Afterschool Partnership « Afterschool Partnership

Summer Programs Information

shelley — Thu, 20 May 2010 19:15:28 +0000

Afterschool Partnership is proud to announce that information on Summer Programs is now available on the neworleans.ilivehere.info website. To find summer specific details click on the ‘Summer Programs’ tab located above the resource map at neworleans.ilivehere.info. Please share this valuable information with families and other interested community members. This resource will provide children, youth, and families with the most up to date resources available in New Orleans this summer.

If you are running a program that is not listed or know of an addition resource please register on the site or contact Eric Jensen (ejensen@gnoafterschool.org) as soon as possible for inclusion. Summer is a critical time for children and youth and it is vital that families have a clear idea of what activities and resources are available. Please support New Orleans children, youth, and families by sharing this important resource!

City Youth Budget

shelley — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 17:20:40 +0000

Our New Orleans Youth Budget Policy Brief is now available in the Resource section of the website. This brief provides an overview of the current budget allocation for youth programs and services in the city. The brief is an invaluable tool as we seek to improve and expand the opportunities, services, and supports available to the youth and families of New Orleans.

Transition New Orleans

shelley — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 16:55:12 +0000

The Youth and Families Transition Task Force report is now available in the Funding & Advocacy section of our Resources.

On 4/22/2010 Transition New Orleans held, One Voice. One Mission. Presenting a Vision for the Future. Each of the 17 task forces formed to gather information and public input on a variety of issues that affect the quality of life for the residents of New Orleans, including Youth and Families, presented their preliminary recommendations to Mayor Mitch Landrieu.

Task Force Meeting

shelley — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 22:12:52 +0000

Please join us as the Youth & Families Transition Task Force, along with Mayor-Elect Mitch Landrieu, seeks feedback from the afterschool community and the public.

This meeting will be held next Wednesday, 4/7, 6pm at John Mc Donogh High School‎, gym, 2426 Esplanade Avenue. This will be a valuable time for us to share our insights as a strong and committed provider community. In preparation for the meeting please review 10 for 2010 and send in your thoughts, concerns, and questions for our city leaders to info@gnoafterschool.org. We look forward to seeing and hearing from you!

This meeting will replace our Provider Meeting originally scheduled for 4/14/2010.

Proactive Advocacy Toolkit

shelley — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 18:21:56 +0000

We are excited to launch Afterschool Partnership’s Proactive Advocacy Toolkit:

What is Proactive Advocacy? A Manual describing Five Proactive Advocacy Strategies that are cost-effective and with a little preparation, can easily be incorporated into your organization’s strategic plan.
The Five Strategies include:
- Promote Your Afterschool Program;
- Collaborations with Partners,
- Creating Partnerships with Schools, and
- Engaging in Legislative Issues.

The toolkit is available at the link above and in our Resources, Funding & Advocacy section.

Provider Meetings Resume

shelley — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 19:34:41 +0000

Please join us for our upcoming Provider Meeting, scheduled 3/24 and 4/14/2010.

3/24/2010, State Policy Discussion
10:30-Noon
Junior League of New Orleans
4310 Carondelet Street

Meet and hear Representative Jared C. Brossett of New Orleans District 97 speak about the 2010 Louisiana Regular Legislative session. Find out how you can become involved in state policy decisions. We will also launch an advocacy toolkit for Louisiana community-based organizations and non-profits serving children and youth during the out-of-school hours. Plan to stay after the meeting for a Federal Policy Update, details below under ‘Federal Policy Update’ section of this Enewsletter.

4/14/2010, City Planning Discussion
10: 30-Noon
Junior League of New Orleans
4310 Carondelet Street

The Task Force for Youth and Families will present their work and seek feedback from the afterschool community. This will be a valuable time for us to share our insights as a strong and committed provider community. In preparation for the meeting please review 10 for 2010 and send in your thoughts, concerns, and questions for our city leaders to info@gnoafterschool.org.

Transition Task Force

shelley — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 19:31:03 +0000

Please join us as the Youth & Families Transition Task Force, along with Mayor-Elect Mitch Landrieu, seeks feedback from the afterschool community and the public.

This meeting will be held next Wednesday, 4/7, 6pm at John Mc Donogh High School‎, gym, 2426 Esplanade Avenue. In preparation for the meeting please review 10 for 2010 and send in your thoughts, concerns, and questions for our city leaders to info@gnoafterschool.org. We look forward to seeing and hearing from you!

