Recent Afterschool Snacks
JUN
17
POLICY
By Jen Rinehart
As the official start of summer nears, things have been heating up here in D.C.—and not just the temperature. Congress has really kicked into action on reauthorizations. Check out Erik Peterson’s blog posts on all the recent Congressional activity for more details on that.
But, federal law makers can’t even compete with the work that state legislators have been doing to support afterschool and summer learning in recent months. In fact, a number of state legislatures recently passed (not just introduced!) afterschool related legislation:
- In Illinois, legislators demonstrated their commitment to supporting children and youth in the hours after school by passing a 2014 state budget that included a new $10 million afterschool funding stream to be administered by the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority, a 7 percent increase to Teen REACH funding—from $8.2 million to $8.8 million, funding for local afterschool initiatives like After School Matters and continued support for child care.
In Massachusetts, the legislature voted to increase the After School and Out of School Time (ASOST) Quality Grant by 15 percent, ensuring the first new dollars for the grant since 2009. Massachusetts also saw the continued investment of $3 million to the Gateway Cities-Afterschool and Summer Enrichment & Acceleration Academies for English Language Learners and increases for the arts, summer learning and violence prevention programs. Check out the Massachusetts Afterschool Partnership’s recap of the final recommendations for all afterschool and youth-related budget line items. Additionally, the Governor’s STEM Council prioritized out-of-school time programs and its partnership with the Massachusetts Afterschool Partnership through a March 2013 announcement of incentive fund awards to three regional STEM networks.- In Texas, legislation establishing an Expanded Learning Opportunities Council was passed by both houses. The Council is the first afterschool and summer dedicated policy in Texas, which makes it a big win for Texas advocates and lays the groundwork for future legislative activity in the state. Texas now joins a number of other states—including Illinois, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Nevada and Iowa—that have expanded learning opportunity legislative task forces, commissions or studies. Check out the National Conference of State Legislatures’ brief on State Policies Supporting Learning Outside the School Day for more info on state policy and afterschool.
Kudos to the afterschool and summer learning advocates in these states for helping move this legislation along. These are especially big wins given the budget challenges plaguing states today and are a clear sign of how much state legislators value the role of afterschool and summer programs in keeping kids safe, inspiring learning and supporting working families. If you’ve recently had a legislative win in your state, add it to the discussion here by commenting below!
JUN
10
POLICY
By Erik Peterson
Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA)—chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee—along with the support of all of the Democrats on the Committee, has posted an Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) reauthorization bill to replace the 2001 No Child Left Behind Act. The committee is expected to discuss and mark up the bill tomorrow. A Republican bill, Every Child Ready for College or Career Act, led by HELP Committee Ranking Member Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN), was released late last week.
Chairman Harkin’s bill, the
Strengthening America’s Schools Act of 2013, supports teachers and principals to help provide high-quality instruction, ensures disadvantaged students get the supports they need to succeed, and focuses federal attention on supporting states and districts in turning around low-performing schools and closing achievement gaps.
With regard to the 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) initiative the bill is very similar to the one that passed the Committee in the fall of 2011. Our main concern is that in an era of sequestration and budget cuts, the language in the bill will dilute and divert much-needed afterschool dollars to pay for a longer school day. In addition, the bill would allow 21st CCLC to fund activities normally funded by local education agencies such as teacher planning time and more time in a traditional classroom. It would also allow the funds to be used for wholescale school redesign, which could be an expensive drain on a stretched funding stream. There are other ways to fund a longer school day without cutting afterschool programming and these are included in Sen. Harkin’s bill. Currently, more than $13 billion in federal funding through Title I, Race to the Top, School Improvements Grants and I3 grants are already available to fund a longer school day.
We do applaud changes in the bill that allow for better reporting and data sharing between schools and community based organizations working with students. Specifically Section 4107 of the bill, which addresses 21st CCLC, states:
funds would still flow by formula to state education agencies that would then hold competitions at the state level. Partnerships of local education agencies (LEA) and public entities or non-profit organizations would be eligible to apply for funding, with either the LEA or the public entity or non-profit serving as the lead funded entity.
