Summer Solutions
Intergovernmental cooperation that's making a difference for kids and parents now that school's out
Q: School's out for the summer, what's a working parent to do?
BY KAREN WEIS
Answer: Sign the kids up for Rockford Park District Kid Zones!
For the past 45 years, a cornerstone and basic service provided by the Rockford Park District was supervised summer playgrounds at a multitude of neighborhood park sites throughout the community. They were drop-in programs for neighborhood children to come and go as they please, with field trips and on-site activities. It's easy to picture moms in the '50s, '60s and early '70s shooing the brood off to play for a few hours at the local park so she could have some well-deserved time to herself or quiet time for the baby's nap.
As families needs change, so must our programs.
With 77.8 percent of women with school-age children working at least part-time outside the home, the Rockford Park District decided to address the need for affordable, dependable childcare during the summer months when school is not in session. Through an expanded version of the traditional playground program, the district created "Kid Zones."
Kid Zones debuted just two summer seasons ago as a pilot program, and this year it is already filled to capacity with waiting lists at several locations. The fun and adventurous activities featured in Kid Zones hold strong appeal for the "hard to please" children who, at around ages 10 to 12, seem to feel they can stay home alone just fine, thank you very much. Or they might be dispatched to spend the lazy days of summer with the grandparents.
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"Good summer care is hard to find because of the cost factor and finding something that will occupy the time of a child who needs to have fun activities....Again, many thanks for a wonderful summer Program." |
But it is particularly critical for this age group to have safe, structured, healthy and wholesome recreation and leisure activities. It's important for adolescents to learn how to make positive and constructive use of their free time. The youth who attend Kid Zones don't necessarily need to know that, All they know is that they have a very enjoyable summer vacation experience in this program. Basically, they have fun!
To offer these all-day programs at seven locations, the park district partnered with three public schools, one community center, a Boys and Girls Club, and the district's own community center. All of the buildings are air-conditioned and offer shelter in the case of in- dement weather, and the seven locations are geographically balanced.
Fees for the two-week session are an incredibly affordable $30 a week for residents for care from 7:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. The district offers partial days (noon- 6:00 p.m.) as an option for just $15 a week, which is perfect for students attending morning summer school or other programs. The park district offers families who
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FEATURE ARTICLE
Rockford Park District Kid Zones
continued from page 15
meet income guidelines a fee assistance program, which can reduce the
cost even further (up to a 90 percent subsidy). This year, Rockford instituted a customer-friendly $20 deposit to hold a place for the child for the weeks desired, with full payment due a week before the session begins.
As an added benefit this season, children will have the opportunity to
develop lifelong leisure skills via introductory lessons in golf, tennis,
swimming, ice skating and more. Art projects are brought to the Kid
Zone sites from other arts organizations as well as a summer reading
program offered through the public library. The purpose is to help youth
identify and develop their own interests while having fun!
Kid Zones are for children entering first through sixth grades during
the 1999-2000 school year, including 12-year-olds entering 7th grade.
There are no tests, no homework: just a wide variety of children's programs filled with individual attention and group interaction, all led by qualified staff leaders. The daily schedule includes field trips, swimming
and tennis clinics, theme days, arts and crafts, along with games and
activities.
Perhaps the most significant success of the Kid Zones program is the
unprecedented growth in three short years. The debut in 1997 had 200
children at four locations, growing to 1,035 registrants at seven locations
in 1999.
The Rockford Park District has never had a parent ask for a refund or
express disappointment in the program, and the high level of satisfaction
with this service is evident in the retention of participants. The kids
come back year after year, and both parents and children absolutely love
the Kid Zones program!
For more information, contact Gayle Dixon, recreation supervisor,
815.987.8845.
KAREN WEIS
BY WILLIAM CLEVENGER, CLP
Answer: Jump on the bandwagon at the Decatur Park District!
The flutes, trombones and trumpets could have been
silent this summer. Instead, they are marching strong in
the Decatur Celebration parade.
The drums might not have been beating this summer. Instead, they are pounding out rhythms at ice cream
socials and at pop concerts in the local parks. And those
young people who might have let their musical skills
wilt during summer vacation will instead line up to belt
out the tunes in front of a crowd of 10,000 at Decatur's
annual lakefront Fourth of July celebration.
The wildly successful Greater Decatur Youth Band is
the result of a thriving partnership between the Decatur
Park District and Millikin University. Now in its fifth
year, the summer band program has encountered just
one, rather flattering problem: Because of the fast-growing popularity of the project, the partnership has a waiting list for band members.
The Decatur Park District is committed to providing
program variety and depth in recreation and cultural activities. Park district music director Dave Alderman
has run the successful Decatur Park Singers and Young
Park Singers programs for many years. So, when the park
district discovered that grade school children had no
opportunity to play in an organized band over the summer months, the talks began. (The Decatur School District disbanded its summer music program more than
10 years ago when it became too costly to continue.)
Because of Millikin University's nationally renowned
school of music, Director of Bands, Gary Shaw was the
first to step up.
"Creating the Greater Decatur Youth Band was a logical way for kids to have a tremendous amount of fun
while getting a great learning experience at the same
time," says Shaw.
