After-school hangout — Program empowers kids and fosters unity

KEARNS — Breakdancing, snowboarding, "Guitar Hero" — who would have thought staying after school could be so much fun?

About 115 Kearns Junior High students have been having a blast in the after-school program there, taking dance and computer classes, playing air hockey, video games, dodgeball and going on field trips to a radio station, a local recreation center — even bowling.

"I love it. It's like a second family to me, because I am always here," eighth-grader Daesha Roberts said while taking a break from a recent dodgeball match. "You leave your drama at the door; you leave your problems at the door when you come here."

And now, to crown what grown-ups want to duplicate as a model program, the students are hitting the state's premiere stage to share their story.

The teens will perform their original work, "Switch," at the Capitol Theatre Saturday night. Their dancing, art and poetry will tell the story of the after-school program on the same stage where "The Nutcracker" and "The Phantom of the Opera" have unfolded.

Not bad for a crowd blamed for chasing people away from the public library just one year ago.

Back then, students were gathering after school by the dozens at the Kearns Branch of the Salt Lake County Library System. Most weren't there to read.

"They were very loud; there was intimidation of the staff and intimidation of the patrons, because of their presence sometimes, but also because of the bad language they were using, and frequent fights," said Kent Johnson, manager of the Kearns library. The cops often came.

Rambunctious teens have been clashing with public libraries across the country, according to a New York Times report. A New Jersey library in January decided to close its buildings between 2:45 and 5 p.m. on weekdays to curb teen problems, including fights, vandalism and ignoring direction from librarians, who sometimes called police twice a day to break things up.

A Wickliffe, Ohio, library won't let kids under 14 inside during after-school hours unless they have a grown-up with them, the Times reported. An Illinois library has a "three strikes, you're out" rule for disruptive kids. Others staff security guards to keep the peace.

But the Kearns community took a different tactic.

"They just don't have a place to hang out is the problem," Kearns Junior High principal Kandace Barber said.

Leaders from the school, Salt Lake County Mayor's Office, Parks and Recreation, Youth Services and the Kearns Community Council put their heads together last summer to try and give students someplace else to go.