National Lights On After School
updated: Oct 11, 2012, 11:42 AM

Source: City of Santa Barbara

National Lights On Afterschool Celebrated Locally on Thursday, October 18

After School Programs are more important than you may ever know. In America today, 1 in 4 youth - 15 million children - are left alone and unsupervised after school.

Each October, 1 million Americans and thousands of communities nationwide celebrate Lights On Afterschool to shine a light on afterschool programs like RAP (Recreation Afterschool Program) that: · keep kids safe,

· inspire them to learn

· help working families.

The RAP program at Adams, Monroe, Roosevelt and Washington elementary schools invite the community to celebrate the annual Lights On Afterschool event on Thursday, October 18, 2012 at Adams School, 2701 Las Positas Road in Santa Barbara, from 4:30-6pm. The Lights On Afterschool celebration is simple: parents, students and community members are invited to an open house at Adams where RAP program staff and students are extending RAP to 6pm (normal sign out time is 5:30) to recognize the important, positive benefits of afterschool programs and to share that with the local school community.

RAP students and staff along with A-OK (After School Opportunities for Kids) program at Adams School will: · Host a large field activity on the lower field (Birdie and the Perch)

· Display coloring contest art work

· Display art club decorations

· Provide a Lights On head band making station and Face Painting

· Perform

· Provide information on other Parks and Recreation Department afterschool and community programs

Listed below are events taking place at the other RAP sites (Monroe, Roosevelt and Washington elementary schools) from 4:30- 5:30 pm: · Light Bulb Art · Performances · Face painting · Parks and Recreation Program and community information

Press is invited to attend. For more information, please call Youth Activities at 560-7552 or 560-7555

Comments in order of when they were received | (reverse order)

