| New funding builds on U of M-West Side partnership to create new after-school programs in Saint Paul New funding from the Minnesota Department of Education will allow the Center for Democracy and Citizenship (CDC) to coordinate an expansion of community-based learning opportunities for Saint Paul children.
The Minnesota After-School Community Learning Programs grant, totaling $299,008 over two years, will support collaboration among six organizations offering after-school and summer programs that engage students in kindergarten to grade 12 who live and/or attend school on Saint Paul’s West Side. The West Side was chosen specifically due to a long-term effort initiated by local residents to collectively invest in their children’s education.
Funded activities will include a Youth Guide leadership and mentorship program for middle school youth; All Around the Neighborhood summer camps and enrichment programs on school release days; creation of two teen-friendly meeting spaces for doing community work; critical thinking workshops on gender, health and fitness, and cultural identity; and continuation of “the Circulator,” free bus transportation to learning sites around the neighborhood.
The grant and its activities will build on programs funded earlier this year by a 21st Century grant, also from the Minnesota Department of Education. While the 21st Century grant’s primary goal is to improve academic achievement, both grants are community-based and seek to connect learning opportunities and encourage young people to learn about and build connections with people and places in their neighborhood, as they preparae for the transition to productive adulthood.
Previous success on the West Side is leading to the establishment of similar programs on Saint Paul’s East Side, thanks to new funding from an After-School Community Learning Programs grant awarded to the City of Saint Paul.
“With this grant we have a real opportunity to expand learning beyond the school walls in creative ways that draw on the rich resources in the West Side community,” said CDC co-director Nan Skelton. “And with the city of Saint Paul’s new grant for similar work on the East Side, we are one step closer to each of the city’s neighborhoods taking part in a collaborative, place-based approach to learning. Our work is based on a shared vision of improving educational outcomes for all Saint Paul students, and helping our children grow up to be successful, engaged citizens.”
As the grant recipient, CDC will coordinate the activities of the grant partners: the City of Saint Paul, West Side Citizens Organization, Neighborhood House, University of Minnesota Extension, and the University of Minnesota’s College of Education and Human Development.
The Center for Democracy and Citizenship collaborates with a variety of partners to encourage active citizenship by people of all ages. Efforts to develop skills and interest in active citizenship in young people in Saint Paul are part of the center’s initiative to strengthen the civic life movement in Minnesota. For more information, contact Nan Skelton at (612) 625-3003.
November 20, 2007
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