Since its inception, Shaw has conducted the band with
the help of two Millikin music students. The Decatur
Park District provides staff support on concert dates to
set up professional sound systems. Even the public school
band instructors have been known to pick up an instrument and join in the fun.
Roosevelt Middle School band director Steve Schepper
will send 30 or 40 of his kids to take part in the Greater
Decatur Youth Band this summer.
"When the Decatur Park District and Millikin entered into this partnership, all of us band directors stood
16 / Illinois Parks and Recreation
SUMMER SOLUTIONS
up and cheered," said Schepper. "It is a real shot in the
arm for us. This is the only reason most kids would play
all summer."
Applications for the Greater Decatur Youth Band are
circulated through city and area elementary and middle
schools in the spring. Young musicians from 5th grade
through 9th are invited to apply to the summer program.
In 1995, the first year of operation for the band, there
were 80 student members. In year two, the band doubled
in size to 160. And by the third year, participation had
jumped to 250. The number of band members was cut
back and capped at 200 for the 1998 season with a "first-come, first-served" policy.
Once in the Greater Decatur Youth Band, each child
goes through an informal audition process. The instructors then place musicians by skill level into two different
bands, differentiated by blue and green T-shirts provided
through a grant from the Decatur Junior Welfare Association. Additional financial support for teaching materials comes from Thompson-Kramer Music and Soy Capital Bank.
The bands meet twice a week at Millikin University's
arts facilities. The park district provides venues for the
concerts in the local parks. The band performs at other
locations such as the Millikin Homestead Mansion near
the university with musical fare consisting of traditional
concert band music and other pop selections.
Like all successful partnerships, the Greater Decatur
Youth Band is soaring because of a mutual commitment
that believes recreation and education can go hand in
hand.
"The Greater Decatur Youth Band allows young people
the opportunity to develop their skills from the introductory level through more advanced levels," says Shaw.
"It is a very relaxed environment, but it keeps the instruments in their hands."
There are mutual benefits for both the Decatur Park
District, which enjoys having the bands to help attract
people to its parks, and Millikin University, which satisfies its desire to help develop future music students. Plus
the park district strongly believes that part of its mission
is to have an active hand in cultivating enjoyable cultural activities that benefit the community.
Parents are enjoying the benefits of a summer activity
that allows their children continuing music education.
And the young musicians have an opportunity to show
off their skills.
For more information on how to start a summer music program like the one formed by this partnership between the Decatur Park District and Millikin University, contact Bill Clevenger at 217.422.5911 or
bill@decparks.org.
WILLIAM CLEVENGER, CLP
BY STANLEY BUDZINSKI
Answer: Get on board, with Peoria's
Sun & Fun Bus Pass!
I was on the Peoria Park District's
board of trustees for a year and a half,
and at board meetings people would attend and praise the programs and facilities provided by the district, then add
"but I just can't get my kid there."
So, in the winter of 1997 and with the help of advisors, I began to
develop a solution to this problem identified by so many citizens at our
board meetings. The Peoria Park District has a wide range of programs
designed for young people, but how do these youngsters get to them? With
so many families in which both parents work and with so many single-parent homes, young people found it extremely difficult to find transportation to and from district programs.
The solution is called the "Sun & Fun Buss Pass." The pass is administered through three groups: the Peoria Park District, the Peoria School
District 150 and the Greater Peoria Mass Transit District. Each partner
contributes $2,000 and the total fund pays for the basic operating costs of
the program.
The plan is simple in configuration. Students from 3rd through 12th
grades receive a Sun & Fun Buss Pass, distributed by District 150 at the
end of the school year. The pass, about the size of a credit card, can be
shown to any Peoria Mass Transit District bus driver, and the student rides
for free to any destination along the mass transit routes they choose. The
passes are valid from Memorial Day through Labor Day.
The Sun & Fun Buss Pass debuted in the summer of 1997 and the
results were beyond expectation. Ridership on Peoria Mass Transit District
increased 62 percent in the first month of the program alone. Of that
increase, 32,200 rides were credited to young people using the pass. Overall that first summer, ridership showed strong increases from previous years.
The program continued with similar success in 1998.
As the 1999 summer season begins, the Sun & Fun Bus Pass program
has established itself in the public eye. Phone calls from parents asking
whether the pass would be back again were received by the transit district,
the park board office and the school district.
The Peoria Journal Star reported in an article published on March 24
that the program would again be underway. The article cited transit district figures of 100,000 young riders from the 1998 season. More importantly, the transit district reported that there had been no loss of revenue
during the months in which the pass was available.
First figures on ridership for the 1999 season suggest that once again,
the Sun & Fun program is meeting the needs of the citizens of the greater
Peoria community with a program that is economical and practical. The
costs of the programs for all three partners have remained constant at a
budgeted line item of $2,000. The problems posed by youthful riders have
been minimal. And, best of all, kids can get to and from their favorite
recreational pastimes at the Peoria Park District this summer!
STANLEY BUDZINSKI
July/August 1999 / 17
is the manager of marketing services for the Rockford Park District.
Q: Music lessons end when school
lets out, so how do kids keep their
skills in tune?
is the executive director of the Decatur Park District.
Q: Wanna play in the park, but got no wheels?
is a commissioner for the Peoria Park District and a board member of the Illinois Association of Park Districts.