COMMENT 330389	2012-10-11 12:48 PM
At first I thought it was a campaign to get kids to stop smoking weed after school. "Keep the lights on", it you will.
COMMENT 330417	2012-10-11 01:55 PM
It makes me sad that at least one parent isn't at home with their kids after school. I know the parents must need to work, but still, it's just sad. The kids need better than that.
COMMENT 330426	2012-10-11 02:17 PM
417: I'm sure many parents would love to be home with their kids after school rather than at work. I can't think of too many jobs that let out at 3 pm, though.
COMMENT 330435P	2012-10-11 02:30 PM
Yeah it would be great to be home when the kids get off school but we live in an area where both parents have to work just to live paycheck to paycheck. These programs are great because they provide homework help and recreation for our kids for free or low cost so that parents CAN work to support their kids and the kids have a fun and supervised environment after school. Also, getting homework done there means that parents can have quality time with their kids in the evenings. Without Rap, A-ok and now the Jr. High after school program I don't know what my husband and I would have done for childcare for our kids!
COMMENT 330438	2012-10-11 02:32 PM
Right on 435P!
COMMENT 330441	2012-10-11 02:39 PM
granted, my brothers and sisters and I didn't grow up in this high cost town, but my Mom was always at home for us after school. I guess my parents just had different priorities and didn't choose to live in an area where at least one couldn't be at home for us. And my Dad was a teacher, so we weren't wealthy. I rarely got new clothes and I remember my Dad carpeting our house with used carpet...
COMMENT 330457	2012-10-11 03:43 PM
@435 - Couldn't have said it better myself!
COMMENT 330462P	2012-10-11 03:54 PM
441, you don't have kids, do you? Life is not that simple for everyone. My kids may not have your idyllic childhood but they are pretty happy and well rounded. They are busy having a social life and getting better help with their homework than they could get at home, also, they play sports and are healthy. It is so much better for them to go to the after school programs than to come home and sit in front of the tv. When I was a kid only one of my parents worked and we were very poor. My mom didn't work because her generation was raised that the woman shouldn't work and that it is all on the man to pay for everything. It was also all up to the mom to raise the kids. I choose to live and raise my kids here because I was raised here and our large family all lives here. I believe that working full time provides them a better quality of life than it would for them if I were a stay at home mom. Also, so does the option for them to go to these amazing after school programs! It enables my kids to learn at a more accelerated pace and they are both honor role. They get homework help from people who know how to do the crazy math that is way beyond my skill level! To each his own. I hope that you have the option to be a stay at home mom though, make sure and marry someone that can support you and your kids :)
COMMENT 330466	2012-10-11 04:01 PM
Wow 462P, what a response! 441 clearly wasn't trying to offend anyone (actually, from their wording, it seems they were actually TRYING to NOT offend anyone!), no need to get crazy..."Life is not that simple for everyone" seems to be the theme of both comments, but 462P decided to tack on some Grade A Snark to that theme. To each his own, but seriously cool it when others' "own" is different than yours!!!!
COMMENT 330468	2012-10-11 04:06 PM
462, I do have kids and my wife stays home since they are very young. My childhood was far from idyllic. I'm glad it's all working out well for you though, truly. You make good points. BTW, I tried marrying rich, but after we got married I knocked her up and that job went out the window... :-)
COMMENT 330472P	2012-10-11 04:13 PM
Hurray for 435P. Well said!. If someone is lucky enough to be able to have one parent home with the kids, they should count their lucky stars and should not pass judgement on those that are not.
COMMENT 330475	2012-10-11 04:16 PM
472P I don't see anyone passing judgement.
COMMENT 330503	2012-10-11 05:20 PM
441's statement about my parents had different priorities I took as passing judgement (essentially saying my parents thought money was less important than staying home with the kids). My mom stayed home with us until we got to middle school, then we had a baby sitter when she started working, then we stayed home alone once she thought we were old enough (well, rarely that was the case - we hung out at friends houses, walked around town with friends or hung out in the woods - being at home alone was boring). My area never had programs like this. I think this is great. (I also grew up on a farm - if something bad happened we knew who to call, and had adults that could help us just across the fields. I adore my childhood & wish I could give my future kids the same.) Also, that study saying 1 of 4 kids is home alone - is that counting "kids" as anyone under 18? 16? I mean, are they are really counting a 17 or 16 y/o home alone as some great tragedy?
COMMENT 330534	2012-10-11 08:01 PM
um, 503, that's not passing judgement, that's stating personal facts.
COMMENT 330690	2012-10-12 11:46 AM
"After school programs or sitting front of a tv?" those are the two choices? I was glad to have my mom home despite wearing hand me down clothes and her cutting our hair, my dad procuring used bikes for us or playing ball in the yard instead of all these play dates, orchestrated friends and recreation. I carried a brown bag to lunch, I wore hand me down clothes, I had a bowl haircut as did many of my friends, my mom was there after school, not in designer clothes or with a salon nail treatment. If you want to have kids, pull your -and your kids-weight. I have two btw.
COMMENT 330693	2012-10-12 12:05 PM
cheers 690!
COMMENT 330739	2012-10-12 02:01 PM
Well, let's see... The announcement posted is about the Afterschool Enrichment Program, inviting people to attend an event and learn more about a program that is very important for many members of the community. Then, a bunch of Edhatters chime in with how "sad" it is that kids even need afterschool programs and how they deserve "better than that" followed by a series of personal anecdotes about how "my Mom was always home for me", "my parents just had different priorities and didn't choose to [get nails done/buy clothes/have carpet installed/live in SB/etc.]" And now we're supposed to believe they shared these personal stories just for some reason that has NOTHING to do with passing judgment on anyone. Yeah, right.
COMMENT 330743	2012-10-12 02:04 PM
690, is having both parents working and putting the children in after school care (where they play, do their homework, learn new skills, etc) not "pulling weight" enough? Would it be better to have one only parent working, living in a small apartment and having hardly the money to get by? Sorry, but having a dual income (and therefore having more financial stability and the ability to save $ for the future) and allowing kids to spend 2 hours after school in a program seems like pulling the weight to me. Although I would sure love to be making enough money to do that on only one income, such is not the case. I have 2 kids as well and they are doing great in their afterschool programs and both reading above their grade levels.

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