YALA Keeps the Lights On Afterschool: Delivering Afterschool Joy
Since its inception in 2000, Lights On Afterschool has served as a national rallying cry, celebrating the invaluable role of afterschool programs in shaping the lives of children, families, and communities. Each year, thousands of programs across the country come together to showcase the profound impact they have on our youth.
Elementary school dancers show their lightbulb shaped love for their afterschool ballet program at Young Audiences Charter School at Kate Middleton in Gretna, LA.
Lights On Afterschool underscores the critical importance of quality afterschool programs in preparing our children for success and fostering thriving communities. These programs offer expanded learning opportunities that help children learn, grow, and develop the essential skills needed to thrive in life and work.
According to the Afterschool Alliance, a staggering 25 million children in the United States lack access to afterschool programs. Nationally, despite the increasing demand for afterschool programs, many children remain on waiting lists. The challenges faced by these programs, including financial constraints and operational difficulties, threaten their continued existence. In YALA’s sphere of learning, afterschool programs serve as safe havens, inspiring learning and supporting working families.
At last year's Lights on Afterschool, Morris Jeff students received STEM Toolkits and created model nebulas. with their caregivers.
Why Afterschool Programs Matter:
Safe and Engaging Learning Experiences: Afterschool programs provide a nurturing environment where children can explore their passions, develop critical thinking skills, and build confidence. YALA’s program options include STEM classes such as Robotics and Coding, and of course the arts such as visual arts, theater, recreation, music and dance, as well as tutoring and homework help. At last year's Lights on Afterschool, students received STEM Toolkits and created model nebulas.
Support for Working Families: By offering safe and supervised activities, afterschool programs alleviate the burden on working parents, allowing them to focus on their careers. YALA’s programs serve meals or snacks to every child, which also must be helpful to working families.
Addressing Community Challenges: Afterschool programs play a vital role in addressing issues such as school absenteeism, learning loss, and workforce development.
Building Stronger Communities: By involving students, parents, businesses, and volunteers, afterschool programs foster a sense of community and belonging.
Coach Eddy and the YACS Kate Middleton Ballet Ensemble perform at Ogden Museum of Southern Art’s Family Day.
As evidence of the impact of Afterschool programs in our state, according to the Afterschool Alliance, Louisiana scores amongst the highest in the nation in attendance and improved GPA, as well as teacher-reported engagement, growth in state reading and math achievement, and a marked decrease in in-school suspensions. We attribute much of this progress to the availability of afterschool programs like the ones Young Audiences of Louisiana delivers.
The Power of Investment:
Investing in afterschool programs yields significant returns. For every dollar invested, these programs save at least $3 by increasing children's earning potential, improving academic performance, and reducing crime and delinquency.
Afterschool programs provide a lifeline for children and youth, offering them new experiences, opportunities, and hands-on learning that foster growth and development. Youth who participate in afterschool programs are more likely to attend school regularly, achieve academic success, and acquire valuable life and work skills.
No Fears Program Creator Leroy Brown Delivers Afterschool Joy
Coach Leroy Brown builds social skills through physical thinking games with afterschool group at YACS Kate Middleton Elementary School.
YALA hires and trains exemplary teaching artists to deliver high quality arts based instruction as the core of our program, but we also cultivate strong partnerships with other community members doing important work with youth. One of the strongest of these new partnerships is with Coach Leroy Brown
Imagine walking into Young Audiences Charter School's(YACS) gym on a weekday afternoon. You'd find Coach Brown leading his students, their energy buzzing with anticipation for an afternoon of games and exercises. His voice is calm and commanding when he says:
“Focus on yourself then focus on everyone else when you have yourself together.”
Leroy Brown is a Master fitness trainer, USA Army veteran, owner of Team No Fears out of Gretna, and a beloved P.E. coach at Noble Minds. Coach
Brown delivers the popular "No Fears" afterschool program, a recent addition to YALA's menu of extended learning options.
Yet Coach Brown's program goes beyond traditional afterschool activities. He believes that physical thinking games help children of all ages develop critical thinking skills, group awareness, confidence, and trust. His philosophy emphasizes teamwork and allows students to learn leadership, communication, and valuable life lessons through play.
He believes that often young people find themselves in jobs or life situations where they might be physically ready but not necessarily emotionally ready as he was as a 19 year old joining the army. But he insists this military background is not at the center of what he brings to the program. Brown notes that students all have suffered from the chaotic schooling environment brought on by the pandemic, and this afterschool program seeks to get those years back, at the same time meeting students where they are now.
No Fears is Coach Brown’s own creation born of his belief in how using physical thinking games helps children of all ages. All of his work is, as he says, “participatory,” with the point always of focusing on your task in order to make the team stronger. His philosophy lets the students use these games to understand leadership, chain of command, and develop good listening skills. They vote for the team captains, give each other feedback, and learn from each other.
From this menu of activities, students learn some valuable life lessons and skills that Coach Brown insists they teach themselves and each other:
“Lights On Afterschool underscores the critical importance of quality afterschool programs in preparing our children for success and fostering thriving communities.”
Moving with the times
Basics of relationships and social skills
Discipline and boundaries
Being proactive and advocating for others
Speaking with other people
A Master Fitness Trainer
You might already know Coach Brown from his weekly Workout Wednesday training program on Fox 8. He is also a personal trainer who trains other personal trainers to help him administer the program. These assistants must go through extensive ethics, background checks, and must already have a flawless record of working with children.
From this background of fitness, Coach Brown develops what he calls the “chemistry of fitness” which he transposes into the No Fears program. Coach Brown serves all six of YALA’s 21st Century sites including YACS schools, Lawrence D. Crocker, Kate Middleton, and Burmaster, as well as Morris Jeff Elementary, West Jefferson High School and Lincoln Elementary. To accomplish this, Coach Brown has designed individualized lesson plans serving Pre-K-12th grades and visits each site twice a month as a "push-in" program where even the afterschool teaching artists and teachers participate.
You can check out Coach Brown on Fox 8 on Workout Wednesdays!
YALA is proud to shine a spotlight on the amazing ways afterschool programs have stepped up to support students, families, and communities during these unprecedented times.
This year Young Audiences of Louisiana (YALA) on Thursday, October 24th at Young Audiences Charter Schools at YACs Kate Middleton and Lawrence D. Crocker Elementary Schools for a special Lights On Afterschool Fire Safety event, featuring the Davy Crockett and New Orleans Fire Departments and New Orleans Public Library who will be signing folks up for library cards!
As we celebrate Lights On Afterschool, let us reaffirm our commitment to supporting and expanding these vital programs. Together, we can ensure that every child has access to the opportunities they deserve to reach their full potential.