Schools, Youth, and Parks Department Must Collaborate

by Peter Lauterborn, 2007-02-15

How would you spend your spare time if you were a youth in San Francisco today?

The San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department suffers greatly from a misunderstanding of what young people desire for recreational services. No matter how tight their budget, the Department can claim no shortage of property and facilities to accommodate its users. At the same time, the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) is not able to keep pace with demand for athletic and after school programs. What to do?

The challenges posed are neither overbearing nor mysterious, and could be easily dealt with given the proper dedication and focus. What is needed is a task force—perhaps comprised of Parks & Recreation personnel, Youth Commissioners, members of the Student Advisory Council members, and SFUSD staff—to be formed with the goal of synchronizing their efforts to provide meaningful programs to its young people.

The problems faced are numerous. Overall, however, most problems are due to poor use of existing resources, rather than a lack of funds for such programs. Many recreation centers, for example, are notorious for being open during hours parallel to normal business days. The obvious problem is that students—and anyone else, for that matter—is occupied during those hours. Well over half of the recreation centers and clubhouses are operating roughly along these line, often closing around 6pm. This included McCoppin Square Clubhouse, which is next door to the large Lincoln High School, as well as two facilities in the troubled Visitation Valley.

Yet keeping such centers open longer is only half of the problem; the other side of the job is offering programs that youth will willingly participate in.

One area which needs attention from the School District’s side is athletics. Through middle school, youth have many options for participating in athletics. Anyone is invited to participate in team sports through the Park and Recreation Department, in addition to whatever is offered at their school sites. However, upon entering high school, these outside opportunities are cut off, and for the majority of youth not coached enough to make their school’s official teams it is the end of their participation in sports. Parks and Rec could greatly satisfy this need, and in doing so could provide hundreds of high school students with the benefits of being a member of a team and an alternative to uninspiring P.E.

Trying to reserve a site for a sporting activity is equally confusing. To make a reservation over the phone, one must call only on Tuesdays, then come in person to the not-so-accessible headquarters on the eastern end of Golden Gate Park. You cannot even be able to find out if a field is available: the “weekly” log on the Department’s website has not been updated since December 2004.

Yet even more drastic is the lack of programs offered which directly stem from the expressed desires of young people. In a larger urban environment, social events are drastically needed to provide youth with safe environments to simply have fun. One such program—the greatly successful “Park Sessions” at Glen Park—was cut following the budget crisis earlier in the decade. The space offered a venue not only for youth to socialize, but often were the entrainment for the events as DJs or other performance acts.

The San Francisco Youth Commission is also looking at building a “Youth Center,” which would serve as a hub for youth programming in the City, according to Commissioner Anthony Albert.

The final piece of the puzzle is the marketing of their offerings. The City does a woeful job of advertising and recruiting young people to partake in their programs. This is yet another area where collaboration with the SFUSD could prove valuable, as schools could refer students to programs which would be beneficial to each individual.

These goals are not unfathomable; rather, they could be obtained with ease if the Recreation and Parks Department was listening to the right people. This is why a task force with youth and educational leaders is necessary.

This is the type on innovative programs we need. Facing an ongoing violence crisis, we must look for ways to keep our children engaged, safe, and teach them how to relate to others. The fact of the matter is that youth—like adults—seek friendship, community, and fun. For as long as we don’t help support these needs, youth will continue to satisfy these desires in ways that are neither supportive of society nor beneficial to themselves.

Let’s get to work.