Congratulations to Gina Warner, our Executive Director, who is co-chairing the Mayoral Transition Task Force on Youth and Families. The Task Force will focus on building city and community supports for our young people. Her Co-Chair is Dr. Calvin Mackie who recently led a statewide legislative commission creating the report: The Black Men and Boys of Louisiana. The Task Force on Youth and Families will be calling for community involvement and we hope you will participate.

Congratulations!

shelley — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 20:01:33 +0000

Congratulations to our New Orleans Saints, our Mayor-Elect Mitch Landrieu, and our beloved city! It is a wonderful day to be a New Orleanian and we are energized to continue our work improving the lives of all our children and youth.

Everything is possible, join us!

Housing & Transportation Mayoral Forum

shelley — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 18:03:35 +0000

Last night’s mayoral forum focusing on housing and transportation at Our Lady of Holy Cross College in Algiers, provided a glimmer of the political fireworks that have largely been missing from the forums thus far. With apparent front-runner Mitch Landrieu absent, several of the candidates leveled both subtle and outright attacks at his candidacy and even his desire to be mayor. Republican Rob Couhig, who has been Landrieu’s harshest critic in the debates, continued his jabs, alleging that Landrieu was using the job as a political springboard for a possible run for national office. Couhig also said Landrieu would continue the process of cronyism that continues now at City Hall. Troy Henry claimed Landrieu has not done an adequate job as Lieutenant Governor of getting federal recovery funds released from Baton Rouge. John Georges echoed this argument, but seemed somewhat tone-deaf when he bragged that unlike Landrieu, his personal extensive wealth would prevent him from ever being bought by lobbyists or political donors. While Landrieu’s campaign sent a statement that was read at the beginning of the forum, it didn’t compensate for the fact that he was unable to rebut any of his detractors’ comments.

When he wasn’t lambasting Landrieu, Couhig rightly pointed out that New Orleans has recovered to the extent it has because of the passion and commitment of its citizens — and not from the help of the government. He said the goal of the next mayor should be to support that grass roots effort. It was also encouraging to hear the commitment all the candidates have to enhancing and improving the city’s existing public transit so that there is increased service with greater reliability.

Disappointingly, though, the majority of the candidates missed several opportunities to link housing and transportation issues to the obstacles facing New Orleans’ youth. Because of this, despite the apparent relevance of the forum’s topic to the problems facing the city, the discussion often seemed more esoteric than practical. Only Nadine Ramsey repeatedly addressed the link between the lack of reliability of the city’s public transit system and the difficulty encountered by kids trying to get to afterschool programs. Before leaving early, James Perry discussed his vision for an expanded public transit plan but failed to mention why this is a necessity for one of his key iniatives – the augmentation of NORD. Simply put, regardless of how much money is pumped into NORD, how are kids supposed to access the city’s facilities if they have no means of transportation from school? And until the candidates provide the details on how they’ll fund and implement the bold initiatives they seek, it’s difficult to know what is attainable and what is simply wishful thinking.

WVUE Mayoral Forum

shelley — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 17:47:46 +0000

WVUE Mayoral Forum: 1/28/2010
The most recent mayoral forum, held at Tulane University and broadcast live on Fox, was by far the most intensive and revealing of the many public forums held so far during the campaign. Immense credit is due to the debate moderator, John Snell, who pushed the candidates far more on vital issues concerning New Orleans than moderators in previous forums. Instead of asking a question and then allowing the candidate to respond without any follow-up, Snell often interrupted and constantly demanded that the candidates not skirt the point of his questions. We only wish more time had been spent on youth related concerns during the debate, as Snell’s hard-edged approach could have yielded some fascinating insights into the approaches the candidates are taking on education reform and youth activities in the city.

The candidates gave almost unanimous approval for extending the current Recovery School District set-up for at least the next 3-5 years and for the burgeoning charter school movement here in New Orleans. Aside from that, discussion of youth concerns were limited to Mitch Landrieu voicing his support for NORD in his closing statement and John Georges saying that rebuilding the city’s playgrounds will be a key imperative of his administration. Too much attention was paid to whether the candidates would be open to hiring a police chief from New Orleans or a local parish instead of the qualifications each candidate is looking for in a new police chief — including how the new chief will help to address and reform the juvenile justice system and reduce arrests for minor offenses. But we do hope that future forums are as substantive as last night’s — with the primary just a little over a week away, voters deserve to be as informed as possible.