City of Jacksonville Celebrates Team Up Afterschool Programs
10th Annual Lights On Afterschool promotes importance of afterschool programs for
Jacksonville youth
Jacksonville, Fla. - The Jacksonville Children's Commission will celebrate its highly successful TEAM UP and community-based afterschool programs and showcase the critical importance of quality afterschool programs by participating in the nationwide Lights On Afterschool celebration.
Participants will have the opportunity to tour two afterschool programs, which include both academic and enrichment-oriented activities. Linda Lanier, executive director of the Commission, will release results from the America After Three survey at Reynolds Lane Elementary.
Comparatively strong participation in afterschool programs by Florida youth, along with high satisfaction rates among their parents, has landed the state in the Afterschool Alliance’s newly named “Top 10 States for Afterschool” list. The ranking is based on data from the landmark America After 3PM study, conducted for the Afterschool Alliance and sponsored by the JCPenney Afterschool Fund.
In addition, Lawton “Bud” Chiles, president of The Lawton Chiles Foundation, will visit both of the programs on his statewide walk of One Million Steps For Florida’s Kids. Chiles is walking one million steps – nearly 600 miles – around Florida to collect one million pledges for the “Worst To First” initiative to improve investments in children’s health and education.
DATE: Thursday, Oct. 22
TIME & LOCATIONS:
Reynolds Lane Elementary School
3:30-4:45 p.m.
891 Reynolds Lane, 32254
Managed by Communities in Schools of Jacksonville, Inc.
The Weaver Zone at The Bridge
4:30-6 p.m.
1824 N. Pearl St., 32206
Managed by The Bridge of Northeast Florida
Lights On Afterschool is celebrated nationwide on Oct. 22 to call attention to the importance of afterschool programs for America's children, families and communities. The initiative is a project of the Afterschool Alliance, a non-profit organization dedicated to ensuring that all children have access to quality, affordable afterschool programs.
TEAM UP is a unique and highly collaborative partnership between the Jacksonville Children’s Commission, Duval County Public Schools and youth-serving non-profits. The programs balance high quality academic instruction by certified teachers, with a wide array of enrichment, recreational and cultural activities, including dance, athletics, computer programs, leadership activities and/or music. In addition, the programs promote family literacy efforts and parent involvement activities. The goal is to improve the lives and academic achievement, promotion rates and attendance of low-income children at risk of academic failure and poor social/behavioral outcomes of elementary and middle school students.
For more information on TEAM UP or neighborhood afterschool programs, contact the Jacksonville Children's Commission at
www.jaxkids.net.
For more information on Lights On Afterschool and the America After 3 p.m. study, visit
www.afterschoolalliance.org.
For more information on One Million Steps for Florida's Kids, visit
www.worsttofirst.org.
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