Rochester's After-School Successes Showcased

A new report, released by the National League of Cities, highlights Rochester and 26 other cities for making impressive strides in developing afterschool and out-of-school time systems that successfully meet the needs of children and youth in their communities.

The 184-page report, “Municipal Leadership for Afterschool: Citywide Approaches Spreading Across the Country,” showcases mayors and other municipal officials who have demonstrated leadership in this area by linking isolated programs within more coordinated citywide networks, bringing disparate stakeholders together to create and advance common strategies, and using research-based approaches to improve program quality and access. 

In preparing the report, commissioned by The Wallace Foundation, the National League of Cities identified cities — from Philadelphia to Portland, Ore., and Bridgeport, Conn., to Jacksonville, Fla. — and staff from the league’s Institute for Youth, Education and Families surveyed and interviewed representatives from each city to understand more fully the nature and pace of change within these communities.

Rochester’s 4½-page profile  included in the report highlights achievements by the City of Rochester, the Greater Rochester After School Alliance (GRASA), and many community partners. The report specifically mentions:

• The City of Rochester’s creation of the EZ Rec Pass, which tracks student attendance, participation and contact information that can now be shared with community-based organizations.
• The Rochester Community Coalition’s lobbying efforts for New York State funding for expansion and further coordination of a citywide system of out-of-school time programming in Rochester.
• The 2008 Rochester After School Plan created under the leadership of then-Mayor Robert Duffy and then-Superintendent Jean Claude Brizard. This plan includes standards of high-quality, after-school programming that funders, including Rochester Area Community Foundation and the United Way of Greater Rochester, use to make funding decisions for after-school program support.
• The efforts of community leaders under the direction of The Children’s Agenda and the Center for Governmental Research in identifying a goal of 25% of local youth participating in high-quality after-school programs by 2015. 

Why are cities paying more attention to the needs of children and families during the after-school hours? This report says that effective after-school programs can help city leaders confront pressing local challenges, such as public safety, while also providing young people with expanded opportunities to learn and grow. More than 15 million — one in four — children and youth in the United States are on their own after school, either at home unsupervised without any structured activities or just “hanging out.” In the city of Rochester, more than 17,200 school-age students have no place to go after school.

High-quality, after-school programs have been shown to make a real measurable difference in the lives of children, families and communities. Research indicates that these programs increase school attendance, raise graduation rates and reduce the likelihood that young people will smoke, drink, use drugs or become teen parents. The impact of after-school programs also helps increase the productivity of working parents, particularly those who cannot be home to meet the bus or leave work to pick up their children at the end of the school day. The benefits for communities include a reduction in juvenile crime, the promotion of healthy lifestyles that counter childhood obesity, and creation of an educated and skilled workforce. Poll data suggest that the parents of children who are not currently participating in after-school programs would send their children to a program if one were available.

This report highlights in great detail many developments associated with city-wide efforts. The progress and innovation reflected in these research findings offer further evidence that cities continue to drive many of the current efforts to expand high-quality, after-school opportunities, and that they are likely to continue to do so in the years ahead.

The mission of the Greater Rochester After School Alliance (GRASA) is to strengthen the quality, quantity, and accessibility of out-of-school-time programs in Monroe County for school-age youth through community collaboration. GRASA is an initiative of Rochester Area Community Foundation.