Albany Herald

Albany Ward I City Commissioner Jon Howard reads a proclamation from Mayor Willie Adams at the Boys and Girls Clubs of Albany celebrating Lights On After School and the after school programs.

ALBANY, Ga. — The Boys and Girls Clubs of Albany joined the nationwide celebration of after school programs for youth Thursday with a Lights On After School Celebration which included a proclamation from Albany Mayor Willie Adams.

“This celebration is all about raising the awareness of the importance of after school programs all over the country,” The Boys and Girls Clubs Michael Nelson said. “More than 1 million Americans in more than 7,500 communities are celebrating this day.”

Albany City Commissioner Jon Howard read Adams’ proclamation lauding the group’s after school programs.

A new Afterschool Alliance assessment of states’ progress toward offering after school programs to all children who need them finds that Georgia is making some progress, but has a great deal of work ahead to meet the need for after school programs.

Georgia earned a 3 on a scale of 1 to 5 in the new report, and is one of 20 states to receive that score. No state received a 5; only nine states received a 4; 19 states received a 2; and Delaware and Idaho received the lowest rating, a 1, in the 2011 State-by-State Afterschool Progress Reports and Consumer Guides, which are being released in conjunction with Lights On Afterschool this year by the Afterschool Alliance.

The new progress reports examine how each state is helping keep the lights on for kids and families after school by reviewing state policies, funding and other activities that affect after school programs, assessing the need in each state, offering tips to parents seekingafter school programs for their children, and suggesting ways state residents can support after school.