Out-of-School Time Coalition

Ensure all high-need youth in Appleton have access to high-quality, sustainable out-of-school time learning opportunities.

Kathy Walsh Nufer column: After-school programs help at-risk kids

       Professionals who work with kids are familiar with this statistic: The peak time for juvenile crime and experimenting with                  drugs, alcohol, smoking and sex is between 3 and 6 p.m.

They also know one of the best antidotes is after-school programs that give kids constructive things to do and connects them with caring adults.  Now they want to increase awareness and bring more people in the community on board via a coalition called the Out-of-School-Time Partnership.  Appleton is fortunate to have a dozen schools with after-school programs provided by either the Boys & Girls Club of the Fox Valley or the YMCA of the Fox Cities. Together, they serve more than 900 kids.  Through the coalition, which includes business and corporate representation as well as government and parents, the school district and providers hope to increase their efforts and make sure what kids get is accessible, sustainable and high quality.  "We want people to be more aware of the importance of after-school programs," said Jaime Kriewaldt, partnership director based at the Boys & Girls Club.  Coalition members are concerned not only about kids' safety and working parents' after-school worries, but the widening achievement gap for low-income and minority youngsters losing ground academically with peers.  With a $250,000 grant from the U.S. Oil Open Fund for Basic Needs within the Community Foundation for the Fox Valley Region, and the J.J. Keller Foundation, the partners will tackle the access, sustainability and quality issues over three years with 12 participating after-school sites.

They will create a resource map for Appleton and work with Fox Valley Technical College's Criminal Justice Center for Innovation on a long-range sustainability and access plan.  Ten of the sites will also be involved in quality improvement programs.  Kriewaldt said the first phase is identifying the number of high-need youth that might get a boost from after-school programming. "Research shows they benefit most," she said. "We want to get more kids connected and in proven quality programs," said Chris Wardlow, Outagamie County substance abuse prevention specialist at ThedaCare Behavioral Health. "We're trying to identify barriers keeping kids from participating, such as transportation, language, family income, not enough knowledge about the programs."

Jay Markley, a local J.C. Penney manager and a coalition member, is behind the program 100 percent. "As my children were growing up, this was a big concern for me and my wife, and I think strong after-school programs are definitely needed. By witnessing how it works, I can say it's an absolutely fantastic program."

Wilson Middle School became a Boys & Girls Club after-school learning site this fall, taking that step as part of its focus on closing the achievement gap. Wilson has been designated a New Wisconsin Promise School for four years in a row, meaning it outperformed other high-poverty schools in the state on reading and math exams and met adequate yearly progress requirements under the federal No Child Left Behind law. It has done that despite what Principal John Magas describes as "massive demographic changes" that nearly tripled the number of minority students, quadrupled the English Language Learners population and doubled the number of low-income kids. Since 2000, the minority rate has risen from 13 to 37 percent, the ELL rate from 5 percent to 20 percent and the poverty rate from 25 percent to 50 percent, Magas credits his hard-working, creative staff that goes the extra mile for kids, including introducing the Wilson Works after-school program last year in which teachers help struggling students catch up with missing assignments and failed classes. "We're kind of like the parent sitting down at the kitchen table and helping the student get their homework done," he said, adding that the after-school component to reinforce high academic expectations as well as support has been the "next huge piece of the puzzle" in providing a safety net for students.

The additional Boys & Girls Club support this year includes after-school activities from a knitting club to service groups, use of the fitness center and computers, lots of character- and skills-building classes, plus homework Power Hour. Kristin Griswold, the club unit director who oversees Wilson's program, said 20 to 30 students participate now and "we're hoping to grow." She said, in just two months, she has seen participants respond not only to the structure that encourages them to get their homework done and stay on track in school but the caring environment that breeds good relationships with adults and other kids. "This has been a great way for seventh-graders to feel part of the school," she said. "I've seen a lot of friendships start because they come to club together."

The coalition hopes to attract more "stakeholders," Kriewaldt said. "This is a community issue, not just a Boys & Girls Club and Y issue. We need more buy-in from business and the community." Wardlow agreed, adding a sense of urgency. "It is a community priority that these kids are not only the future but the present," he said. "If we don't invest in and engage kids now, they will become more expensive to serve later. Investment up-front will head off the need for deeper-end services."

Kathy Walsh Nufer: 920-993-1000, ext. 290, or knufer@postcrescent.com