Thursday, December 5, 2019
On Wednesday, Dec. 4, Milwaukee Recreation celebrated the grand opening of the Andrew Douglas Twilight Center at its eponymous middle school.
The Andrew Douglas Twilight Center is the eighth Twilight Center to open, and is the first such site to accommodate middle school students, ages 10-15. MPS officials and staff celebrated the grand opening with family-friendly activities, giveaway items, and a ribbon cutting. The Andrew Douglas Twilight Center is open on Monday and Wednesday evenings from 5-8 p.m.
"We have served over 11,000 youth at the first seven Twilight Centers," Milwauke Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Keith P. Posley said. "We have this Twilight Center set to meet [the students'] needs."
The Andrew Douglas Twilight Center is highlighted by the open gym and the game room this fall, and will add enrichment workshops in the spring. Students got a taste of that programming on Wednesday at the grand opening with Digital Music Production, which allows youth to create their own music, and Kreative Fruitz, a workshop where students can design their own artwork with fruit.
“Milwaukee’s youth have big hearts and a desire to be active,” Lauren Lopez, manager of Milwaukee Recreation’s MPS C.A.R.E.S. program, said. “They deserve the best quality, affordable, safe, and engaging spaces that we can give them. I am excited that we are opening the eighth Twilight site at Andrew Douglas as we empower our youth in this city to thrive and have fun while doing it.”
The students already understand the importance of the Andrew Douglas Twilight Center in their community.
"I like being here at Twilight because it is a safe place," student Purity Williams said. "There are a lot of people around here who are looking out for you."
Twilight Centers offer programming and extended hours at select schools so young people in the city have a safe place to go during the evenings throughout the week. The following sites are home to high school Twilight Centers (ages 12-18); Barack Obama SCTE, Bay View High School, James Madison Academic Campus, North Division High School, Pulaski High School, South Division High School, and Washington High School. Hours for these sites are Mondays and Wednesdays from 6-9 p.m. and Saturdays from 6-10 p.m. This is a free drop-in program. Visit mkerec.net/twilight for more information.
MPS C.A.R.E.S. (Community and Recreation Engaging Students) is a community outreach and programming initiative with multiple components aimed at improving community conditions for Milwaukee’s children and young adults. This collaborative initiative is purposed to meet Milwaukee’s emerging community needs. For more information visit mkerec.net/CARES.