Welcome to afterschool.now. The following email alert is produced by the Afterschool Alliance.

It is designed to give friends and allies the latest news and information on afterschool policy developments, events and activities.

We welcome your feedback. Please send comments, suggestions or new information to advocate@afterschoolalliance.org.

In this Issue:

Top Stories Featured Below:

One In Five New England Children Unsupervised After School

Lights On Afterschool 2006

Give Afterschool Programs a Stronger Voice!

Million CA Unsupervised After School Teens Public Safety Risk

Texas Afterschool Students Win Torani Art Contest

Surveys Gauge Teen Views

Advocates Spur Growth of Afterschool Caucuses

In the News – featured items this issue are both National and from

      states of California, Illinois, Louisiana, Maine and Tennessee

Feature Stories & Alerts:

In Their Own Words... California Police Chief Albert Najera and California Police Chief Albert Najera

For Once, Teachers Can Encourage a Circus in Their Classrooms  Ringling Bros Program

Afterschool for All: Project 2010 Now 3400 members strong!

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Top Stories

ONE IN FIVE NEW ENGLAND CHILDREN UNSUPERVISED AFTER SCHOOL

Across New England, one in five children has no safe, supervised activity after the school day ends. The lack of adult supervision means these children are left to take care of themselves at a time of day when juvenile crime peaks, and when a range of inappropriate behaviors beckon, including drugs and alcohol, gangs and teen sex. Those are among the findings of New England After 3 PM, a new report from the Afterschool Alliance that was released in conjunction with the Massachusetts Governor's Afterschool Summit in Boston.

While much work remains to be done before families' need for afterschool programs is met, New England nevertheless is showing signs of seizing national leadership in providing afterschool for all, the report says. Through regional commitment and cooperation, the area's schoolchildren could one day have the best afterschool opportunities in the nation.

Made possible by support from the Nellie Mae Education Foundation, the report is the first ever to focus on afterschool across New England.

According to New England After 3 PM:

• Only 14 percent of New England schoolchildren (just over 347,600) participate in afterschool programs, while 22 percent (just over 546,200) are alone and unsupervised during the hours after school.
• Unmet demand for afterschool across the region is high; the parents of more than 640,000 New England children would sign their children up for afterschool if a program were available.
• The overwhelming majority of parents of children in afterschool programs approve of the care their children receive: 88 percent of New England parents are extremely or somewhat satisfied with the afterschool program their child attends.

                                         To view the report, visit www.afterschoolalliance.org/NE_after_3pm.pdf.

LIGHTS ON AFTERSCHOOL 2006

On Thursday, October 12, at thousands of events around the country, Americans will rally for the afterschool programs that keep kids safe, inspire them to learn and help working families. To learn more about events in your community, visit www.afterschoolalliance.org.

GIVE AFTERSCHOOL PROGRAMS A STRONGER VOICE!

Afterschool providers around the country are sharing information about their programs in an effort to give policy makers, the media and the public a more complete picture of the state of afterschool programs in America today. Be sure your local afterschool providers participate in the Afterschool Alliance's online survey of afterschool programs by August 25.

The survey results will be released in conjunction with Lights On Afterschool in October. To complete the survey, afterschool providers should go to http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=55232423346.

MILLION CA UNSUPERVISED AFTER SCHOOL TEENS PUBLIC SAFETY RISK

Three in ten California teens are unsupervised after school three or more days each week, and these students tend to engage in more high-risk behavior than students who are supervised. Those are among the findings from a new poll conducted by Opinion Research Corporation for Fight Crime: Invest in Kids California. More than three in four respondents said that afterschool activities help kids stay safe and out of trouble.

According to the study, teens who are unsupervised after school three or more days per week are:

• About three times as likely as other teens to have done something in the past year that could have gotten them arrested.
• More than twice as likely to have smoked marijuana in the past year.
• More than five times as likely to have used drugs other than marijuana in the past year.
• More than five times as likely to have been recruited by a gang in the past year.

