> School is Back and Museums and Libraries are Ready with After-School
> Programs
>
> PRESS RELEASE from the federal INSTITUTE OF MUSEUM AND LIBRARY SERVICES
>
> For Immediate Release--September 5, 2000--Press Contact--Eileen
> Maxwell--202-606-8330 or [log in to unmask]
>
> Washington, DC--Museums and libraries across the country are welcoming
> America's students back to school by offering after-school programs with
> assistance from the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services
> (IMLS).  Museums and libraries are natural partners in education.  For
> years, the nation's public librarians have been serving the needs of
> students, especially when school is out.  And according to an IMLS survey,
> nearly 90 percent of museums provide K-12 educational programs.(1)
>
> Today interest in after-school programming is on the rise.  "There are 39
> million American children between the ages of 5 and 14.  They are in
> school for six hours daily.(2)  So there are many hours each day for
> non-school activities.  The challenge is to ensure that the activities are
> constructive," said Beverly Sheppard, Acting Director of the IMLS.  "Our
> libraries and museums are helping families and communities meet that
> challenge."  During late afternoon hours, juvenile crime rates triple and
> many unsupervised youngsters experiment with alcohol, tobacco, and sex.(3)
> Students who take part in positive extracurricular activities between one
> and four hours a week are 49 percent less likely to use drugs and 37
> percent less likely to become teen parents than those who do not.(4)
>
> According to a 1999 national survey by the Stewart Mott Foundation, adults
> overwhelmingly favor providing after-school programs for all children.(5)
> But it is difficult for families to find good, affordable after-school
> programs.  Libraries and museums across the nation are helping, with IMLS
> grants and technical assistance, to meet the needs of America's school-age
> children by providing affordable (often free), supervised, educational,
> and enriching after-school programs.
>
> The following examples are just a few of the many excellent school
> programs museums and libraries offer with help from IMLS:
>
> PAWS for Reading
> The public library and middle school in Berwyn, Illinois, have established
> "PAWS for Reading."  This technology-based literature program is open to
> all 6, 7, and 8th grade students and brings the public librarian, the
> school librarian, and teachers together to improve children's reading
> ability.  Extended hours before and after school enhance the students'
> access to the program.
>
> YES! (Youth Enriched by Science)
> The Museum of Science and Industry (MOSI) in Tampa, Florida, and its
> partner, the Tampa Metropolitan Area YMCA, are establishing an innovative,
> after-school science enrichment, education, and mentoring program for
> at-risk youth in Hillsborough County.  At-risk high school students from
> MOSI's highly successful "YES! (Youth Enriched by Science) Team Program"
> use hands-on science activities to mentor and teach similarly at-risk
> elementary and middle school students.  Through this project, two groups
> of at-risk youths (instructors and students) receive a constructive
> after-school education experience.
>
> Teen Land and Kids' Corner
> In Albany, New York, the Upper Hudson Library System has developed two
> Websites, "Teen Land" and "Kids' Corner."  These sites help young students
> with their homework.  Teachers fill out homework "alert forms" which
> describe the assignments they give to their students and then send these
> forms to the local libraries.  The librarians tailor the material and
> links on the two Websites to respond to the information contained on the
> forms.
>
> Studio 3D
> "Studio 3D" (Digital Design and Development) is a two-year pilot project
> that brings together the Science Museum of Minnesota, the Minneapolis
> Parks and Recreation Board, and the Minneapolis Community and Technical
> College.  The partners provide after-school activities in science, art,
> and technology for low-income school-aged youth at the Loring Park Art
> Center.
>
> Riverside California Public Library
> The Riverside California Public Library is housed in a temporary
> store-front in a shopping center.  The library provides basic computer
> training, homework help, and courses in information literacy to nearly
> 9,000 youth and adults from families in the under-served area of the city.
> This outreach effort has won several national and State awards.
>
> Neighborhood Naturalists
> This year the Kalamazoo Nature Center in Michigan  worked with several
> community groups to develop "Neighborhood Naturalists," an after-school
> environmental program.  Activities and adult role models teach children
> about science and the outdoors.  The partners develop nationally-marketed
> workshops to teach other organizations how to create similar programs
>
> World is Made of Stories
> In Patagonia, Arizona, public library staff and the school principal work
> together to offer the "World is Made of Stories," an after-school program
> for elementary school students.  This program has been so popular they
> have designed another, the "Patagonia Popcorn Party," to reach rural
> middle school students.
>
> Art in the Afternoon
> The Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts and the City of Montgomery, Alabama
> will undertake "Art in the Afternoon," a series of free, after-school art
> lessons for children in grades 3-6 from high-crime neighborhoods.  The
> program is a component of the US Department of Justice's "Weed and Seed"
> program.  Its goal is to involve all levels of the community in an effort
> to prevent, control, and reduce violent crime, drug abuse, and gang
> activity.
>
>  "Learning is not limited to the school classroom.  It is a day-long and
> life-long process.  The United States is fortunate to have 122,000
> libraries and 10,000 museums whose staffs are dedicated to helping our
> children learn outside of the classroom," said Sheppard.  "I encourage
> library and museum staff to tap into the federal assistance the IMLS can
> provide as they seek to create and expand wonderful after-school
> programs."
>
> Museums and libraries can apply for funds to support after-school programs
> through IMLS' National Leadership Grants.  Libraries can also apply for
> funds through their State Library Agency.
>
> For more information on IMLS grants to museums and libraries in your state
> contact Eileen Maxwell at (202) 606-8339.
>
> About the Institute of Museum and Library Service (IMLS) - IMLS is an
> independent Federal agency that fosters leadership, innovation, and a
> lifetime of learning by supporting the nation's museums and libraries.
> Created by the Museum and Library Services Act of 1996, P.L. 104-208, IMLS
> has an annual budget of $190 million.  The Institute receives policy
> advice from two Presidentially appointed, Senate confirmed entities:  the
> National Commission for Libraries and Information Science and the National
> Museum Services Board.  For more information, including grant
> applications, contact IMLS at 1100 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Washington, D.C.
> 202-606-8536, www.imls.gov.
>
> 1 - Institute of Museum and Library Services, True Needs, True Partners:
> Museums and Schools Transforming Education (Washington, DC: Institute of
> Museum and Library Services, 1996)
>
> 2 - Statistics from The David and Lucile Packard Foundation, The Future of
> Children (Los Altos, CA: The David and Lucile Packard Foundation, Fall
> 1999)
>
> 3 - Ibid.
>
> 4 - Robert L. Russell, Fundamentals in Designing Youth Programs
> (Washington, DC: The Informal Learning Review, May/June 2000)
>
> 5 - Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, After School Alert: Poll Report
> (Flint, MI: Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, Afterschool Alliance, January
> 2000.
>
> ###

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