Like the 2011 Senate ESEA legislation, eligible entities will have the option of applying for funds to provide afterschool, summer learning and before-school programming; adding time to the school day, week or year for academics, enrichment and engagement; and/or comprehensively redesigning and expanding the school day, week or year to provide more academics, enrichment, and teacher and staff professional development.
Amendment language from the 2011 version has been included in Harkin’s new bill in order to prevent a federal preference or priority on which approach (afterschool, summer learning, expanded learning for some students, expanded learning for all students). The bill also includes a stronger requirement for partnerships between school districts and community-based organizations and public entities, with only a narrow exception for rural communities for whom the requirement would be a significant hardship. By requiring partnerships the bill goes further than current law, which only prioritizes such partnerships. The local education agencies or nonprofit and public partners can be the lead fiscal agent on 21st CCLC grants. The bill also requires collection, reporting and sharing of data and outcomes between school and community partners to inform implementation and focus programming, an area that needed improvement from current law.
While the 21st CCLC section of the legislation represents an improvement over many of the prior proposals to replace funding for afterschool programs with funding for a longer school day, concerns remain over the language within the bill that allows 21st CCLC funds to be used for expensive, whole-scale school redesign—an initiative that is also funded elsewhere in the bill through School Improvement Grants. Specifically, there is the real possibility under this legislation that 21st CCLC funds would be diverted to school reform and lengthening school days by an hour per day at the expense of providing quality afterschool programs for children an average of 14 hours per week. With 15 million children already unsupervised during the hours of 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., policies that could add to the number of unsupervised children should be avoided.
Elsewhere in the legislation, the STEM Master Teacher Corps program includes the option of afterschool STEM education (Sec. 4225); the financial literacy section allows afterschool financial literacy education (Sec. 4312); and the Successful, Safe and Healthy Students section calls for collaboration with before- and afterschool programming to keep young people safe and provide physical activity and mental health services (Sec. 4404). With regard to youth development, the reauthorization bill addresses conditions for learning, with support for bullying prevention, positive discipline, character development, social and emotional learning, family engagement, youth violence prevention, mental health, and physical activity. A new "whole school" model that embraces the community school philosophy is added to the school turnaround interventions. More information on the bill is available
here.
While the bill will likely pass committee next week—its prospects for passing on the Senate floor are dim without bipartisan support. A recent
tracking survey found that 87 percent of education policy insiders believe ESEA reauthorization will occur after January 2015. The Harkin bill is partisan and differs considerably from the approach of Sen. Alexander’s bill, which scales back federal involvement in education. The
Every Child Ready for College or Career Act would consolidate and effectively eliminate the 21
st CCLC initiative along with more than 60 other ESEA programs as part of a flexible block grant that allows school districts to determine whether to fund afterschool programs or a variety of other programs from parent engagement to physical education and school counseling after conducting a needs assessment.
The House Education and the Workforce Committee also plans to mark up separate Republican and Democratic versions of a ESEA reauthorization bill on June 19. A blog looking at the House ESEA process will follow shortly.
Friends of afterschool can
email representatives and senators to emphasize the value and importance of afterschool and summer learning programs through June as the education committees discuss ESEA.
JUN
5
IN THE FIELD
By Nikki Yamashiro
Sarah Cruz is the director of expanded learning opportunities for the Statewide Network for New Jersey’s Afterschool Communities, NJSACC. NJSACC promotes and supports the development, continuity and expansion of quality programs for children and youth during the hours after school.
We know that many afterschool programs engage youth in great hands-on experiences from arts and crafts and basketball to chess and step teams. What we need to know and promote to our colleagues and communities, policy makers and parents is how high-quality afterschool activities can support learning that takes place during the school day.
In New Jersey, we learned how this is possible from our pilot Supporting Student Success (s3). Funded by Charles S. Mott Foundation—in partnership with the National Conference of State Legislatures, Council of Chief State School Officers, and the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices—we learned that afterschool programs can align and support school day learning when program leadership is intentional about the activities, experiences and interactions youth have while attending afterschool programs.