                                   To read the study, visit www.fightcrime.org/releases.php?id=205.

TEXAS AFTERSCHOOL STUDENTS WIN TORANI ART CONTEST

This fall, Torani Cherry and French Vanilla syrups will sport new, limited-edition art labels designed by Cooperative for After-School Enrichment students Alejandra Garcia, 10, of Crockett Elementary and Alina Arevalo, 8, of Sherman Elementary, both in Houston. The students' artwork was selected from hundreds of entries submitted by afterschool students around the country. Torani, the number one specialty syrup maker in North America, will donate five percent of the product's sales from August through December to the Afterschool Alliance.

In honor of the young artists, Torani sponsored Italian soda and pizza parties at both afterschool programs, giving the girls a further opportunity to enjoy their newfound fame. Garcia was excited about the party being thrown in her honor. She said she really enjoys her afterschool program and that she "like[s] it most because, after we do our homework, we can have fun."

This is the second year that Torani has sponsored an Art on Labels contest in support of afterschool. Last year, winners were from afterschool programs in Tucson, Arizona and Fort Worth, Texas. For more information on Torani, visit www.torani.com.

SURVEYS GAUGE TEEN VIEWS

The Boys & Girls Clubs of America and Junior Achievement (JA) recently took the pulse of America's teens. The Boys & Girls Clubs survey found that the majority of youth feel that education is an important part of their future, while the JA Worldwide survey found that teens are interested in afterschool programs that offer opportunities for college scholarships.

The Boys and Girls Clubs members across the country surveyed teens in their communities and found out what mattered most to them in terms of their futures, relationships, the issues facing them, and their views on America. Three in four said college is necessary to meet their career goals. Asked what they can do to make life better for future generations, the most popular answers were finishing school and becoming more involved with their communities. For a full view of the survey, go to www.bgca.org/youth/index.html.

The JA Worldwide poll found that nearly two-thirds of teens who participate in afterschool programs do so at their schools, and nearly one in five attend a program based at a church or place of worship. The vast majority of teens surveyed by JA (94 percent) said they would be more likely to participate in afterschool programs that offer opportunities for college scholarships. For further information, visit www.ja.org/about/about_newsitem.asp?StoryID=355.

ADVOCATES SPUR GROWTH OF AFTERSCHOOL CAUCUSES

Since afterschool advocates met with Members of Congress in May at the "Afterschool for All Challenge," ten members of Congress have joined the Afterschool Caucuses: Senators Thad Cochran (R-MS), Jack Reed (D-RI) and Joe Lieberman (D-CT), as well as Representatives John Boozman (R-AR), Jeb Bradley (R-NH), James Langevin (D-RI), John Lewis (D-GA), Tim Ryan (D-OH), Robert Simmons (R-CT), and Joe Wilson (R-SC).

Go to www.afterschoolalliance.org/caucuses.cfm to see if your Senators and Representative are Caucus members. If not, please contact their offices and encourage them to join and show their support for afterschool.

IN THE NEWS...

National - President George W. Bush announced a countrywide commitment to America's children, proclaiming June 4, 2006 as National Child's Day, reports US Federal News. The White House encouraged volunteers to work with afterschool programs and mentor youth through USA Freedom Corps. In honor of National Child's Day, the President urged adults to "take an active role in helping nurture the minds and character of our Nation's children."

California - By pairing rescued horses with children who have experienced crises, ranging from parental separation to critical illness, the SonRise Equestrian Foundation proves the healing power of horses. A project of the National Heritage Foundation, the free program organizes meetings of children twice a week after school, reports the Contra Costa Times. Held at CW Training Stables in Castro Valley, each student is teamed with a mentor to learn the basics of riding and caring for rescued horses. For information, visit www.SonRiseEquestrianFoundation.org.

