After School Coalition elects board

NEWS SUN STAFF REPORT – September 27, 2005

MUNDELEIN — At the conclusion of its first annual meeting, the Lake County After School Coalition elected its first board of directors.

Elected were state Rep. Kathy Ryg, D-Vernon Hills, and Mundelein Police Chief Raymond Rose, co-presidents; co-vice presidents, Connie Willegal, Mary Penich and JoAnn Carpenter; treasurer, Lisa Shepard; and secretaries Liz Nelson and Theresa Loerch.

More than 150 educators and representatives from social service, school and faith-based organizations, and 20 Lake County students who participate in after-school programs, attended the session last week at Crowne Plaza Hotel.

Rose noted gang activity is now multigenerational, noting, "These students involved in positive after-school activities are the real leaders of our communities and the hope of our future.

"The Lake County After School Coalition is about keeping kids out of gang and criminal activity and it is about keeping victims free from the fear that gangs and crime create," Rose added. "We can't use funding as an excuse anymore, we have to stay the course."

Lake County Regional Superintendent of Schools Roycealee Wood updated the group on the state of youth and education in Lake County, acknowledging the benefits and need for after-school programming and praising the coalition for taking action to improve such services.

"We can't run schools in 2005 on the same budget you could in 1965," she said.

With 140,000 students in Lake County, the third largest county in Illinois, the partnerships created by the Lake County After School Coalition have presented strong cost-effective ways to increase after-school programming throughout Lake County, she said.

"We want to partner with the Lake County After School Coalition for an event to show teens throughout Lake County what alternatives exist," said Mundelein High senior Denisse Fuentes, a youth presenter at the session.

Organizations involved with after-school and out-of-school activities had the opportunity to display literature, artwork and photographs highlighting youth success in their programs. The groups include:

Southlake Educational Center's Treasure Chest of Stories, Gurnee Park District, YWCA of Lake County, Girl Scouts — Illinois Crossroads Council, Warren Township Teen Centers, Bullysafe, Uhlich Children's Advantage Network, the Lake County Local Area Network.

Also, Lake County Juvenile Officer's Association, Lake County superintendents, Lake County state's attorney's office, Illinois Afterschool Alliance, Boys and Girls Club of Lake County, Metro Achievement Center North, Midtown Educational Foundation and Say YES! to Youth Success.

For more information about the Lake County After School Coalition, contact Ryg at (847) 680-5909.