A Letter from Anne

Dear Friends of PCYC & Children,

I received a gracious note recently from one of you – one of our special PCYC family members -  thanking us for keeping you abreast of successes and changes at PCYC in our programs and people.  It is our intention to do that as much as possible, as you are the force that keeps PCYC alive and well.

So in that vein, here is what I’m excited about right now!

Program Leadership - PCYC has been blessed with extraordinary staff leadership in our first half-century of serving children and youth.  It is this leadership that has created the depth of effective programming and has secured our reputation as a solid, innovative and values-based organization.

As we begin our new program year I am very pleased to introduce you to our three new top program leaders.

Kathleen Butts and David Tarleton are claiming their rightful place at the leadership table as co-directors of the PCYC Alternative School.  Both bring many years of experience of teaching in the alternative school, and managing school sites for the past five years. Among Kathleen’s special gifts is a dedication to and success in bringing arts and culture into the school, as well as linking us with the University of Minnesota and attracting dozens of student interns each year.  David’s special gifts, among others, are expertise in data base technology and management.  Our school data base is now up and running successfully, giving us the capacity to record, track, monitor and report student information and data.  Kathleen has a MEd in Adult Education from the University of Minnesota , and a BA from the University of Iowa . David has a MS degree in Management and Administration of Education Programs from Nova University , and a BA from Wartburg College.  The PCYC Alternative School is in good hands indeed!

Karen Goodenough took the reins of the Youth and Family Development Programs, formerly called Community Programs, succeeding Maureen Walsh who “retired” to full-time Mom work after many years of leadership with PCYC.  Karen has been on staff for two years, managing a federal grant program, running our cultural arts programs, working with our fund raising projects and grant writing, and overseeing several evaluation projects.  She holds a Masters in Social Work from Augsburg College , and a BA from St. Olaf College .  Karen’s multiple gifts are suggested above, and she possesses a rare ability to be creative and well organized at the same time, a much-valued attribute!

“Bringing Lyndale Home” - We have moved our school program totally onto the Oliver Campus, saying goodbye to the space we have occupied for over 15 years at 26^th and Lyndale Avenues North.  We made the move before school began this year in order to conserve costs and focus our efforts in one geographic location.  Enrollment in our school declined last year, due to demographic circumstances and heightened competition from charter schools, so we have “rightsized” to fit our budget.  We will be able to enroll at least the same number of students as we served last year, so our service level will not be compromised.  Students and staff took on the amazingly smooth transition in a positive and upbeat way.  “Bringing Lyndale Home” has been the right thing to do.  Thanks to staff, students and the community for making it work so well.

Friendship Group Creator Honored - I had the privilege to present a long overdue award for extraordinary contribution to group work  to honor the late Phyllis Knight Rinehart, at the International Symposium of the Association for the Advancement of Social Work in Groups on October 1. Phyllis was the creator of the Friendship Group model of group work with children, which PCYC has adopted and used within the public schools since 1973.   Because of Phyllis’ innovative and effective design, PCYC has touched the lives of at least 10,000 children in Friendship Groups since 1973, helping them learn and practice social skills and behavior management.  Donna Marget, former PCYC staff and close friend of Phyllis accepted the award in her honor, along with Phyllis’ daughter and son, her three brothers and her father.  This was our opportunity to publicly acknowledge and pay tribute to her enormous contribution to children, to PCYC’s work, and to this community.  Thank you Phyllis.

Anne Long