Recent Afterschool Snacks
JUN
19
NEWS ROUNDUP
By Molly Tomlinson
“A successful after-school program that stopped running recently after 16 years may soon serve the children of Hesperia again,” the Daily Press reports. The Hesperia Recreation and Park District’s board agreed to reinstate the long-running afterschool program last week. The program was eliminated for the 2011-12 school year after state education standards prohibited the park district to partner with the school district.
Leesburg area middle and high school students are spending their summer teaching rising fourth and fifth graders about career and life opportunities that exist in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) programs, the Orlando Sentinel reports. The students are taking part in NASA’s Summer of Innovation, and organizers expect about 130 elementary students to participate in the summer learning program. Students will learn about aeronautics, robotics, the solar system and life sciences.
Earlier this week at a county education summit, Salt Lake County Mayor Ben McAdams said he is looking to double access to afterschool programs in the county. The education summit gathered community, school and government leaders to network and brainstorm about high quality preschool and afterschool programs for low-income and at-risk students. The Deseret News reports that “McAdams said his goal in hosting the education summit was to facilitate dialogue between the various educational entities and service organizations in the county.”
The Janesville School District expanded its summer meals program, serving 75,000 meals (breakfast and lunch) this summer, up from 57,000 last summer and 20,000 the summer before. This year the program will continue to serve meals into August and past the end of summer school in July. Jim Degan, the district’s food services and nutrition manager, told the Walworth County Today that he was happy to expand the program to meet the needs of the community. “I wish we were in a society where children would not miss meals and not go hungry, but that’s not the way of the world,” he said.
JUN
17
RESEARCH
By Alexis Steines
Two reports released last week show that despite a modestly improving economy and nationwide efforts to increase participation in federal meal programs, childhood hunger remains a problem.
The reports were released by the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) and Feeding America, two major anti-hunger advocacy organizations, just in time for Summer Food Service Week. Participation in the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) increased slightly last summer, but not enough to reverse three years of declining participation. According to the FRAC report, Hunger Doesnt Take a Vacation, program participation increased for the first time since 2008, with 2.8 million children participating in the program on an average July weekday. Last July, 13,000 more children participated in the program than in July 2011. While the increase is encouraging, it is not enough to reverse three years of declines. In summer 2012, 99,000 fewer children were participating in than in 2008. Hunger Doesnt Take a Vacation measures participation in the summer nutrition programs by comparing the number of children receiving summer meals to the number of children receiving school lunch during the school year.
Feeding America also released its annual Map the Meal Gap report this week. Map the Meal Gap is an annual report showing the rates of food insecurity, or hunger, across the country. Using the report's interactive map, you can find the rates of food insecurity for children and adults in every county in the United States. The report, which looked at 2011 data, found that 50 million individuals are food insecure, including 17 million children. Afterschool, before school and summer learning programs can play a significant role in reducing hunger by increasing access to critical child nutrition programs. If you operate a summer learning program, consider participating in the Summer Food Service Program.
During the academic year, afterschool program providers can serve meals through the CACFP At-Risk Afterschool Meals Program. The Afterschool Alliance continues to do considerable work to increase participation in these vital programs. AmeriCorps VISTA volunteers in Arkansas, California, Michigan, New Mexico and Pennsylvania are working hard to raise awareness of these programs, as well as encourage afterschool and summer learning programs to participate.
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
10
POLICY
By Erik Peterson
Last week Sens. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), Richard Burr (R-NC), Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Lamar Alexander (R-TN) introduced the bipartisan Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 2013. The bill reauthorizes the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) for the first time in more than 17 years. Under the legislation, states would be required to ensure that all child care providers who care for children through the Child Care Development Fund (CCDF) receive health and safety training in specific areas, comprehensive background checks, and on-site monitoring. The legislation does recognize the specific training and support needed for school-age caregivers.
More than 500,000 providers serve about 1.6 million low-income children through CCDF, including about 600,000 school-age children in afterschool, before-school and summer learning settings. Children ages 6 to 13 represent about 33 percent of all children receiving CCDF assistance. School-age children receive about $1.7 billion of all CCDF funds. The bill authors are soliciting feedback on the legislation prior to scheduling a mark-up of the bill. The Afterschool Alliance is preparing recommendations for the bill’s sponsors that would strengthen the school-age care components.
Do you provide care to children through CCDF? Please contact us with feedback on the reauthorization bill.
