Community Learning Centers: Keeping School Open
After School Lets Out
A new guidebook, available on the Internet, can help school leaders
in establishing programs that keep kids off the street and benefit all
members of a community.
Many children in the United States struggle to learn in the face of
enormous challenges, including learning disabilities, violence, drugs,
and lack of supervision by adults. Dynamic Community Learning Centers
can help these children and their communities, asserts the new guidebook
Keeping Schools Open as Community Learning Centers: Extending Learning
in a Safe, Drug-Free Environment Before and After School. The guidebook
outlines the steps in converting a school into a Community Learning Center
and lists resources for further information and assistance
Children, parents, and other community members use Community Learning
Centers, which provide a haven from violence, drugs, and lack of supervision
for children. "Community Learning Centers get us 'back to basics,' back
to active community involvement in raising and educating all of our children,"
the guidebook concludes.
Why are Community Learning Centers needed? According to the guidebook,
as recently as the 1993-94 school year, "only 3.4 percent of children
in public elementary and combined schools were enrolled in the 18,111
before- or after-school programs at public school." In many cases, there
are no organized before- and after-school programs available to children
in public schools. In addition, less than 1 percent of 7th and 8th graders
were in programs in 1991, despite what the report cites as substantial
need for programs serving older children.
Working parents often want their children to have learning opportunities
that extend beyond the school day. In a 1994 survey, 56 percent of parents
said that many parents leave their children alone too much after school.
A 1989 survey of school principals showed that 84 percent believed there
is a need for before- and after-school programs.
SPOTLIGHT ON THREE COMMUNITY LEARNING CENTERS
Three profiles demonstrate the wide range of programs Community Learning
Centers can offer. Essentially, a Community Learning Center needs to reflect
and meet the needs of the whole community it serves.
Safety. The city of Madison, Wisconsin, operates a Safe Haven
after-school program at three elementary schools in communities with high
crime and poverty rates. More than 200 children participate in the program.
The program offers homework help, academic enrichment, arts and crafts,
supervised games and physical education, and field trips. Each school
integrates its own approach to conflict resolution into the program by
linking after-school activities to such in-school strategies as peer mediation
and a drug-prevention program. The results: As Safe Haven enters its third
year, Safe Haven schools report improved attendance and reduced conflicts
during after-school hours. Children in the program also demonstrate increased
interest in their homework.
Family focus. The Twilight Family Learning Center in the Elk
Grove (California) Unified School district consists of programs at four
large elementary schools in the district. The Learning Centers are open
year round, as are the schools that house them; all the schools have school-wide
Title 1 programs. Centers offer homework/tutoring, preschool classes,
and a variety of classes for adults on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday
from 4 to 7 p.m. The programs emphasize literacy development because many
participants are recent immigrants. The overall program focuses on improving
student performance through parental involvement. Parents can choose from
a variety of classes, including ESL, citizenship, parenting, and other
adult education classes. Participants take a break at 5:30 to eat soup
donated by Campbells, a large local employer.
The basics. Carmen Elementary School in Flint, Michigan, serves
280 students in grades 4-6. The principal, teachers, and parents who operate
the school developed an after-school and summer program that focuses on
educational opportunities for all students. The program assists many students
who are at-risk for dropping out of school. Student instruction includes
the use of computers for learning as well as workshops in reading, science,
math, and social studies. Program funding comes from the Title 1 program,
a state program for at-risk students, and the school district's general
fund. In the state assessment, students score near the 80th percentile
on reading, writing, math, and science tests.
WHY COMMUNITY CENTERS IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS?
Public schools, the guidebook says, are uniquely suited to provide before-
and after-school care because:
Research shows the need for young people to learn in a safe and drug-free
environment.
Public schools can offer a low-cost, accessible place to extend learning.
Community Learning Centers are qualified to help younger children
meet the America Reads Challenge that all children will read independently
and successfully by the end of third grade.
Such centers can provide the added support many children need to pass
Algebra and Geometry in middle and junior high schools and succeed in
challenging courses in high school necessary to prepare for college.
