Guest Blog: Support for Jodi Grant's WaPo Op-Ed

On Jan. 4, in Washington Post’s column The Answer Sheet, Afterschool Alliance’s Executive Director Jodi Grant advocated for the consistent, steady funding of afterschool programs. Ms. Grant wrote in response to a piece by Jennifer Davis, co-founder and president of the National Center on Time & Learning, which supports expanding the instructional day. At Community Lodgings, we agree with Ms. Grant and our good friends at Afterschool Alliance that afterschool programs are a welcome break from the school day for many children throughout the country. Below, a vote of support for Ms. Grant’s column from Community Lodgings’ Associate Executive Director Jim Dempsey:

At Community Lodgings, an Alexandria-based nonprofit organization, we work with homeless and low-income families to help them reach self-sufficiency. In 2002, we opened our Fifer Family Learning Center, which is based in the heart of the Arlandria-Chirilagua community. Each day at the center, we provide life skills workshops, job counseling and ESL courses for adults as well as afterschool programs for elementary, middle and high school children. Don’t get me wrong, local schools do an excellent job of providing support to children during the school day. But, as Afterschool Alliance’s Jodi Grant can tell you, the success of both children and parents are not a result of school efforts alone. To ensure that students improve upon their academics and behavior in the classroom, we must continue to strengthen their skills and character outside of school.

The community partnerships that Community Lodgings has developed over the years—not only with schools but with other organizations and agencies—are invaluable. In fact, in a predominately Latino area, our bilingual staff serves as a liaison between schools and parents. This is extremely important—nearly 80% of our students’ parents do not speak English. Not only do parents work with us to further their children’s education, they also hone their own abilities through English classes and educational workshops. Furthermore, our staff members provide transportation to important school events and accompany parents to parent-teacher conferences to help them advocate for their children. In addition to having dedicated staff members, we recruit highly-qualified volunteers to assist us in creating a beneficial, lasting experience for our families. Volunteers serve as tutors and mentors to both children and parents, and serve in other capacities as well. Students cultivate relationships with staff, partners and volunteers, guaranteeing they have a confidante when they need it most.

Taking away community-based programs like Community Lodgings and replacing them with a longer school day will not going to keep kids in school. Children need a second wave of committed individuals from the community to help supplement and complement the learning they receive at school. In our experience, the hardest children to reach are those that are having a hard time in school because they find it boring or irrelevant. Community-based programs, however, can inspire these children, leading to improved academic achievement and decreased at-risk behaviors. This must be taken into consideration as school boards and local governments consider making changes to policies concerning extended learning time. We applaud Afterschool Alliance’s Jodi Grant for advocating for this approach.