The bill requires states to devote more of their funding to quality initiatives, such as training, professional development and professional advancement of the child care workforce. The bill ensures that CCDBG providers meet certain health and safety requirements related to: prevention and control of infectious diseases, first aid and CPR, child abuse prevention, administration of medication, prevention of and response to emergencies due to food allergies, prevention of sudden infant death syndrome and shaken baby syndrome, building and physical premises safety, and emergency response planning. The legislation gives families more stability in the CCDBG program and works to improve early childhood care by requiring states to focus on infant and toddler quality initiatives. Finally, the bill requires mandatory background checks for child care providers in the CCDBG program. The text of the legislation can be accessed here.
Separate from the reauthorization bill, last month the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) of the Department of Health and Human Services announced proposed regulations for CCDF. Join Shannon Rudisill, director of the ACF's Office of Child Care, on June 14 at 1 p.m. EDT for a webinar where she will present on the new rule proposal, including its potential impact on afterschool and school-age programs and providers.
JUN
7
FUNDING
By Sarah Simpson
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Weak financial management stops too many afterschool and youth-serving nonprofits from winning grants, planning realistically, and doing all they can to fulfill their missions. Organizations with strong financial management are better able to fulfill their missions as well as plan and deliver high-quality services.
The Northeast Network of Statewide Afterschool Networks would like to invite you to attend a free webinar in partnership with Fiscal Management Associates (FMA), a leading financial management consultant for nonprofits, and The Wallace Foundation. This webinar is designed to help you learn how to build your organization's fiscal strength and that of your provider network through a new, free suite of online resources at StrongNonprofits.org.
You will hear from the creators of the website how to tailor it to your needs, and you'll also get advice from a leading expanded learning non-profit organization.
Presenters:
- Adam Greenman, Executive Director, Rhode Island Afterschool Plus Alliance
- Katie Magrane, Executive Director, Massachusetts Afterschool Partnership
- Nora Niedzielski-Eichner, Executive Director, New York State Afterschool Network
- Nina Sonenberg, Communications Officer, The Wallace Foundation
- John Summers, Manager/Consultant, Fiscal Management Associates
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Date: Thursday, June 13, 2013
Time: 11:30 am - 12:30 pm EDT
Cost: FREE
Conference dial-in number: (712) 432-0075
Participant access code: 343808
REGISTER NOW!
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JUN
6
POLICY
By Erik Peterson
On May 16, the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) announced newly proposed regulations for the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF). Join Shannon Rudisill, director of the ACF's Office of Child Care, on June 14 at 1 p.m. EDT for a webinar where she'll present on the new rule proposal, including its potential impact on afterschool and school-age programs and providers.
According to ACF, this proposed rule would strengthen health and safety requirements for child care providers, reflect current state and local practices to improve the quality of child care, infuse new accountability for federal tax dollars, and leverage the latest knowledge and research in the field of early care and education to better serve low-income children and families. The proposed rule would only apply directly to child care providers who accept CCDF funds. More than 500,000 providers serve about 1.6 million low-income children through CCDF, including about 650,000 school-age children in afterschool and before-school settings. Many more children would benefit, however, because the providers also serve non-CCDF children.
The Child Care Development Block Grant (CCDBG) was last authorized in 1996, and Congress continues to work on a new reauthorization bill that was introduced in the Senate earlier this week. The regulation is currently open for comment until Aug. 5, 2013. The complete proposed rule can be accessed online.
Register for the June 14 webinar here.
JUN
5
NEWS ROUNDUP
By Molly Tomlinson
Afterschool students from The Museum of Contemporary Art in North Miami’s Fashion Design Class for middle and high school students showed off their various fabric-dyeing techniques at the Dye-versity fashion show last week. Check out a slideshow of the designs on the
Miami Herald website.
The Virginia Department of Education has created a new website –
Virginia is for Lovers … of Summer Learning – with tips and links to a collection of resources to help promote summer learning. Resources on the site were developed by groups such as the Library of Virginia, the Public Broadcasting System, the Smithsonian Institution, the Virginia General Assembly, the Virginia Tourism Corporation, the Virginia Cooperative Extension Service, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and more.
First- through fifth-grade students participating in the 21st Century Summer Program in Jamestown are learning how things grow and understanding the importance of vegetables in the diet this summer. The foods produced from the Junior Master Gardener Program, offered by the Stutsman County Extension Office, “will go into the summer school lunch program with any produce harvested after the start of the regular school year going into the regular hot lunch program,” The Jamestown Sun reports.
Students from the Keystone to Discovery After School Program in Hamilton visited the Bitter Root Humane Association to read a story to the dogs waiting inside. “Dogs are a totally non-judgmental audience to read to," Keystone Program Director Ria Overholt told the Associated Press. “We've found that it does help [students] build their reading skills and they have fun doing it.”
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.
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