Twilight Centers Offer Nighttime Fun for Milwaukee Youths

Step into North Division High School on a Monday night, and you’ll hear the sound of students playing basketball and see others playing in the game room. Three nights a week, the school turns from a place of learning into a recreation center.

North Division High School is one of eight Milwaukee high schools that host Twilight Centers, a Milwaukee Recreation program.

“Twilight Centers are meant to get teenagers off the street at night and provide a safe haven,” said Jason Blocker, Twilight Center supervisor.

Many come to the centers every night they’re open, he said.

Blocker said he sees about 50 to 60 students on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays at North Division, and just as many at  Washington High School of Information Technology, another Twilight Center site he supervises.

Centers are staffed with student and adult monitors who check in on students at all times. Blocker said students are often respectful of the space and stick to their activities, especially with monitors around.

All kinds of fun

Students in the mood for more relaxing activities can go to the game room to play video games on the Xbox or PlayStation, or air hockey and pool. Students also have access to computers to do homework, look for jobs and safely browse the internet.

North Division’s pool is also open for swimming during Twilight Center hours. Two student lifeguards monitor swimmers at all times.

Blocker said the pool at Washington is under renovation, so those wishing to swim should go to North Division’s Twilight Center.

Centers offer snacks like chocolate milk, cheese sticks and crackers in the cafeteria each night, Blocker said.

The center also offers different enrichment activities. If students attend enough, they get to go on a field trip at the end of the semester.

One semester, students attended a Milwaukee Bucks basketball game, Blocker said. For another, they went to Dave and Buster’s. He said about 20 students at North Division end up going on the field trip.

When it’s time to leave, Milwaukee Recreation has free bus passes to help students get home.

Where to find your local Twilight Center

This semester, most Twilight Centers are open Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays. Six centers serve students ages 12 to 18, and two serve ages 10 to 14.

Blocker said children of other ages can come if they’re accompanied by an adult, but snacks are limited to children and teens.

He said you must be a student to attend, but you don’t have to go to an MPS school.

If you’re an MPS student, all you need to go to a Twilight Center is your “s number,” the same number you use to get lunch, Blocker said.

Students who don’t go to MPS can provide information about their identity and age and will get a card to use on future Twilight Center visits.

This allows Milwaukee Recreation staff to identify everyone at the Twilight Center to maintain security and let parents know their child is at the center if they ask.

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Twilight Centers: Ages 10 to 14

Andrew Douglas Middle School: 3620 N. 18th St.

Monday, Wednesday, and Friday: 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Bay View High School: 2751 S. Lenox St.

Friday and Saturday: 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Twilight Centers: Ages 12 to 18

James Madison High School: 8135 W. Florist Ave.

Monday and Wednesday: 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Saturday: 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.

North Division High School: 1011 W. Center St.

Monday and Wednesday: 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Saturday: 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.

Obama School of Career and Technical Education: 5075 N. Sherman Blvd.

Monday, Wednesday: 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Saturday: 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.

Casimir Pulaski High School: 2500 W. Oklahoma Ave.

Monday and Wednesday: 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Saturday: 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.

South Division High School: 1515 W. Lapham Blvd.

Monday and Wednesday: 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Saturday: 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.

Washington High School of Information Technology: 2525 N. Sherman Blvd.

Monday, Wednesday: 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.

and Saturday: 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.

This article first appeared on Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.