Thursday, September 23, 1999 Older Editions

Local youth programs: They're booked solid

By Rebecca Lipchitz

If you're a local teen-ager looking to join one of the activities sponsored by Youth Services next summer, you'd better sign up early.

According to Youth Services Director Bill Fahey, most of the trips this past summer were sold out within two weeks of being announced.

The demand for teen activities doesn't end with summer, either. Youth Services has booked Old Town Hall with high school bands from now until October, and the hall, which fits 300 people, isn't always big enough to fit everyone who wants to come, says Fahey.

Fahey says the demand for organized youth activities is so insatiable that a staff of 30 wouldn't be enough to do everything the department could do for kids. And that means a staff of one full-time (Fahey) and another seasonally full-time employee, Glen Wilson, isn't nearly enough.

Fahey plans to hire a second full-time employee this year.

Part of the reason for the demand is that Youth Services runs programs both parents and kids like. But part of it is that organized activities have been bred into local kids almost from infancy -- starting with day care to preschool to youth sports and other programs.

Parental work schedules that begin at 7:30 a.m. and end at 6 p.m. contribute to the growing trend of signing children up for organized activities, Fahey says.

"Some adults plan every second of their children's lives. The hot topic in the next 15 years is going to be 'over-programmed' kids. And by running good programs, we're just feeding the frenzy," he says.

But, as options for organized sports and other youth programs begin to narrow as students get older and more independent, Fahey hopes to quiet some of the frenzy by providing more unstructured time for kids.

The types of programs in demand have changed since Fahey arrived five years ago, but his primary function was, and is still, to listen, he says.

"There's no secret formula, it's just spending lots of time with kids," he says. For Fahey himself, that is becoming more of a juggling act, since his role as Youth Services director has been expanded, both administratively and in the field.

Before Youth Services became its own division this summer, the department that was created to focus on bringing kids who felt like outsiders into the community became the place to be for all kinds of youth.

Fahey now spends his time trying to strike a balance between giving special attention to students at risk, and providing or encouraging ideas for stuff to do for kids in town who just want to spend time together.

As the youth population grows, Fahey says the question often arises in public discussions of where responsibility lies when it comes to providing activities for kids.

Fahey says he believes the community shares the responsibility with schools and parents. Some believe parents should go private if they want group activities, and some believe the schools should provide more, he says.

But when people ask him, why not just use a school building or field after school, Fahey says, it's probably taken with another activity.

Youth Services competes for public spaces with school programs, sports programs, and other town-run programs like the Department of Community Services. Indeed, the flood of adolescents coming into his programs are "graduates" of numerous programs for younger children.

DCS runs more than 20 programs a day for between 300 and 350 children says Director Mary Donahue.

DCS programs serve younger children and adults, while Youth Services, formerly a department under DCS, serves middle- and high-schoolers.

Donahue says the department's variety of programs -- small and large groups, structured and less structured, hobbies, skills, academics and play -- appeal to just about everyone in town.

The breadth of activities available for younger children is a result of changes in programming over the last 10 years, Fahey says, which results in a new phenomenon: some middle-schoolers today have been in organized programs their entire lives, since they entered day care at 6 months of age.

The popular SHED program (Shawsheen Extended Day), now housed on the Phillips Academy property, started as a town service, and became a private non-profit organization when it grew.

The SHED program for kindergartners and the SHED Kids Club for students in first to sixth grades provides activities for more than 200 students. The Kids Club waiting list is 85 families long, and competition for a slot is fierce. Parents have been known to camp out overnight to get their child a space in the program, which is known for it's variety and ability to let children choose which activities they want to participate in every day.

SHED Director Sydney Bialo says programming is good, but there is such a thing as too much.

"Being involved in activities is enriching, but there can be a point when there is too much, especially when there is homework involved," she says.

There are children who leave SHED in the afternoon to go to lessons and sports, but SHED is designed not to over-program, she says.

"It's more of a place where a child can be, but can also learn to prepare to be home alone after sixth grade," Bialo says.

DCS Program Coordinator Kim Stamas, who joined DCS three years ago, has expanded programs. The department now offers classes for kids in everything from etiquette to golf, from babysitting to fencing.

"Even parents who don't work want to give children a chance to meet new friends, and parents meet other parents," Donahue says. "Because they are working, parents are looking for ways for kids to socialize. Kids used to be in the neighborhoods playing, but they have to find playmates some way," she says.

Fahey says his goal is to encourage the socialization, without stifling the creativity of students to come up with their own activities.

"A community youth center would address the need for people to interact in a more simple manner," Fahey says, adding that the most important part of his job is connecting with kids.

"Five years ago when we started middle-school programs, we were running into the streets saying 'Please join our program.' Now when our booklet comes out in June, programs are full in two weeks," Fahey says.

Donahue says fall registration at DCS which just opened last week, was filling up as fast as ever.

While programs full of participants make program coordinators happy, Fahey says he wants to encourage people not to put too much structure in their lives, at any age.

"If everything in a young person's life is about the end result, it becomes dangerous to their mental, physical and spiritual health," Fahey says.

The term "recreation" can mean a $250 program to some families, or a free hike in the woods to others, he says, but Fahey envisions a community center, the central neighborhood of Andover, surrounded by open space and walkways or bike paths, full of computer rooms for adults and kids, and spaces for all kinds of activities for all age groups.

But the recent support form town administrators for the formation of a youth council and the opening of a skate park shows that Andover is committed to its youth, Fahey says.

"I'm lucky to work with these kids. They're intelligent, articulate, and willing to get involved. That's something the town should be proud of," he says.