FY 2015 Popular Annual Financial Report FY 2015 Popular Annual Financial Report | Page 11

Supporting Quality Education T he City of Arlington remains committed to supporting quality education and creating a thriving community where students of all ages have access to educational resources and opportunities. In addition to a robust library system, the City continues establishing innovative partnerships with public, private and higher education institutes as well as social service partners to cultivate and support students, residents and families. New Central Library Design Includes Learning, Creative Spaces The City awarded the design contract for the new downtown Central Library to Dewberry, an architecture firm renowned for its innovative library projects. The building, slated to open in 2017, will incorporate spaces for children and teens that are conducive to learning and creating, a literacy center for new adult learners and GED preparation, more space for collections, more reading areas, an extensive computer lab and community meeting spaces. Builtin flexibility will accommodate future technology needs and space requirements for library programming as well as individual and group study. Inaugural ArlingCon Comic Convention Draws Big Crowd Police Program Aims to Provide Positive Influence The Arlington Police Department launched a program designed to offer positive role models and life skills to help young men reach their full potential. Through a strategic partnership with the Arlington Independent School District, the police department’s Mentoring Arlington Youth (MAY) Program aims to provide dedicated mentoring opportunities for young men in the seventh and eighth grades. Mentors provide interactive workshops on leadership, team building, education and career development. More than 500 comic, anime and science fiction enthusiasts attended the inaugural ArlingCon comic convention held in June 2015 at The University of Texas at Arlington. The Arlington Public Library created the event, which included drawing workshops, local artist appearances and a cosplay runway, in collaboration with Wild West Comics and Games and the UT Arlington Library. Popular Annual Financial Report | 11