Use the afterschool STEM Talking Points in your messages to policymakers

If 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) funding is eliminated in next year’s federal budget, 1.4 million children across the United States are at risk of losing their afterschool programs. Because 94% of 21st CCLC offer STEM learning opportunities, this means over 1.3 million youth across the nation will no longer have access to afterschool programs that provide hands-on STEM learning. The president’s FY 2026 budget request also includes cuts to STEM education portfolios that will affect afterschool programs both directly and indirectly by removing partnerships, funding, resources, and access to professional mentors. Given that more than 70% of parents say STEM and computer science learning opportunities are important in selecting an afterschool program, these funding cuts will be a devastating blow to communities across our nation.

Evidence shows that afterschool programs are vital to engaging youth in STEM. When you have meetings with policymakers about protecting afterschool funding, it’s important to have the data and the right messages to highlight why afterschool STEM is essential for our youth, communities, future workforce, and society.

How to use the Talking Points

1. Review
   1. Review the Talking Points to become familiar with concise messaging about the problem (youth are missing out on hands-on STEM learning) and the solution (invest in afterschool programs so more youth have opportunities in STEM and can help drive our future economy).
       
   2. Share them with your team and discuss how they might resonate with your work and how you talk about the impact of your program on your community and the youth you serve.
2. Tailor
   1. Once you've become familiar with the talking points, tailor them to your unique program, community, and stories. Adding in your data and stories of impact can help make the messaging resonate.
       
   2. Integrate the messaging into your email communications and outreach letters to your policymakers, funding proposals, or in crafting an op-ed for your local newspaper.
       
   3. You can even use the messaging to adapt a message to Congress in support of afterschool through the Afterschool Alliance’s Afterschool Works for America Campaign to let your elected leaders know that afterschool is a vital space for STEM learning.
3. Engage
   1. Send your message with the tailored talking points to your elected leaders, letting them know why supporting afterschool means supporting STEM learning.
       
   2. Bring the tailored talking points with you to meetings with your congressional representatives’ office and give them a copy so they can read through them later and share with their staff. 

With your stories of impact, data, and talking points ready at hand, take the next step and engage with your lawmakers to ask them not to allow these cuts to STEM education and afterschool.

You can also visit AfterschoolWorksForAmerica.org to find more tools in the larger fight for afterschool and summer learning programs. Sign up to get the latest afterschool and summer learning policy updates in your inbox.