While New Jersey is clearly making bold moves to improve public education, significant budget cuts have forced school districts to seek ways to do more with less. Increasingly, school districts are looking at the out-of-school-time hours to meet their goals in a cost-effective way.
In came the 10 afterschool programs that volunteered to participate in a year of working on this project with us. They varied greatly: 21st Century Community Learning Centers, the YMCA, Boys and Girls Clubs, and community education and faith-based expanded learning opportunity (ELO) providers all participated.
Each program was asked to develop a vision and a project that would ultimately help prepare students for the challenges of the Common Core. We supported their efforts by providing resources, guidance, introductory training and ongoing communication to answer any questions that arose.
During the 2012-2013 school year, the 10 sites worked on reaching the goals of s3, which were to:
- Get to know what the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) are
- Determine how the Common Core relates to their program
We wanted the programs to demonstrate linkages between the Common Core and their program activities. We also hoped that the work they did at their sites would lead to stronger relationships with principals and teachers.
Ten different projects arose out of the groups that signed up to participate. They varied from working on professional development for the ELO and school day staff, to developing clubs that specifically addressed a particular grade group’s English/language arts and math standards, such as STEM and chess clubs. One program used their year of work to educate the students and families about what the expectations will be when the Common Core becomes fully implemented.
NJSACC supported these goals with professional development and prescriptive technical assistance based on each site’s project. Below is a program snapshot that gives more detail about the work that took place.
South Brunswick Community Ed/Club 678
South Brunswick Community Ed/Club 678, operated by the Board of Education/Community Education Office, has 80 students participating in the afterschool program and is staffed by a team of eight. The program is fee-based and receives a small number of grants to support its mission.
The afterschool program’s vision for the s3 team was to work with the administration at two local middle schools, providing afterschool support and resources in the areas where the school could use assistance meeting the CCSS for afterschool program participants.
To do this, the s3 team—made up of the afterschool director, site director and school curriculum specialist—did the following:
- Evaluated existing afterschool activities related to the CCSS
- Identified the potential to enhance the scope of activities that provide greater support for academic success and engagement
- Implemented new clubs and designed lessons with intent to address the CCSS
- Enhanced the existing homework club, and based on collaboration with the school, identified 31 students to participate
The project achieved its general goals in a short period of time and much was learned along the way. I was able to witness the programs in their efforts to be key partners helping students perform better in school. The afterschool programs—after engaging in purposeful professional development on Common Core integration—did it through fun, creative hands-on activities that are intentional in encouraging children to be engaged and interested in learning! They are still doing it, even after the pilot ended, because they see how important the work is.
Major takeaways after one year of work on the s3 project are:
- Build strong relationships between afterschool and school day staff. Relationships between afterschool and school day staff need to be strong and communication should flow well and frequently. Student information should be shared in a way that is appropriate and with the intention to help children succeed. It is important to establish and build relationships first—ELOs with established school relationships had more success communicating students’ academic needs.
- Professional development is a key factor in success. Non-certified teaching staff have a greater challenge comprehending the CCSS, but it can be taught. Common Core implementation requires careful analysis and proper training for all involved.
- Trainings can be shared. The staff working before 3 p.m. and after 3 p.m. need the same quality of professional development and can share the resources on both sides of the bell to help students.
- Select the right staff. Programs that choose staff with a strong interest in supporting student learning by connecting fun and engaging activities with academics have more success with students.
- Listen to your students. Getting students interested in academic related activities was a challenge for programs at first. Programs learned that students enjoy activities that include social elements, such as book discussions, as well as activities that they select and design themselves. Giving students input and the opportunity to choose and create activities gets higher participation rates and has better outcomes for activity success.
