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Neighborhood Outreach allows children to “Celebrate Summer”

By Rotarian Kay Augustine Rotary E-Club One

When summer comes, even in a second tier suburb near the Twin Cities in Minnesota, there is a disparity in opportunities available for children.   Numerous programs, camps and field trip opportunities are available for children through partnerships by and between Community Education offices and City Park and Recreation Departments.  However, children that live in neighborhoods where there is a lack of transportation and/or low socio-economic conditions are often prohibited from participating.

This year, with the support of Rotary EClub One, the Schools of Eastern Carver County Community Education along with community-based partners, were able to offer “Celebrate Summer” as an outreach program held within three neighborhoods in communities in the county.

The mission of Community Education in Carver County: “District 112 Community Education is a community catalyst in mobilizing diverse and dynamic resources responding to individual, family, and community needs for a lifetime of learning.”

Within this mission is the dedication of those involved to work to provide access to opportunities to all areas of the county.  Knowing the importance of summer education enhancement and recreation, the staff seeks to provide outreach services to children that otherwise would not be able to participate.

 “Celebrate Summer” is an outreach program developed by the Schools of Eastern Carver County Community Education. In communities across the county, the program was held in three neighborhoods with a strong need.  The program ran one day per week at each location from June 22 – August 14, 2010.  There were a total of 297 participants over the course of this program with ages ranging from 2 – 15 years of age.  The program was free of charge and open to all. 

The focus of the program was to provide a wide variety of enriching and educational activities for the children while providing information for families. Each week had a different theme in relationship to “Celebrating”.  As children came each week, they participated in team building activities and group games, received a healthy snack, and participated in an interactive educational experience provided through partnerships with local organizations. Community Education partnered with local organizations including: Chaska Police Department, Three Rivers Parks, West Suburban Teen Center, Carver County Libraries, University of Minnesota Extension (Simply Good Eating) Program and high school youth.

An example of two of the weekly themes and the activities are noted below:

“ Celebrate Nature” was a week when Three Rivers Park staff brought a toad, salamander, turtle and snake for the children to see and learn about what they eat, where they live and how they help the earth.  Some of the children even got a bit daring and touched these little critters.  Staff from the University of Minnesota Extension program talked with the children about healthy snacks while they learned how to make trail mix.

During “Celebrate Safety” week, staff from the Chaska Library came and read to the group, staff from the University of Minnesota Extension program talked about food safety and everyone had watermelon for a snack.  Members of the local 4-H brought supplies to make a bracelet and talked about how children can stay safe while playing in the sun. The Chaska Police Department brought a police car for the kids to sit in and learn about the importance of wearing a seat belt.

Each week also provided opportunities for team building activities and group games.  The goal was to bring programs to the youth and families in these neighborhoods and to build a stronger community.

Are you familiar with the Community Education concept?  There are Community Education offices all across the United States.  Community Education is an opportunity for local citizens and community schools, agencies and institutions to become active partners in addressing education and community concerns. Community Education brings community members together to identify and link community needs and resources in a manner that helps people to help themselves, and raise the quality of life in their communities.

In Minnesota alone, the statewide Community Education delivery system serves 1.7 million school age youth, nearly 300,000 children age 0 to 4, and over 900,000 adults each year. This efficient system is able to generate US$6.00 for every US$1.00 of aid/levy it receives, extending the impact of programming dollars well beyond their initial potential.

Community Education is a unique education concept that embraces these beliefs:

• Education is a lifelong process;

• Everyone in the community - individuals, businesses, public and private agencies -- shares responsibility for the mission of educating all members of the community;

• and Citizens have a right and a responsibility to be involved in determining community needs, identifying community resources, and linking those needs and resources to improve their community.

Community Education results in:

• A responsive education system and an improved learning climate in the schools;

• Efficient and cost-effective ways of delivering education and community services;

• Broad-based community support for schools and other community agencies;

• An emphasis on special populations, such as at-risk youth and minorities;

• Collective action among all educational and community agencies to address quality of life issues.

Working together, through Community Education, communities can address such concerns as: child care and extended day care programs; substance abuse; senior citizen services; student achievement/school effectiveness; community pride/support for schools; unemployment/underemployment; literacy/diploma and degree completion; community economic development; and many other community ideas.

For more information on Community Education in the United States, please visit the National Community Education Association website at www.ncea.com/