Syracuse, NY -- A classroom of children play “Hot Cross Buns” on their recorders. The school cafeteria booms with the sound of latin music and salsa dancing. Outside, a group of kids draw chalk-lined robots on the pavement. It’s 3 p.m. at Salem-Hyde Elementary School, where more than 50 kids gather for the 21st Century Millenium program, an after-school...
Salem Hyde Elementary fourth-grader Shamar Boatwright works on a drawing with fellow students, including fouth-grader Martin Romero (right), during the YMCA's after-school arts program at Salem Hyde.
Syracuse, NY -- A classroom of children play “Hot Cross Buns” on their recorders. The school cafeteria booms with the sound of latin music and salsa dancing. Outside, a group of kids draw chalk-lined robots on the pavement.
It’s 3 p.m. at Salem-Hyde Elementary School, where more than 50 kids gather for the 21st Century Millenium program, an after-school arts program provided by the YMCA of Greater Syracuse arts branch. It is one of about 250 courses offered by the arts program which celebrates its 10th anniversary this month.
Since its start in 2000, the YMCA has beefed up art programs to include many different offering such as after-school activities, creative writing, and ceramics. The five branches serve more than 4,000 people each year.
“There’s been a lot of growth” said Phil Memmer, executive director of the YMCA arts branch program. “In the beginning we started off with one after-school program. Then we had a summer art program that met for one week. Now all of those programs are much, much bigger.”
What began as 60 schoolchildren learning art for a few hours developed into a daily after-school program for approximately 400 children. In collaboration with the Syracuse City School District, the program is hosted at four elementary schools: Salem-Hyde, Roberts K-8, Delaware Academy and Elmwood.
“We have some really talented children who may not be able to access these things otherwise so the after-school programs are really important, “ Memmer said .
Children staying after school can sample a variety of arts like cooking, African drumming, dance, music theory and the visual art. While working on different projects each day, kids also receive help with their homework and practice for performances.
“It has truly given some of the kids such self-confidence because they’re a part of something that not everyone is part of,” said Pamela Meszko , a coordinator for Salem-Hyde’s 21st Century Millenium Program.
From teaching special-needs to hyperactive children, the program has helped many kids stay out of trouble and have a good time, Meszko said. This becomes most obvious at student performances when children showcase their artistic feats on-stage, she said. “I always feel like they’re my kids and just watching them is really nice to see especially for kids that have behavior issues,” Meszko said. “Just seeing them shine, it’s wonderful.”
One of the after-school program is a downtown writing center opened in 2008. The center, previously a 1st floor restaurant in the downtown YMCA, has become a hub for creative writing workshops and readings. “It’s become a very important part of the community for book-lovers,” Memmer said.
People also flock to the center for classes like the Downtown Writer’s Center Pro, a two-year creative writing program for adults. The program offers students six writing workshops, six literature courses, and six tutorials. Courses are taught by instructors who have published their own creative work. The roughly program will graduate its first class in June.
“The point of it really is that there are a number of talented writers who would like to pursue a graduate degree but don’t have aspirations of teaching or moving for grad school,” said Memmer, a poetry instructor and founder of the program. “This gives them a way to pursue their passion without totally disrupting their life.”
In celebrating their 10th year, the arts branch hopes to launch more programs that fuel creativity in the community. “It hasn’t been so much that our programs have changed as it is that they’ve expanded,” Memmer said. “We expect to see more of that over the next coming years as well.”
Some after-school programs also plan to partner with Syracuse’s SayYes to Education program next year. “I think one of the Ys traditional viewpoints is that they serve spirit, mind, and body. Most people are familiar with how the Y serves body but people forget that the Y didn’t start out as a gym or phys-ed class,” Memmer said. “It was a place you’d go for lots of activities and art has always been one of them.”
Lyndra Vassar can be reached at lvassar@syracuse.com or 470-2259.