MAY
30
RESEARCH
By Nikki Yamashiro
Do the kids you know exercise for at least an hour a day? Chances are they probably don’t. Only about half of kids meet the current guideline issued by the Department of Health and Human Services to get at least 60 minutes of exercise every day. In its report titled “Educating the Student Body: Taking Physical Activity and Physical Education to School,” the Institute of Medicine (IOM) examined the state of physical activity and physical education of students and found that schools are facing an uphill battle trying to keep their students active for the recommended period of time. The authors recognize that schools shouldn’t be expected to be the only source of exercise for kids. They propose that while kids should get more than half of the recommended 60 minutes of activity during the regular school day, the rest should be accomplished by before- and/or afterschool programs.
Despite the evidence base that shows the overwhelming benefits of physical activity—vigorous and moderate-intensity physical activity—for children’s health, wellness and academic performance, the report finds schools face challenges promoting physical activity due to increased pressure on schools to raise standardized test scores, safety concerns and budgetary issues leading to a lack of teachers, equipment and space. Key recommendations to help students at least meet the minimum 60 minutes of vigorous or moderate-intensity physical activity every day include:
- High-quality physical education classes should be an average of 30 minutes long each day for elementary school students and an average of 45 minutes a day for middle and high school students.
- Before school and afterschool programs should provide students with the additional activities and resources needed to reach the 60 minute benchmark.
- Opportunities to incorporate physical activity should be considered in all school-related policy decisions, such as finding ways to include physical activity during classroom lessons and using recess as a time to increase physical activity.
- The Department of Education should identify physical education as a core academic subject to make sure physical activity receives the resources and attention necessary during the school day.
- Develop and implement data systems to measure and keep track of physical activity and education policies in schools.
Harold Kohl III, chair of the Committee on Physical Activity and Physical Education in the School Environment, stated “This is a whole-of-school approach. It's not just physical education. It's everything that occurs during school as well as around the school day.”
We at the Afterschool Alliance know that afterschool programs are integral partners to keep kids active, healthy and engaged in school. Paul Rosengard, executive director of SPARK, an organization that provides evidence-based health and wellness programs to a host of providers, including afterschool programs, wrote a fantastic blog this week exactly on this point. In his guest blog, Paul discussed what a successful physical activity program looks like, and the importance of afterschool programs to provide fun, diverse and flexible activities for kids. I hope you’ll check it out if you have time. Also, if you’re interested in reading IOM’s report recommendations in detail, you can visit their website to read the report in full.
MAY
22
NEWS ROUNDUP
By Molly Tomlinson
Afterschool students at the Boys & Girls Club of Fitchburg and Leominster’s Embryology Program watched and learned as Herman, Henry, Chickie, Chiquita and Butterscotch grew from eggs into fluffy, yellow chicks. The students monitored the temperature and humidity of the incubators, fed the chicks and take turns holding the newly hatched chicks. Club Executive Director Donata Martin told the Worcester Telegram & Gazette that the afterschool program uses a curriculum which “integrates the concepts of embryology into easy-to-use math, science and language arts lesson plans.” She plans to repeat the program in the fall.
This week General Motors Co. (GM) launched GM Student Corps, a new program that is providing paid summer internships to 110 Detroit-area high school students who will work on community service projects. The program is “designed to help prepare teens for leadership and careers, as well as aid Detroit as it continues to evolve as a city where young professionals want to live and work,” The Detroit News reports. Teams of students are creating service projects, like cleaning up local parks or establishing a food bank or community garden in Detroit area neighborhoods. The students are responsible for budgeting, planning and implementing the projects over the summer, and they will be mentored by GM retirees and employee volunteers.
Afterschool programs in Lacey, funded by a North Thurston Public Schools’ 21st Century Community Learning Center grant, are transforming schools into a fun place to be after the school day ends. “On a recent afternoon, a group of students prepared mango mint salsa with fresh vegetables from the school’s garden, while others played math and reading games, worked on art projects, played computer chess and other programs in the library, and ran drills on the soccer field,” The Olympian reports. Program coordinators say that they’ve also seen academic gains in students and are hoping that the afterschool program can continue after the grant ends.
