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Mayor Coleman Visits No School Day Program at Hazel Park Recreation Center in Recognition of 2007 Lights On Afterschool Week

(Saint Paul) – Saint Paul Mayor Chris Coleman celebrated National Lights On Afterschool week today with a visit to Second Shift No School Day activities at the Hazel Park Recreation Center. Mayor Coleman met with children, staff and parents participating in No School Day activities. The Mayor’s visit coincides with 7,500 Lights On Afterschool events across the nation that emphasize the importance of keeping the lights on and the doors open for afterschool programs.

“Lights On Afterschool is a powerful reminder that afterschool and out-of-school programs are critical to the success of our children, which is why we’ve expanded our Second Shift activities during this week’s Statewide Teachers Conference,” said Mayor Coleman. “Our No School Day initiative has been a tremendous success and we are extremely pleased to have the ability to bring this programming to Hazel Park and to children across the city. Providing accessible, affordable and academically rich opportunities to our children during their out of school time is our goal with the Second Shift Initiative, and we know our No School Days are going to help put Saint Paul kids on the path to success.”

The Second Shift No School Day program gives children the opportunity to participate in quality, structured activities during days that the Saint Paul Public School district has no school – such as the State Teachers Conference, Winter Break and Spring Break. The No School Day program allows working parents to send their children to a safe and engaging environment where they might have otherwise had to take off work or leave their children at home and unsupervised.

Mayor Coleman’s Second Shift No School Day program began as a pilot program on the East Side in the fall of 2006. Over 300 children from, Ames Elementary School and Eastern Heights Elementary School and Nokomis Montessori Magnet School participated in all-day programming at Hazel Park Recreation Center. During spring break last year, more than 1,800 children took part in expanded No School Day activities. Due to these successes Mayor Coleman expanded the No School Day program citywide this fall.

About Lights On Afterschool
Lights On Afterschool is a nationwide event to recognize the critical importance of quality afterschool programs in the lives of children, their families and communities. It is a project of the Afterschool Alliance – a nonprofit public awareness and advocacy organization working to ensuring that all children have access to quality afterschool programs. More information on the Alliance and Lights On Afterschool is available at www.afterschoolalliance.org.

Minnesota’s youth speak up!
Historic Rally at State Capitol expected to draw over 700 youth

A 2005 Wilder Study reported that 46% more children, ages 10 to12, are home alone after school, compared with just five years ago.

A different Wilder Study reports that 500 to 600 minors are unaccompanied and homeless on any given night in Minnesota.

A recent report from the Center for Labor Market Studies shows that national teen employment rates during the summers of 2004 and 2005 were only 36.4% and 36.8%, the lowest summer employment levels since 1948.

That’s what the studies tell us. What do Minnesota kids, themselves, have to say about their
well-being?

More than 700 young people from schools and youth-serving organizations around the state, many of whom have received needed services and others who have had to forego services because they were not available, will participate in a first-ever Rally for Minnesota Youth on March 1 at the State Capitol.

Throughout the day, youth will be visiting legislators to share their stories, personal experiences and concerns about services for children and youth in Minnesota. More investment in after school and community-based programs that focus on workforce and employability skills for youth is one area that some youth will be advocating as they meet with legislators.

Sara Wuorinen, age 17 from Rush City, Minn, will be encouraging legislators to invest in programs like the Minnesota Conservation Corps, an organization that offers youth an opportunity to work in state parks and other outdoor settings over the summer — an experience she believes helps youth develop self-confidence, work skills, an understanding of other cultures and an expanded view of the world. “It’s an eight-week summer program that taught me a lot about life,” she said. “I gained an appreciation for nature, and learned about responsibility and hard work ethics. I also had the opportunity to meet people from other backgrounds. It was the best thing that has ever happened to me, and I’m so thankful for it.”

Youth will meet with their legislators during the morning and afternoon. A noon rally in the Capitol Rotunda will kick off with a hip hop performance by Spoken Word University, a production company in the Twin Cities that uses the arts as a tool to teach, inspire, lead and entertain communities. Rep. Neva Walker (DFL) and Sen. David Senjem (R) will also be present to share a message, along with youth speakers and officials from youth-serving organizations.

“Minnesota is a great place for kids, but not for all of them,” Jessi Strinmoen, director of Services for Minnesota Youth Intervention Programs Association, a coalition of more than 60 youth-serving agencies in Minnesota. “After-school programs have closed, shelters are hanging on by a financial thread, and that’s at a time when we have more youth on our streets trying to survive all by themselves. That’s not our standard in Minnesota. We aim higher here. Youth need a safe place to live, supportive people in their lives, and opportunities to develop into good citizens.”

Along with youth, Strinmoen said nonprofit organizations will also be sharing their concerns with legislators and advocating greater investment in early youth intervention, mentoring, after-school development, youth workforce development programs, and ending youth homelessness. They will also be encouraging support for the new Governor’s Council & Cabinet on Children & Youth.

The All Youth Deserve A Chance capitol rally is sponsored by youth-serving organizations, including Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota, Mentoring Partnership of Minnesota, Minnesota Alliance With Youth, Minnesota Workforce Council Association, Minnesota Youth Intervention Programs Association, Minnesota Youth Service Association, Stand Up For Kids, Streetworks, Youth Community Connections, and Youth Policy Alliance.

McKnight names director of Children and Families program

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