Illinois - High school students are taking a grassroots approach to exploring their community's needs with Movers and Shakers, a program created by Homework Hangout and sponsored by the Summer Youth Works Project. Students are traveling door-to-door to conduct surveys in their hometown of Decatur, asking residents their opinions on problems facing the community and possible solutions, reports the Herald & Review. Participants develop their own questionnaires, choose a sample that is representative of Decatur, conduct the survey, and analyze the data. They will create a publication with proposed solutions for the community.

Louisiana - With children struggling to cope with the emotional and physical turmoil from Hurricane Katrina, the Children's Defense Fund (CDF) is providing help. The CDF is bringing afterschool programs to New Orleans, providing a desperately needed safe haven for students to learn and play while parents are at work. According to People magazine, Hollywood celebrities volunteered their support by attending the grand opening of New Orleans' first Freedom School, the site for these afterschool programs. The CDF intends to open 12 more Freedom facilities to provide a daylong program for students during the summertime. For information, go to www.childrensdefense.org.

Maine - The Compass Project, an afterschool program that teaches at-risk youth to build boats, encourages students to remain on course and go full steam ahead. Sponsored by the Alternative Learning Program in Westbrook and supervised by professional boat builders and volunteers, participants construct dories - traditional 21-foot rowing boats - in a cooperative and confidence-building atmosphere. Once the dories are completed, the community celebrates the students' accomplishments by featuring the boats in Portland's community rowing program, reports Education Daily. To learn more, visit www.compassproject.org.
 

Tennessee - Rhodes College's Storm Water Environmental Education Project (SWEEP) is engaging students from Rhodes and Cypress Middle Schools in science and environmental education in the afternoons. The program's activities range from sampling and testing water from various sites, to building models of Memphis' storm drainage system, to creating posters for Earth Day. SWEEP is sponsored by grants from the Environmental Protection Agency, Associated Colleges of the South, HUD and a Congressionally Directed grant, reports the Commercial Appeal. SWEEP has sparked eighth-grader Roderick Moore's interest in environmental studies; the program prepared him to attend Teton Science School in Jackson Hole, Wyoming this summer to learn more about the natural world.

IN THEIR OWN WORDS...

"Many people believe kids are most likely to get in trouble at night or on the weekends, but it is really the afterschool hours that law enforcement worries about."

                         -- Sacramento, California Police Chief Albert Najera, Inside Bay Area, June 21, 2006

"The time between kids getting home from school and parents getting home from work is the worst time for them to get into trouble and get pregnant. This program has had an enormous positive effect not only on residents but also on the community… More programs of this nature are needed, not just in the projects, but throughout the city."

                        -- St. Clair County Circuit Judge Milton Wharton, on the Griffin Center afterschool program,

                                         Belleville News-Democrat, June 25, 2006

FOR ONCE, TEACHERS CAN ENCOURAGE A CIRCUS IN THEIR CLASSROOMS

The Ringling Bros. Barnum and Bailey Circus is helping to fight childhood obesity with a new program called CircusFit, which aims to include youngsters in the three ring spectacle. Afterschool programs participating in the national youth fitness initiative are urged to encourage clowning around. Kelly James Ballagh, a circus performer, told the San Antonio Express-News, "CircusFit teaches the fundamentals of fitness, with an emphasis on fun."

In addition, circus performers visit schools and community recreation facilities, demonstrating different techniques involved in their acts. The performers show students how to incorporate these skills into their own customized fitness routines. Learn more about CircusFit at www.CircusFit.com.

AFTERSCHOOL FOR ALL: PROJECT 2010

Afterschool for All: Project 2010 celebrates a new milestone this month with 3,400 partners. New partners include Maine Governor John Baldacci, Maine First Lady Karen Baldacci, the First Tee, and the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. We need your help to continue building support for afterschool in the community. Don't forget to ask your friends, colleagues and neighbors to become a Project 2010 partner at: http://www.afterschool2010.org/join.cfm.

Thank you for supporting Afterschool for All: Project 2010!