After-School Programs Teach Life Lessons

By Kathryn Bolesta

Even on a dreary weekday afternoon, the Fishtown Recreation Center is bustling with after-school activity. A group of teens take advantage of a rain-free hour to play basketball on the outdoor court. Young children race to the front door, laden with backpacks and schoolbooks.

Greeting them at the doorway, program director Betty Adams, 50, presides over the playground painted with neon fish. Much like “The Rec,” as residents call it, Adams has been a community institution here for 13 years.

Phyllis Plizak has been bringing her kids to the recreation center for 10 of those years. Her daughter Alexis, now 14, went to the after-school program starting at age 6, and Plizak said her youngest Gillian, 5, can’t wait to start visiting the center every day. “Betty has such a great time with the kids,” Plizak said. “She’s been a good friend to me and my husband, and a good friend to my daughters.”

Inside the center, one room has been transformed into a makeshift classroom – old cinder block walls are covered in posters depicting history lessons, student-made crafts and drawings and even a tribute to popular Disney Channel stars. Children, ranging in age from 6 to 12, toss their belongings on a chair and grab a seat at one of the folding tables covered in a map of the United States.

Sisters Olivia and Julie Wnek are usually the first to arrive, as they go to Catholic school in the neighborhood. They’ve been regulars for several years now, and come in each day to finish their homework and play soccer in the playground when the weather is warm.

Julie, 8, runs to the cart of snacks Adams is loading into the refrigerator and her face lights up at the sight of chocolate chip cookies and orange juice. “They’re my favorite,” she says with a shy smile. “I like to eat while I work on my homework.”

“Ms. Bet,” as the students call her, helps with homework and supervises the children during the three-hour sessions, five days a week. She became involved with the program because she says working with kids is always fun.

“The kids – they keep you young. They’re funny,” Adams said. “You’re there for their homework help, and they’re there if you need electronics help, like iPods or computers – they know everything.”

The after-school programs at the center run from 2:30 to 6 p.m. and include crafts, games, sports, visual and performing arts and a daily selection of healthy snacks. The activities are part of a city-wide initiative by the Philadelphia Department of Recreation aiming to “provide safe places and structured activity during non-school hours for children to learn and grow,” according to the department’s Web site. Similar programs run at 129 different sites.

But for the children of Fishtown, “Ms. Bet” is a trusted friend and their favorite teacher. Jade Adams, 8, visits the recreation center daily for reading lessons.

“I like Ms. Bet,” she said. “We read two books together. Today I got a ‘G’ for ‘good job.’”

In January, volunteers joined forces with Art Sphere Inc., a local non-profit dedicated to bringing artistic expression to underserved youth, to paint the center’s previously graffiti-covered walls with colorful murals. It was one important step in a series of beautification programs throughout Fishtown.

“Our goal is just to help out the community in any way we can,” Adams said. “It’s all about the kids.”