues Institute for Youth, Education and Families after extensive research, but no independent evaluations on the effectiveness of any of the programs were conducted, according to Johnson. Some of these innovations are quite new and the jury is still out on whether they are effective. This is just an opportunity to list up what is new and promising, he said.
Providences AfterZones was included among 32 innovations that are truly one of a kind because of its unique way of coordinating preexisting neighborhood programs and services so they are more accessible to young adults, said Johnson.
AfterZones is also unique in that it focuses on middle school age children, rather than elementary school age children who are traditionally at the center of after-school activities. The middle school years, Johnson said, have historically been a missed opportunity. AfterZones offers a way to keep middle school kids out of trouble and enhance their learning, he said.
The AfterZones are overseen by the Providence After School Alliance, a nonprofit organization created by Mayor David N. Cicilline in 2004 with funding from the Wallace Foundation and Bank of America, to improve the citys after-school services.
The city has three AfterZone campuses, where neighborhood middle schools, libraries, recreation and community centers, community-based programs and licensed child-care providers are linked under a joint decision-making body with funds of up to $400,000 a year from the alliance to help strengthen existing programs and develop new ones.
Through the AfterZones, students can sign up for sports, recreation, art, music, dance, filmmaking, and theater programs; academic programs in math, literacy, and science; field trips; youth leadership opportunities; and college and career exploration.
Alliance funds allow AfterZones to coordinate communications, to develop a transportation system among the different locations, and to share public relations, administrative, facility and technology costs. Its this ability to organize at a neighborhood level that stuck us as key to the programs success, said Johnson. A lot of cities have a diverse network of church or nonprofit-based programming, but there is no coordination between organizations. Its decentralized.
According to the leagues report, Nashville, Tenn., has begun to implement the AfterZone model. Other after-school programs highlighted in the report include St. Paul (Minn.)s Circulator Bus, Louisville (Ky.)s Every 1 Reads, and Chicagos After School Matters.
The report is being released with the closing Tuesday of the leagues ninth annual National Summit on Your Citys Families, which ran through the weekend in Boston. It will be available on the leagues Web site at www.nlc.org.
Philip Marcelo
13 October 2009
http://www.projo.com/news/content/PROVIDENCE_AFTERZONES_10-13-09_8AG1DDP_v17.37cdf00.html
