I would be remiss if I didn’t take this opportunity to put in a plug for all of us to take action - there truly is no better time for people in Alaska and across the country to raise their voices about the importance of afterschool programs and the need to maintain funding at current levels. The House of Representatives recently proposed cutting 21^st CCLC by $100 million, meaning 100,000 children would no longer have access to the safe, enriching learning environment offered by 21^st CCLC sites. Make sure to contact your Members of Congress so that your voice is heard and counted.

• Our 9^th annual Afterschool for All Challenge  conference was held in conjunction with the National AfterSchool Association and the National League of Cities. The event was a great success, attracting more than 2,000 participants. At our “Breakfast of Champions,” we honored leaders from 10 states for their work on behalf of afterschool, and also held a high-impact ‘Afterschool for All Rally’ outside the U.S. Capitol. Check out pictures from the event.
• We celebrated our 11^th annual Lights On Afterschool, October 21, 2010, which brought together more than one million Americans at some 7,500 events in every corner of the nation and on U.S. military bases worldwide. The Empire State Building and Mount Rushmore were both lit up in honor of the positive role played by afterschool programs in the lives of children and families. See photos from events all over the country.
• We continued to aid the work of 39 statewide afterschool networks by providing technical support , funding guidance, and policy updates.
• We worked closely with federal policy makers, partner organizations, and the national afterschool field to oppose changes to the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (formerly known as No Child Left Behind) that would divert and reduce funding for afterschool programs. We have held numerous meetings with the U.S. Department of Education and the White House on this subject. Read all of the policy work we’ve done on our blog.
•  Two new research reports were released based on our initial 2009 America After 3PM study – America After 3PM: From Big Cities to Small Towns  and America After 3PM Special Report on Summer: Missed Opportunities, Unmet Demand.  The first report provides data on afterschool participation in several urban and rural communities, while the second reveals that 75% of America’s schoolchildren are not participating in summer learning programs. Both publications received significant media coverage.
• Partnered with Quaker Oats for an ‘Afterschool Rocks’ campaign to promote healthy eating and physical activity at afterschool programs. The campaign included several promotional events across the country, featuring recording artist Jordin Sparks.
•  We have a new Director of STEM Afterschool Policy, who has worked to increase science, technology, engineering and math learning opportunities for kids enrolled in afterschool programs.
•  Tracked and/or promoted more than 50 pieces of legislation, including key bills that would create new afterschool opportunities for older youth, provide additional funding to rural programs, and establish school nutrition and physical activity initiatives.

After lunch, it was time to hear from the British presenters, who seemed particularly enthusiastic about school design and improving learning environments. Architects displayed innovative new school buildings in the UK and described the new model of the modern classroom, built on flexibility and open concepts. Additionally, school leaders discussed the importance of using schools as centers for communities by keeping buildings open longer and providing extended services to students. Presenters also discussed shared policy visions between the US and UK, such as the UK's “Every Child Matters” program which shares common principles with the US’s No Child Left Behind Act. Overall, it was interesting to see what innovations were taking place in UK education, and I learned a lot from listening to the enlightening presentations given by speakers from both countries.

The symposium ended with the launch of a US-UK network that hopes to lead to practical collaboration on a wide range of education issues, hosted by the British Council for School Environments and US partners.

You can check out more about school design in the UK at The British Council for School Environments website and find out more about afterschool in New Jersey at NJSACC.org.

Overall, the event promoted the successes of afterschool programs throughout Chicago and gave us a chance to celebrate the opportunity for even more children who need additional enrichment after school to get involved in programs in the future.

Findings for New York, Los Angeles and Dallas.

Associated Press
October 11, 2010

Teacher set on helping Thoreau kids in crisis

THOREAU, N.M. (AP) - When Juliana Ko was advised to go back home and
forget about the crazy idea of starting a nonprofit to help the Thoreau
community, she considered returning to her parents' house in Florida and
- perhaps - with the support and care of her family, heal her broken
heart.

Ko was a math teacher at Thoreau Middle School when one of her
13-year-old students committed suicide two years ago. She was young,
too, and fragile: A 22-year-old Christian who had recently graduated
from college and was living the Teach for America dream in rural New
Mexico.