Afterschool students from programs at 22 schools across five counties premiered their short films at The State Theatre in Modesto last week. The films shown at the Reel Life Film Festival addressed a range of topics, like bullying, welcoming new students and sticking up for others. Students’ responsibilities weren’t limited to filming; students also had to pitch their story to “producers” (the afterschool program staff), develop plot lines and characters, figure out chronology and sequencing, and more.
MAY
8
NEWS ROUNDUP
By Molly Tomlinson
Two C.K. McClatchy High School seniors, John Spurlock and Keenan Harris, took first place in the policy debate division at the national Tournament of Champions last month. The win was unexpected because the C.K. McClatchydebate team is an afterschool program and has a significantly smaller budget than the private schools it was competing against. “What we feel is important is hard work and showing teams like us that are without gigantic coaching staffs or huge travel budgets that success is possible,” Harris told the Sacramento Bee.
The D.C. Council unanimously voted this week to increase funding for summer school by $4 million and to continue teaching as many city students as possible over the summer. The council added the extra funds after D.C. public schools said it would scale back summer classes this year. “The council also approved an ‘emergency’ declaration stating that all students who need extra instruction should be able to enroll in summer school,” the Washington Post reports.
Since January, afterschool students at Hoover Elementary in Crawfordsville have been training for a 5k run. The students started running after school through a partnership of Fuel Up to Play 60, Chartwell’s and Prairie Farms, The Paper of Montgomery County reports. Even after the afterschool program ended, the students kept running and training for a 5k race on Saturday. Proceeds from Saturday’s run will help the school buy equipment and fund next year’s afterschool program.
Afterschool students from Hoffman Elementary School were left scrambling when minutes before the Texas Solar Race Car Event at Gustafson Stadium, their entry was accidentally crushed by a fellow competitor. The students, with the help of their coach, stripped the wheels from a decommissioned car, applied superglue liberally, and returned to the track to place first in their heat and advance to the semi-finals. The team’s coach Patrick Ware told the San Antonio Express-News, “The most important thing I think they get out of it is how to work together. Things we have to learn as adults they're learning right there.” The afterschool students dedicated the past two months to their goal of engineering the fastest miniature solar car in the competition.
MAY
2
IN THE FIELD
By Kelly Trussell
With the sequester now in effect, 3,400 AmeriCorps positions are expected to be cut. A recent story in the Baltimore Sun illustrates the concern that many afterschool providers have about the implications these cuts might have for their programs. At the Mother Seton Academy, a school for low-income children in Baltimore, AmeriCorps members serve in a number of vital roles, including helping out the afterschool program. As the school faces budget constraints and teachers are overworked, AmeriCorps members expand the capacity for schools and nonprofits to serve.
During a time of budget cuts, AmeriCorps members make all the difference in overcrowded classrooms, afterschool programs that keep kids safe or in tutoring programs that lower dropout rates. A recent blog post on Service Nation argues that the small living stipend offered to AmeriCorps members costs the country far less than the price of a teenager who drops out of school. With the wide range of services that AmeriCorps members offer, cuts to the program will undoubtedly have a large impact.
AmeriCorps currently engages more than 75,000 men and women at more than 15,000 locations including nonprofits, schools, public agencies, and community- and faith-based groups across the country. During their year of service, AmeriCorps members help communities with a wide range of issues including disaster services, economic opportunity, education and healthy futures.
AmeriCorps members have had a longstanding impact on afterschool programs, and have served in a number of capacities. Across the country, members are tutoring and mentoring students in afterschool programs, recruiting and managing volunteers, and working on other capacity building efforts. The Afterschool Alliance AmeriCorps VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America) project has 13 members in 12 states working on program sustainability and expanding access to afterschool meals.
One example of an afterschool program that relies heavily on national service members is Higher Achievement. Higher Achievement is a rigorous afterschool and summer academic program that operates in D.C., Baltimore, Richmond and Pittsburgh. Here in D.C. there are 13 dedicated AmeriCorps members who work directly with over 500 middle-school scholars and build the capacity of the organization. They are a critical piece to the organization, as many national service members are in afterschool programs across the country.
