Congratulations to the following Lyons Enrichment After School Program (LEAP) students on receiving their white belt 1 stripe - Zack S, Kristin C, and Sebastian C.

Each class the students received 1 hour and 15 minutes of intense martial arts training and conditioning. The students successfully completed at at least 7 martial arts class. They each received a Fusion Genesis Karate certificate.

On October 2, 2008, join families, teachers, and community leaders nationwide in reading Corduroy to children as part of Jumpstart’s Read for the Record Campaign to break the Guinness World Record^TM for the largest shared reading experience. Use Jumpstart’s event finder at readfortherecord.com or contact your local PTA to find an event in your area. Make sure your participation counts toward the record!
To learn how you can help win $1,000 worth of books for your school, visit pta.org.

Fannie and Freddie got a bit of a hand-up, but it looks like the more than 13 million children living in poverty in the United States may have to wait — the new Census data shows the child poverty rate climbed to its highest level since 1998, while government investment in kids has dropped by ten percent in the past five years.

Census Shows Rise in Poverty Rate: Last year, the child poverty rate hit its highest level since 1998, according to the Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey data released in August. In 2007, more than a third of black children and over a quarter of Latino children were poor, compared to 1 in 10 non-Hispanic white children. Although household incomes increased in the United States for the third straight year, the overall poverty rate did not change.

(Source: connectforkids.org)

A few school systems have altered the school calendar to offer four-day school weeks, and others are considering that option. In order to comply with state mandates on instructional time, a four-day school week generally requires a longer school day and/or a longer school year.

Some working parents in these districts are concerned about care for their children when schools are out - both because there still is a gap between when the longer school day ends and when parents get home from work, and because many working parents have no supervised activities for their children on the weekdays (usually Fridays or Mondays) when schools will now be closed. Afterschool programs are trying to meet the need, with some looking into opening all day on Fridays or Mondays when schools will be closed.

“In some communities, the traditional school day may be changing,” said Afterschool Alliance Executive Director Jodi Grant. “Rising energy costs coupled with tight budgets are posing new challenges for working families. Afterschool programs are doing their best to help families meet those challenges, but they will need resources in order to do so. We must not let these changes cause more children and youth to be unsupervised and at risk during out-of-school time.”

A New Work Week for Parents The four-day week is being considered by employers as well as school systems, again with implications for afterschool programs. On August 4, Utah became the first state to mandate a four-day work week for more than 17,000 employees in the executive branch. State employees work ten-hour days, Monday through Thursday, and have Fridays off. The move is intended to reduce the state’s energy bill to heat, light and cool buildings, and to save employees fuel costs. But working parents have been left to find their own arrangements for children during the extra hours they are at work.

State agencies in Alabama, Hawaii, Oklahoma, Mississippi, Vermont and West Virginia are among those also considering four-day work weeks.

Every day, people across the country are waking up to the news that bus routes for schools and afterschool programs have been consolidated or eliminated. Because most school buses run on more expensive diesel fuel, transportation costs have become prohibitive. School districts, especially those in rural communities, are finding their budgets consumed by high-priced gasoline.

To cope, some school systems are cutting back on bus routes, forcing parents to provide transportation or children to walk greater distances. Others are considering ending the extra bus trips to bring children home after their afterschool programs close.

In August 2008, the U.S. Census Bureau released the latest numbers on income, poverty, and health coverage. The number of Americans living without health coverage in 2007 is considerably higher than it was in 2000, and communities of color continue to bear the brunt of this crisis. In 2000, the number was 38.4 million; in 2007, that number had risen to 45.7 million, with people of color accounting for more than half of those without health coverage.

Today, more than one in three Americans identifies him or herself as African American, Asian American, Hispanic/Latino, American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, or Pacific Islander, and together, they make up the “minority.” But by 2042, this “minority” is expected to become the majority, which will raise the visibility of issues confronting people of color and the importance of developing appropriate solutions.

Racial and ethnic health disparities continue to plague the nation-from differences in access, quality, and coverage, to gaps in disease rates and health outcomes. The cause of these disparities are broad and complex, ranging from societal issues like poverty and racism, to health system factors such as access to health care facilities. One of the most glaring inequities facing people of color, however, is lack of health coverage. It is important to consider the following:

People of color are more likely to lack health coverage (although communities of color make up only 34 percent of the population, they account for 55 percent of the uninsured. Every racial and ethnic group has uninsured rates that are higher than non-Hispanic whites and higher than the national average).

Although people of color are just as likely to be employed as non-Hispanic whites, they are more likely to have jobs that don’t offer health coverage (more than half of African American, American Indian/Alaska Native, and Hispanic workers were not covered by employer-base health insurance in 2007).

The lower your income, the less likely you are to have health coverage. This means less access to health care for communities of color (as a whole, people of color earn less than non-Hispanic whites, and the likelihood of having access to employer-based coverage is significantly less).

Public health insurance programs provide a key source of coverage for communities of color (in 2007, Medicaid provided coverage for a disproportionate percentage of nearly every racial and ethnic group, for adults and children).
(Source: familiesusa.org)

Welcome Back!! We made it through another extremely quick summer safely, and now it’s back to business (I know some of us didn’t stop for the summer!) A new day, a fresh start, another time to begin. The new year is filled with possibilities, potential adventures, and discoveries. The slate is clean; there is no history to overcome; no past to rise above. We have a brand new opportunity to enrich the lives of our students. My plan is to look ahead with optimism because the year holds infinite promise and potential. The days ahead are waiting to be written. What will you choose to inscribe on them and on the lives of your students? Relish the excitement and energy that comes at the start of anything new. Make this a year of learning and growing for you and our most precious resource: students.

Alia Henton-Williams

Director, 21st Century Programs

21st Century Summer Programs were a huge success. Our sites at Clyde-Savannah, North Rose-Wolcott and Lyons served about 500 students! Just think, 500 youth were kept engaged, active and involved in positive programming with essential supports like caring people and resources to help them have a safe and healthy summer. It worked!! The three sites averaged 80 students served per day. We are proud not only of what was offered but of what was accomplished. Tom Kanaley, Wendy Beers and Alicia Linzy deserve to be commended for the great work done.

Now we are ready to begin a new year with excellent new programs full of activities and opportunities for growth and learning. Clyde-Savannah (Tina Fuller/Tom Kanaley) offers program Monday-Thursday, 2:30-4:45, Lyons (Alicia Linzy), Monday-Friday, 2:35-5:30 and North Rose-Wolcott (Jim Fisher), Monday-Friday, 2:15-5:30.

Remember to refer students to the program where they will be safe during the 3 p.m.-6 p.m. time-frame when our students are most likely to engage in negative behaviors like drug and alcohol use, crime and too much television watching. We will help them complete homework, have fun, learn essential life skills, participate in workshops and experience field trips.

Please welcome Jim Fisher as the new Site Coordinator for North Rose-Wolcott! Jim is enthused and brings great insight to the program.

STREAM is back in effect at all three sites as well. Heather Mills, coordinator, is working with school liaisons to recruit students for Big Brother Big Sister who are interested in science-based programming once a week.
Please contact myself or any Site Coordinator with referrals or questions.

Puppies are cute
I just learned how to make a five minute movie in Mr.Phu class it is really fun to do. 

Congratulations to the Summer Lyons Enrichment After School Program (LEAP) students on successfully completing their 6 week martial arts workshop. They each received a Fusion Genesis Karate certificate.

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