SALISBURY — Former Mayor Susan Kluttz will be named “Champion of Afterschool” at the upcoming Statewide Mayoral Summit on Afterschool/Expanded Learning, held April 16-17 by the North Carolina Center for Afterschool Programs and National League of Cities.
The award will recognize the former mayor’s support of area afterschool and summer programs as a community, public safety and workforce development resource; service on Project SAFE Neighborhoods and the Governor’s Gang Task Force; and for connecting afterschool to a broader audience of mayors through the N.C. Metropolitan Mayors Coalition.
On April 16-17 at the Charlotte Hilton University Place, the North Carolina Center for Afterschool Programs (NC CAP) and Public School Forum of North Carolina will convene 50 state and local elected officials, alongside 500 educators, afterschool providers and philanthropic leaders, to discuss how communities can work together to build and sustain high quality, accessible afterschool and summer programs to address a broad range of community priorities, including academic success, economic development, workforce preparedness, public safety and children’s health.
“Local officials understand the benefits afterschool programming can bring to their communities and the important role city leaders play in ensuring children and youth have access to quality, accessible expanded learning opportunities,” said Clifford M. Johnson, executive director of NLC’s YEF Institute. “We are excited to work with statewide afterschool networks to share emerging research into what works so that city officials can play a pivotal leadership role in improving afterschool opportunities.”
NC CAP will present the “Champion of Afterschool” awards at an April 17 breakfast featuring Speaker of the House Thom Tillis and Charlotte Councilman James E. Mitchell Jr. Along with Susan Kluttz, awards will be given to Mayor Bill Saffo, Wilmington; Mayor Al King, Goldsboro; Mayor Terri Bellamy, Asheville; and Mayor Bill Bell, Durham.
North Carolina was chosen as one of nine states to host a Statewide Mayoral Summit on Afterschool/Expanded Learning from the National League of Cities’ (NLC) Institute for Youth, Education, and Families (YEF Institute), with support from the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, The Wallace Foundation, A.J. Fletcher Foundation, Burroughs Wellcome Fund, First in America Foundation, N.C. League of Municipalities and city of Charlotte.