Tammy Papa, without fanfare, has provided numerous afterschool opportunities for needy kids through the city’s Lighthouse Program. This news release from Mayor Bill Finch highlights enrichment programs for city students commissioned by the Wallace Foundation via the National League of Cities.
A new research report published by the National League of Cities Institute for Youth, Education and Families and commissioned by The Wallace Foundation has identified Bridgeport as one of 27 cities that are among the most advanced in coordinating afterschool opportunities for children and youth.
The report titled, “Municipal Leadership for Afterschool: Citywide Approaches Spreading Across the Country” presents the broadest look yet at the emergence of city-led efforts to build comprehensive afterschool and out-of-school time systems that meet the needs of children and youth in their communities.
“We are very proud to be recognized by the National League of Cities for our efforts in afterschool opportunities for children and youth. The Lighthouse Afterschool Program has proven to be a very successful initiative and is very deserving of all of the accolades it has earned since its inception,” said Mayor Bill Finch. “The success of our afterschool programs has a lasting effect, not only on our students and their education, health and quality of life but also on our working parents, who do not have to worry about cutting their work days short to pick up their children from school.”
According to the study, Bridgeport and the other 26 cities profiled can be considered to “have reached an advanced stage in the development of their citywide out-of-school time systems.” Each of these cities has made progress on six “action elements” defined as central to the sustainability of a coordinated out-of-school time approach in The Wallace Foundation’s report:
· Committed leadership, including top political, school, community and out-of-school time leaders, to secure funding and other resources and shape policies;
· A public or private coordinating entity to manage the development of plans, link disparate out-of-school time players, build citywide attention and support for out-of-school time, and ensure that plans and performance stay on track;
· Multi-year planning to set goals and priorities, develop ways to hold key players accountable for results and identify necessary resources;
· Reliable information to document the needs and wishes of parents and children, track participation and identify underserved neighborhoods and families;
· Expanding participation to reach more children and ensure that they attend often enough to benefit; and
· A commitment to quality because quality programs are most likely to benefit children and therefore scarce out-of-school time funding should be directed to delivering high-quality programming.
The study calls Mayor Finch “a committed advocate for out-of-school time programs in Bridgeport,” and commends the Mayor for “working with the city council to allocate a substantial amount of the city’s general fund to Lighthouse Afterschool, a 10-year citywide initiative supporting children and youth.”
The Lighthouse Program, led by Tammy Papa, offers afterschool programs in 26 public schools through partnerships with community and faith-based agencies, as well as private organizations, at an estimated overall cost of $4 million. Lighthouse is funded through a combination of local, state and federal dollars, including Congressional earmarks, parental fees determined by a sliding scale, and special revenue generated for supplemental tutoring services. Funding is distributed based on the numbers of children served at each location.
The study says,”“High-quality afterschool programs help cities reduce juvenile crime, promote healthy lifestyles and address childhood obesity, and build an educated and skilled workforce. In short, afterschool programs make a real, measurable difference in the lives of children, families, and communities.”
Featured cities include:
• Alexandria, Va.
• Atlanta, Ga.
• Baltimore, Md.
• Boise, Idaho
• Bridgeport, Conn.
• Charlotte, N.C.
• Charleston, S.C.
• Cleveland, Ohio
• Denver, Colo.
• Fort Worth, Texas
• Grand Rapids, Mich.
• Jacksonville, Fla.
• Louisville, Ky.
• Nashville, Tenn.
• New Orleans, La.
• Newark, N.J.
• Oakland, Calif.
• Omaha, Neb.
• Philadelphia, Pa.
• Portland, Ore.
• Rochester, N.Y.
• San Francisco, Calif.
• Spokane, Wash.
• St. Louis, Mo.
• St. Paul, Minn.
• Seattle, Wash.
• Tampa, Fla.To read the full report go to: www.nlc.org/File%20Library/Find%20City%20Solutions/IYEF/Afterschool/municipal-leadership-afterschool-rpt-and-city-profiles-sept-2011.pdf
In most cases it is better to be celebrated than to be castigated for what you are doing. And in some cases it is better to remain unreported what you are doing, for someone may find fault with it.
However, the youth of our City do not suffer from an oversupply of advantages, so programs that provide afterschool activities of sufficient variety and appropriate to varied ages do deserve notice.
How much money is spent overall? What is the amount spent from City general funds? How much from BOE budget? How much comes from grants from supporting not for profits? And how much goes to organizations providing services? I have some notion that some of this might fall under the heading of “child care” or “baby sitting” in common vocabulary, but what do parents or families pay per week, for what services, and how much is their contribution as a portion of total costs.
Last of all, if we do such a fine job in our City for this program, why does it not support better results over the years in the classroom? Is there something I am missing in this regard? Is the City of Bridgeport education Mission statement about “college ready” graduates really believed and supported at the youngest and earliest levels? Or does the school day represent, in too many cases, a childcare program without sufficient educational demands, content or accountability to make a significant difference in advancing the talents of youth in our system? What do you think?
So much to say about this posting, so little time in my workday today to write it all down.
Firstly–it’s not the time outside of school our BOE needs to be concerned with. They need to find ways to enhance school attendance, and increase the percentage of students who graduate from our schools. In short, spend money on getting students to school, not on activates they engage in afterward. I can understand if they want to take a holistic approach to making the youth in Bridgeport’s lives more enriched by blocking the path to delinquency with productive opportunities, but this school system is in too much trouble to engage in top-down management with the hopes good participation will cascade down into the school day. They need to address the school day.
Second–The funding provided by NCLB for the primary education sector and supplementary education services is subject to state and federal regulatory mandates that the Lighthouse program ignores every year. There are many competing programs that focus on grant recovery under SES and they are supposed to be allowed the courtesy of competing with the Lighthouse for a presence in Bridgeport and a chance to instruct students with the focus on closing achievements gaps in reading and math. Which program is chosen for SES is supposed to be parent choice. Although the competitors are allowed into the City with an eye on competing for students and letting parents choose the tutoring company they think best serves their child’s needs, in Bridgeport it seems like EVERYONE picks the Lighthouse. Open houses are held, and parents express interest in having a program other than the Lighthouse contact them, and magically when the student lists come out … The Lighthouse has the lion’s share of students. Stinky, stinky stinky.
I could go on, but I need to get back to work.