Red beans and rice.  Jambalaya.  Music.  Cheerleaders.  And a rapping doctor.  About 300 people enjoyed student talent and learned more about after-school programs during the Lights On Afterschool event held October 16 at BREC’s Independence Park Theatre and Cultural Center.

The local event, sponsored by Baton Rouge Parent University, coincided with a national event in which more than 7,500 communities and 1 million Americans celebrated Lights On Afterschool.  It was organized by the Afterschool Alliance to rally support for after-school programs.  Locally, East Baton Rouge Mayor-President Kip Holden presented a proclamation from the Mayor’s Office and Sen. Sharon Weston-Broome (D-Baton Rouge) one from the Governor’s Office commemorating Lights On Afterschool and declaring October as Parental Involvement Month.  Deborah Jones (first photo, left to right) of the YWCA Center for Family Empowerment, Weston-Broome and Toya Tucker of Louisiana Promise Parent Information & Resource Center accepted a certificate of appreciation from Parent University.

Parent liaisons, like Jessie Jeanpierre of the East Baton Rouge Parish School System (second photo, at left), and volunteers assisted parents with materials and made the event a success.  Baton Rouge Parent University is a program designed to empower families to break the cycle of poverty and “under-education” by weaving family literacy and school/community engagement into a seamless stream.