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PRESS RELEASE

June 2, 2005

Contacts: Ann Lochner, assistant director, Minnesota Commission on Out-of-School Time, (612) 624-8190

Patty Mattern, University News Service, (612) 624-2801

University of Minnesota’s Commission on Out-of-School Time to release report

MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL ( 6/2/2005 ) --Uniting and mobilizing Minnesotans around a common goal of increasing the percentage of youth involved in high-quality non-school-hour activities up to 80 percent by 2010 and to 100 percent by 2020 is the vision of the Minnesota Commission on Out-of-School Time. The commission, created by University of Minnesota President Robert Bruininks to study the important role nonschool hours play in young people’s learning and development, will release its findings during a special event featuring Bruininks at 11 a.m. Thursday, June 2, in the McNamara Alumni Center, 200 Oak St. S.E., Minneapolis.

The commission’s report comes just as Minnesota parents are making decisions with their children about summer activities. The report reveals that options for learning, growth and development during free time -- before and after school or during the summer -- offer young people critical opportunities to develop qualities and competencies they will need as adults. In site visits to randomly selected Minnesota communities, Rebecca Saito, a researcher for the commission, found that about 50 percent of young people were not participating in any structured after-school programs. Commissioners want to see that change.

The report gives new insight into the essential role of these experiences in promoting the positive development of young people. It also offers strategies to reach the 80 and 100 percent participation goals.

“We worked very hard to create a set of recommendations that would provide a roadmap outlining key issues to be addressed to ensure Minnesota communities can provide high-quality, accessible opportunities to advance the development of all Minnesota young people,” said Carol Truesdell, commission co-chair.

Bruininks, who convened the commission in January 2004 as part of his President’s Interdisciplinary Initiative on Children, Youth, and Families, said the commission’s work will lead to improvements in opportunities for young people in Minnesota. High-quality activities during non-school hours are critical to a young person’s development, Bruininks said.

“As a parent, an educational psychologist, and an academic leader, I have seen how young people thrive, and how they grow up to be productive and successful adults, when they have opportunities that focus their attention and engage their imagination,” Bruininks said.

The commission’s recommendations will be available Thursday. In their studies, commissioners found that:

• Young people develop the abilities they need for success through practicing skills they will later use as adults such as working with a team, making decisions, leading others and being involved in the community.
  
  
• The real-life skill building happens in communities where community guides extend the role of parents into the larger world through a variety of out-of-school programs and relationships.
  
  
• As children and youth engage in high quality developmental experiences over time, they perfect skills they will need to become responsible adults and enhance the vitality of their communities in the process -- benefiting themselves and the greater community.

Building on the momentum of the commission report, action is already being taken to support and address the commission’s recommendations. Action steps include:

• The Minnesota Out-of-School Time Partnership (a collaboration of public and private organizations involved in providing out-of-school time programs) has hired an executive director to provide leadership to move this work forward.
  
  
• The university’s Center for 4-H Youth Development has agreed to be the host organization for the Minnesota Out-of-School Time Partnership.
  
  
• The U of M Extension Service has pledged to support the work of the partnership, aligning its overarching goal for enhancing out-of-school time capacity in Minnesota communities with the partnership’s work.
  
  
• The university’s Children, Youth and Family Consortium will explore forming an applied research collaboration to bridge research, practice and policy in this area.

Click here for more information about the full commission report and read more about the commission, go to www.mncost.org.