Mayor's Welcome
Welcome to the After3 website. This useful tool is designed to help you find after-school activities for your children.
We’ve been busy working on new initiatives to better serve families in our community. In August 2008, two community centers opened at the new Grace Jordan and Morley Nelson elementary schools. The 4,000-square-foot community centers are connected to the new elementary schools and are operated and staffed by Boise Parks & Recreation.
These centers provide a positive learning environment for kids who would otherwise have no adult supervision after school. Kids in 4th through 6th grades are invited to join in the free after-school drop-in program, which features supervised, structured activities such as art projects, games and quiet time for reading and homework assistance. Hours are 3 to 7 p.m. weekdays during the school year and 1 to 5 p.m. weekdays in the summer.
The centers also are available as an informal gathering space for teens, providing computers, a big-screen television, lounge chairs and interactive video games. Staff members also provide mentoring and life skills development for teens.
If you can’t make it to a community center, I strongly recommend dropping by one of the two new branch libraries at Collister and Hillcrest shopping centers. These new branches have proved incredibly popular since opening earlier this year. With more than 15,000 books, movies, music and other materials, as well as more than 30 public computers with Internet access, these branch libraries have become community centers in their own right.
The hours after school are vital because those are the hours that our children are most vulnerable. We believe that programs such as these help kids make the best use of their after-school time by offering a positive learning environment with fun, structured activities within walking distance of home and school.
I hope that you’ll find plenty of useful information on this website – from recreational leagues to art classes, nature experiences and much more. The database will continue to grow as word spreads about this incredible resource.
Sincerely,
David H. Bieter
Mayor