RIASPA Hosts 7^th Annual Lights on Afterschool! Breakfast of Champions

The overflow crowd buzzed and bustled around the expansive conference room, truly comprising a who’s who in Rhode Island education. More than 400 of the state’s top teachers, principals, and superintendents gathered recently at RIASPA’s 7^th annual Lights On Afterschool! Breakfast of Champions in Providence. Sitting elbow to elbow with the school administrators and educators were leading providers of community-based afterschool programs along with valued afterschool supporters such as top-ranking elected officials, corporate leaders, and foundation representatives.

They mostly had come to learn, rather than teach; to listen, rather than speak. The event, themed “Re-Imagining Afterschool,” was more than a forum for the discussion of trends, concepts, and practices in today’s afterschool landscape—it was an opportunity to hear from national luminaries Soledad O’Brien, CNN anchor and correspondent, and noted author Jonathan Kozol. The two keynote speakers addressed the challenges and rewards of engagingly creative education inside and outside schools.

O’Brien, a Harvard University alumna well-known as an acclaimed CNN news anchor and reporter of the day’s important news, sits on the board of The After-School Corporation in New York. A mother of four, she is a vocal advocate for the meaningful extension of children’s education after the school day’s last bell rings. She melds a unique combination of professional observations and personal viewpoints on afterschool education.

"I have seen first-hand how important and beneficial afterschool programs are to students—through my reporting on education, speaking to young people across the country, and through the benefits to my own children. Organizations that work to foster and promote these beneficial programs are helping pave the way for students to have more opportunities down the line—to lead successful lives and to achieve their dreams," said O’Brien as cameras from local television stations captured her.

Kozol, educated at Harvard and Oxford Universities, has stood among America’s most recognized voices on education reform for four decades, devoting considerable energy to education and social justice. Death at an Early Age, a description of his first year as a Boston public school teacher, received a 1968 National Book Award. His subsequent works, The Shame of the Nation, Amazing Grace, and Savage Inequalities have advanced the struggle to improve conditions in our public schools. His most recent work, Letters to a Young Teacher, attempts to guide the newest generation of teachers.

“Instead of seeing these children for the blessings that they are, we are measuring them only by the standard of whether they will be future deficits or assets for our nation's competitive needs,” shared Kozol. “Pick battles big enough to matter, small enough to win. The ones I pity are the ones who never stick out their neck for something they believe, never know the taste of moral struggle, and never have the thrill of victory," he added.

Joining O’Brien and Kozol to form an experts’ panel and answer questions submitted by the audience was Deborah A. Gist, Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education, who facilitated the lively, insightful session.

Governor Donald L. Carcieri and Providence Mayor David N. Cicilline each greeted the audience and expressed his support. Both have been steadfast advocates of high-quality afterschool programs statewide and in the capital city respectively. Additionally, the mayor introduced a musical performance by a trio of Community Music Works youth as well as an accompanying slide show of award-winning afterschool programs.

A recipient of RIASPA’s Lights On Afterschool Champion Award, Governor Carcieri's Education Policy Advisor, Janet Durfee-Hidalgo, received the award for her diligent efforts toward ensuring that $100,000 for expanded learning time was passed by legislators and included in the state’s 2010 budget.

RIASPA also honored several legislators with the Lights On Afterschool Champion Award. The lawmakers authored and shepherded a bill (H 5802) through the General Assembly that supports afterschool programs. The bill, titled the Rhode Island Afterschool and Summer Learning Program Act, passed with the capable leadership of House Majority Leader Gordon Fox and fellow State Representatives Frank Ferri, Peter Kilmartin, Peter Martin, and Agostinho Silva. Furthermore, RIASPA recognized Representative Edwin Pacheco for his efforts in advancing another bill that bolsters afterschool and summer programs.

Additionally, awards were presented to three exemplary, community-based organizations that innovatively advance afterschool programming for local youth. One, RiverzEdge Arts Project, received national recognition and a $5,000 grant from the Afterschool Alliance in Washington, D.C. and the MetLife Foundation.

RiverzEdge, in Woonsocket, is one of only six afterschool programs nationwide to be named an Afterschool Innovator, and was highlighted in an issue brief on afterschool as part of a series developed by the Afterschool Alliance with funding from the MetLife Foundation. RiverzEdge was cited for providing disenfranchised youth in northern Rhode Island with mentoring, paid employment in the arts, and a voice in the community while positively affecting drop-out prevention.

On hand to present the award to RiverzEdge was Afterschool Alliance Board of Directors Chair Terry Peterson, Ph.D. Peterson is also director of the Afterschool and Community Learning National Resource Network, which is funded by the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation. Peterson is the former counselor to U.S. Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley.

Cox Communications gave Afterschool Program Awards to two community organizations along with a $1,000 Cox Charities grant for each. The funds are being allocated to provide general operating support to ensure the success of the programs. The 2009 awards, indicative of Cox’s long-standing support of quality afterschool programming, recognizes the 21st Century Community Learning Center afterschool program located at Highlander Charter School as well as Youth In Action.

Founded in 2000, Highlander Charter School is a K – 8 charter school in Providence’s South Side. The school’s mission is to ensure that students develop the skills to become active, responsible, and productive community members while instilling a passion for lifelong learning.

Since its inception in 1997, Youth In Action (YIA) has been driven by young people’s leadership and innovation for positive change. YIA youth compose the organization’s leadership structure as, each year, more than 100 young people serve as the majority of the Board of Directors and run multiple community-outreach programs.

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