HOW TO ESTABLISH A COMMUNITY LEARNING CENTER
Practical tips for how to create a community learning center abound
in the guidebook. The suggestions include:
Estimate typical costs. Costs of Community Learning Centers vary greatly.
Programs can meet costs in different ways: user fees; a mix of local,
state, and federal government funding; public or private grants; partnerships
with community and private sector sponsors; asking parents, community
members, or others to volunteer time.
Develop a Community Learning Center budget. Developing a budget is
a must for gaining financing. Itemizing expenses commonly associated
with establishing and running a program and then itemizing the potential
sources for financing the expenses is a useful way to begin.
Build consensus and partnership. Not only parents and educators but
also community residents, service providers, and public officials may
need and want to be involved in the process.
Conduct a community assessment of needs and resources. Use interviews,
surveys, focus groups, and community forums to arrive at a community
assessment. Bring all local stakeholders into the assessment process.
Design an effective program. Every school and community must determine
how best to address local concerns. Each successful program, however,
must establish vision and focus, address needs appropriately, coordinate
participants' contributions, and set up a system of accountability from
the beginning.
Consider logistical issues. School governance, liability, and building
maintenance are vital in making a Community Learning Center work.
Obtain qualified staff. Staff can come from the school, a partner
organization, or the community but must have relevant experience, realistic
goals, and true concern for children.
Evaluate a program's accomplishments. Ongoing monitoring of the progress
of a program can help all involved maintain their focus, improve effectiveness,
and identify needed modifications.
Related Resources
The
Guidebook The contents of the guidebook Keeping Schools Open
as Community Learning Centers: Extending Learning in a Safe, Drug-Free
Environment Before and After School can be found at this site. The
guidebook is the product of a partnership of the National Community
Education Association, the U.S. Department of Education, Policy Studies
Associates, Inc., and the American Bar Association, Division of Public
Education.
The National
Crime Prevention Council provides examples of before- and after-school
programs that provide safe havens for young people who want to stay
away from gangs and drugs.
Adventure Time
is a before- and after-school program located on elementary school campuses,
licensed by the State of California Department of Social Services. The
program combines enrichment activities and extended day care.
RESOURCE ORGANIZATIONS
These organizations are involved in extended-time learning programs
and can be resources in the efforts of others.
AmeriCorps
Corporation for National Service
1201 New York Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20525
1-800-97-ACORPS
Boys and Girls Clubs of America
1230 West Peachtree Street, NW
Atlanta, GA 30309
(404) 815-5765
National Community Education Association
3929 Old Lee Highway
Suite 91-A
Fairfax, VA 22030
(703) 359-8973
National Guild of Community Schools of the Arts
P.O. Box 8018
Englewood, NJ 07631
(201) 871-3337
School-Age Child Care Project
Center for Research on Women
Wellesley College
Wellesley, MA 02181
(617) 283-2547
Click here
for additional organizations involved in extended learning-time programs
that can serve as resources.
PUBLICATIONS FROM THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
The following are among the publications that can be ordered free, while
supplies last, from the U.S. Department of Education by calling 1-800-USA-LEARN.
America Goes Back to School Partners' Activity Guide. Click here
for an online version of the 1996-97 edition of this publication.
Just Add Kids Part
of the Department of Education's Read * Write * Now program,
this site provides a resource directory of learning partners, reading
sites, and other literacy organizations that serve children and their
families.
The following is available free of charge from the U.S. Department of
Education by calling 1-800-624-0100:
Creating Safe Schools: A Resource Collection for Planning and Action
This resource package of seven previously published documents provides
school administrators and community leaders with an effective way to view,
select and integrate violence prevention policies and programs in schools.
(1996)
OTHER RESOURCES FROM THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF
EDUCATION
Partnership for Family Involvement in Education
600 Independence Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20202-8173
Making Schools Safe and Drug Free
The Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act provides
funding through the U.S. Department of Education.
Call 202-260-3954.
21st Century Community Learning Centers
Call 202-219-1591.