To learn more about AmeriCorps and the impact of national service, visit http://www.americorps.gov/.
APR
25
POLICY
By Erik Peterson
With the House and Senate each passing their own budget resolutions last month, and the president’s budget request submitted to Congress earlier this month, the FY2014 appropriations process can now move forward. A challenge for Congress early in the process is trying to reconcile the House and Senate FY2014 budget bills. Reconciling the two is a difficult prospect as the Senate resolution has $92 billion more than the House does to fund programs.
Despite the differences, House and Senate appropriations committees have begun holding hearings on the FY2014 spending bills, including Labor, HHS, Education (LHHS) Appropriations Subcommittee hearings featuring testimony by Education Secretary Arne Duncan. At the House subcommittee hearing in early April, Reps. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) and Nita Lowey (D-NY) emphasized the importance of maintaining strong investments in afterschool programs through the 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) initiative and cautioned against diverting federal afterschool funding. As part of her formal statement, LHHS Subcommittee Ranking Member DeLauro addressed the need for an increase in funding while also noting her concerns with the Administration’s proposed changes to the 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) initiative:
…I am also pleased to see this budget requests a nine percent, or $100 million, increase for the 21st Century Community Learning Centers… Mr. Secretary, you know some of my concerns in this area, I am concerned that the Department's policies seem to place an emphasis on extended learning time programs over traditional after school programs, which is not what Congress authorized this program to do. I am concerned that this particular request eliminates the current formula funding to states, in favor of a national competition.
The need for additional funding for 21st CCLC was echoed by Rep. David Cicilline’s (D-RI) effort to organize a ‘Dear Colleague Letter’ in the House, signed by 43 Members asking appropriators for an increase of $100 million for 21st CCLC. The following members signed the letter:
- Raul M. Grijalva (D-AZ)
- Maxine Waters (D-CA)
- Gloria Negrete McLeod (D-CA)
- Jerry McNerney (D-CA)
- Xavier Becerra (D-CA)
- Jared Huffman (D-CA)
- Lois Capps (D-CA)
- Jackie Speier (D-CA)
- Mark Takano (D-CA)
- Barbara Lee (D-CA)
- Elizabeth H. Esty (D-CT)
- Joe Courtney (D-CT)
- Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC)
- Frederica S. Wilson (D-FL)
- Theodore Deutch (D-FL)
- Alcee L. Hastings (D-FL)
- John Lewis (D-GA)
- David Loebsack (D-IA)
- Danny K. Davis (D-IL)
- Janice D. Schakowsky (D-IL)
- Andre Carson (D-IN)
- Elijah E. Cummings (D-MD)
|
- C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger (D-MD)
- Chris Van Hollen (D-MD)
- Sander M. Levin (D-MI)
- John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI)
- Daniel T. Kildee (D-MI)
- Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan (D-At Large MP)
- Michelle Lujan Grisham (D-NM)
- Jerrold Nadler (D-NY)
- Nydia Velazquez (D-NY)
- Louise McIntosh Slaughter (D-NY)
- Brian Higgins (D-NY)
- Charles B. Rangel (D-NY)
- Yvette D. Clarke (D-NY)
- Matthew A. Cartwright (D-PA)
- David N. Cicilline (D-RI)
- James R. Langevin (D-RI)
- Filemon Vela (D-TX)
- Gerald E. Connolly (D-VA)
- Bobby Scott (D-VA)
- Mark Pocan (D-WI)
- Gwen Moore (D-WI)
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Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) is leading a similar effort in the Senate asking for an increase of $250 million over sequestration levels. As of today, 14 senators have joined Sen. Boxer on the letter. Afterschool advocates are also weighing in on the need for additional federal funding for afterschool programs, having sent 1,300 emails to Members of Congress since February. There is still time to make your voice heard as well:
contact Congress via email to express support for federal afterschool funding as part of the FY2014 appropriations process.
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