TACOMA, Wash. — For the first time, a summer program will provide “safe zones” for Tacoma Public Schools (TPS) middle and high school students.
The program, “Summer Late Nights,” is free. It runs from Monday, June 26, through Sept. 1.
It will be open to TPS teens from 5 to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday.
From $300,000 the City of Tacoma is investing to the contributions from Pierce County, Tacoma Public Schools and Metro Parks Tacoma – Summer Late Nights is being made possible.
The goal, according to Tacoma leaders, is to provide a safe place for teens to hang out and have dinner on summer evenings.
“The first two weeks of January, we had three homicides that involve youth. That was something we haven't seen,” said Kristina Walker, Tacoma’s deputy mayor. “It's not like a problem hadn't existed. It's not like there hasn't been tons of people working on this for years. It's not a new problem but that really struck us. That was too much too fast, and we said this is the time to make a change.”
Currently, more than 300 students are pre-registered for Summer Late Nights. Pre-registration is not required, but is recommended.
Students will have access to open gym, arts and music, 3-on-3 basketball tournaments, videogames, WiFi, dinner and snacks, and opportunities to see guest speakers.
The program is “drop-in” style, which means teens can come as often as they want to throughout the summer.
City, schools, and parks leaders are hoping to change what has reportedly become an alarming uptick in crimes involving youth.
According to the Pierce County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, January 1 through May 31, 2022, there were 133 cases charged in Juvenile Court. In the same time frame this year, there are 235 charged cases so far.
“We know it's not the end all solution,” Walker said. “We know there are a lot of other things we need to address, but it is one thing we can do right now with our partners.”
In addition to alerting Tacoma families about the program via social media and email, Walker said program organizers and supporters are going door to door this weekend to get the word out.
Currently TPS has a total student population of 28,615. Of those students – 5,998 are middle schoolers and 8,774 are in high school.
TPS leaders told KING 5 they are proud to be part of this collaborative effort and believe it will make an impact in this pilot summer season.
“This program will have tremendous impact just due to the fact that, when having conversations with community, this is one of the number one trends that come up, young people have nowhere to go,” said Korey Strozier, Tacoma School Board vice president. “We all knew that we had to do something. There's no way that we can sit around idle and expect for a problem to solve itself.”
While community centers and program, have hosted single night summer programs for youth – everyone involved in this effort say offering a five-night weekly program was a pleasant surprise to Tacoma Schools families.
Several locations will be hosted by Metro Parks Tacoma.
The team said this is a good time to remind youth that the city’s parks and community centers were created for them and are open for them.
“This will definitely make an impact,” said Ralph Thomas, community centers and services manager for Metro Parks Tacoma. “It's hard to put a number on it, you know, save lives or save someone from making around decision. This is really huge.”
Thomas said teens can be themselves, and enjoy new activities
Across the 12 Summer Late Nights locations – some will be designated as middle school-only or high school-only, but some will host both with each group given separate areas for activities.
For more information about Summer Late Nights, or to pre-register your TPS middle or high school student, click here.
Summer Late Nights Locations:
Al Davies Boys & Girls Club
Bryant Montessori Middle School students
Hilltop Heritage Middle School students
Baker Middle School
Baker Middle School students
Mt. Tahoma High School students
Center at Norpoint
SOTA High School students
Stadium High School students
Eastside Community Center
First Creek Middle School students
Lincoln High School students
Giaudrone Middle School
Giaudrone Middle School students
IDEA High School students
Willie Stewart Academy High School students
Mason Middle School
Mason Middle School students
Silas High School students
Meeker Middle School
Meeker Middle School students
Morgan Family YMCA
Hunt Middle School students
Silas High School students
Wainwright Intermediate students
People’s Community Center
Stadium High School students
TOL High School students
Stewart Middle School
Lincoln High School students
Stewart Middle School students
Topping Regional Hope Center
Gray Middle School students
Mt. Tahoma High School students
Truman Middle School
Foss High School students
Oakland High School students
SAMI High-School students
Truman Middle School students