But going back home was not going to erase the memories of the young boy
contemplating suicide outside the classroom, where she had talked to him
for a last time in an effort to understand why he was being rude to
other kids and not trying his best in class anymore.

Ko remembered that tragic week in Thoreau, still fighting the tears.

There was a flyer against suicide posted on the wall outside the
classroom with the picture of a hanging rope that said: "It's not a
game," she said.

"He was starting at it. I asked him if he had been thinking about
suicide. He said, 'Maybe.' I took him to a counselor because that's what
you are supposed to do."

Ko said the boy was taking a remedial math course with her, in addition
to the regular daily math class, but she "saw a lot of potential in him.
He wanted to learn. I think all the kids want to learn. You just have to
find a way to get through all the layers."

That young boy had issues with alcohol and drugs and had also been
involved in domestic disputes at home. He had no place to go after
school, Ko said, like most of the boys and girls that committed suicide
that school year and the following year.

The numbers are staggering - in the past nine months, 15 suicides have
been reported in the eastern Navajo Nation, according to the Navajo
Nation Unified Command Response to the Crisis.

"I was devastated, angry, mad at the world," Ko said. "I even questioned
my faith. But the idea of giving the kids a reliable place outside
school, where they can go, kept coming back to me. I prayed a lot and
felt stronger about my faith, feeling that I was here for a purpose. I
decided I could not leave until I gave this my all."

The idea of a community center hit Ko during the period following the
crisis. She had engaged her students in various activities to give them
incentives to try to take control of their lives and look at the future
with excitement, rather than fear.

One of the activities was the Rebuilding Thoreau math project, she said.

Using basic mathematics and geometry, the kids designed plans of their
ideal community, which included parks, shopping centers, gyms,
basketball courts, movie theaters, a day care, social services, fast
food restaurants and many other amenities that Thoreau lacks.

"One group had solar panels on everything," she said.

She saw in their works, and the look in their eyes, that they needed a
place to hang out after school, where they could relax, play sports, get
support with their homework, and, after graduating from high school, get
help with building a resume and conducting job searches.

Many members of the community had already envisioned a community center
like that, says Thoreau resident and president of the McKinley County
Parent Adviser Committee Priscella Marianito. But nobody took action.

Chapter officials and community leaders embraced Ko's ideas and
enthusiasm during two chapter meetings in June. Ko attended with the
middle school secretary, Merna Roan. While Ko presented in English, Roan
translated for the elderly in Navajo.

"I could not believe it when she approached the chapter and told us she
quit her job in the school to focus on our community," Marianito said.
"We have members that have lived here for years and they have never
taken the time to do something like this. And here comes this lady that
wants to do it for our children. I told her, 'I thank you so much for
getting the ball going.'"

Ko has a bachelor's degree in economics and three minors: political
science, Asian studies and Spanish - all from Principal College in
Illinois.

A soft-spoken young woman of delicate looks, she is articulate, polite
and very well versed in what the community needs, says Tom Trujillo,
McKinley County manager.

Her education and commitment to the Thoreau community made it easy for
the county to support her project when she requested permission to lease
their old and then-vacant 2,700-square-foot co-op building, located
behind Thoreau's post office.

"I was really blown away when she approached me and said she wanted to
do this," Trujillo said. "I asked her, 'Why would you leave a successful
teaching career to start something new?' She said she really cared about
the community."

In less than two months, the old building was repaired with running
water and electricity. The county installed a shower for Ko in one of
the bathrooms so she could live there until the project starts bringing
in money through grants and she can pay herself a salary.

Meanwhile, the county has compromised to pay $6,000 a month through the
Liquor Excise Tax to run the operation for 10 months, Ko said.

Ko has turned one of the back offices into a bedroom and her family came
from Florida to help her clean and get organized. Her mother helped her
draw blueprints and her boyfriend, a young lawyer, has been helping file
forms to legalize the nonprofit.

The community center's grand opening is scheduled for November.
Initially, Ko plans to offer fitness, dance and cooking classes and
movie nights. As money comes in, she plans to fill a room with computers
and offer mentorship and internship programs.

"We need the whole community involved," said Marianito, who has become a
member of the center's board of directors. "We want all the kids in the
community to use this facility."

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Information from: Gallup Independent, http://www.gallupindependent.com