02/24/1994 - Laserfiche WebLink

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MEMO TO: MAYOR AND COUNCIL MEMBERS FROM: MARY SAARION, DIRECTOR DATE: OCTOBER 13, 1993 SUBJECT: SUMMER PARK PROGRAMS Council Member Trude has indicated concerns regarding the security of children at parks. One concern is the openness of the Summer Playcenter program held for 6-11 year olds during the afternoons at the neighborhood parks. The program offers various activities for youth. The program security concern is that the leaders are busy leading activities and cannot provide a "babysitting" type of accounting of the many children at the park. The problem arises when parents send their children and expect their children to stay the entire time. All children do not obey these wishes all the time and some leave the playground. Because summer playground attendance is not mandated like school attendance, and because summer playgrounds do not have the disciplinary figure of a Principle or the reward or detriment of "grades", there is no real leverage other than the parent's demand for obedience. The only reward that summer playgrounds offers is the simple enticement of fun activities. If some children are not finding the activities fun and wish to leave, they have that right to do so. The majority of children who attend summer playgrounds do so because they like to come and have fun. Those who do not attend usually do not like to participate in the activities. In some occasions parents require the children to attend against the children's wishes - - - and that is when problems may arise. In conclusion, the operation of this program cannot take the responsibility of "babysitting" children, or the responsibility of making sure that the children follow their parent's instructions. This must be the business of the parent and child. The benefit of Summer Playcenters is the unrestricted enrollment and the variety of activities offered. Please review the evaluations received from participants of the 1993 summer playground program. We received 23% or 1/4 return rate which is an excellent follow-through. There is another option for summer programming other than summer playcenters. That option would be to offer classes at the various neighborhood parks. These classes would be in the afternoon for a set time, restricted enrollment, and set price. The instructor would conduct the class for two weeks at one neighborhood park and then move to a next park. Four instructors could be hired for four different classes. Ideas of such classes may be knot tying, holiday crafts, karate, and acting. A limited enrollment would provide a good instructor / participant ratio similar to schoolroom class sizes. The instructor most likely would be a teacher available for summer work. The price of the class would be dependant upon the cost of materials and the cost