What can I do? Taking Action at the state and local level

10 Ways to Keep Afterschool from Being Left Behind

State and local voices will be critical to make gains for afterschool in the reauthorization of NCLB. Here are some ways you can take the lead in your area:

1. Stay informed. Sign up for the Afterschool Advocate to stay abreast of all the latest developments.
   
   
2. Educate your network. Use your existing communications outlets, such as meetings, newsletters, website and e-mail lists, to educate and update your network. Ask your network members to pass along the information to their colleagues and other networks.
   
   
3. Communicate the need for more resources. If there are unmet needs in your state or community, your elected officials need to know. Document the number of grant applications that were not funded, as well as the number of children in need of afterschool services in the state. These data will prove there is need and demand for more money. Tap the Afterschool Alliance's reports on these subjects in Research, Impossible Choices, Uncertain Times, and America After 3PM. Most have data for every state.
   
   
4. Share success stories. Share positive evaluations and stories of success from your state’s 21st Century Community Learning Centers. Give students, teachers, parents and program providers a chance to tell your Congressional delegation how afterschool embodies the spirit of the phrase “No Child Left Behind.”
   
   
5. Engage your allies. Reach out to state education, child care, youth development and children’s advocacy organizations and bring them on board the campaign to increase afterschool resources. (The business community is also an effective ally for afterschool programs. Corporate Voices for Working Families has a series of toolkits available on its website to help you engage businesses in your state.)
   
   
6. Urge your state officials to contact Congress. Ask your governor, chief state school officer, mayors, board of education members and state legislators to ask Congress for more 21st CCLC funding and supports.
   
   
7. Place stories and op-eds in the media. Use your data and success stories to get media coverage. Try to “hook” your information to current, local concerns, such as youth violence or high school graduation rates, that afterschool programs are addressing. NCLB is already a subject in the news as many put forward their ideas to reform education. Use the opening to bring afterschool into the conversation. The Alliance's Afterschool is Key Campaign and the Media Tools section of the website offer a variety of suggestions and samples to help you engage the media.
   
   
8. Connect with city leaders. Mayors and city council members are often afterschool’s best champions because they see the benefits on the ground. Use Afterschool for All: Project 2010 as a way to engage these local leaders.
   
   
9. Turn the Lights On Afterschool! It is possible that the NCLB debate will be reaching its zenith in October. Start planning now for a big Lights On Afterschool rally across your state on October 16, 2008.
   
   
10. Open up your program. The benefits of afterschool programs are best experienced in person. Invite members of Congress and their district office staff to visit a 21st Century Community Learning Center. The Alliance's Afterschool is Key Campaign offers tips and tools on arranging site visits, and more.