Weekly Media Roundup: March 4, 2026

Fort Morgan After-School Program Faces Uncertain Future Under Proposed State Budget Cuts, 9 News (Colorado)

As Colorado contends with an $800 million budget deficit, education leaders are urging state lawmakers not to eliminate funding for STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) -focused afterschool programs, as the Joint Budget Committee recently voted to do. Adrianna Nicole, principal of Pioneer Elementary in Fort Morgan, told 9 News that the state grant has been critical for her school’s community. “Many of our parents are in evening or night shift at the local beef plant,” Nicole said. “Kids at Their Best provides an amazing STEM after-day school program for us. It would be a huge hole in supporting our families and our students.”

Volunteers Pack Weekend Meals As 1 In 5 Ohio Children Face Food Insecurity, CW Columbus (Ohio)

At the Children’s Hunger Alliance in Columbus, Ohio, volunteers prepared over 10 million meals for more than 124,000 students last year. The meals are served through partnerships with afterschool programs, child care centers and summer programs. “In the state of Ohio, we have approximately a half-million children on an annual basis that do not get enough food to eat,” Cindi Marshall, vice president of development at Children’s Hunger Alliance, told CW Columbus. “It's a tough social challenge that we have, and it takes a village. I know that sounds trite, but it's true.” Marshall has seen an increase in food insecurity due to the recent cuts to SNAP benefits, and the Children’s Hunger Alliance is seeking greater community support to help address the growing need.

These Districts Turned Summer School Into an Inviting Destination for Students, Education Week

This summer, the Roma Independent School District’s summer program will offer enriching science, music, math, reading and art activities that center around Mardi Gras. The district selects different themes each year but always offers educational opportunities, physical exercise and breakfast and lunch each day. “A lot of our students, since they’re from a low-socioeconomic background, they don’t have a chance to go on vacation, so we want to make our summer-school programs engaging, where we can ‘take,’ so to speak, these kids to see places that they’ve never seen before,” Roma Independent School District Superintendent Carlos Gonzalez told Education Week. The summer program is well received. Approximately 400 students attend each year and last year, students’ attendance averaged over 90%.  

Human Service Advocates Say They Are Worried After Pritzker’s Status-Quo Budget Proposal, WVIK-TV (Illinois)

Nonprofit leaders and advocates in Illinois are calling on Governor Pritzker and the state legislature to invest more funds in critical infrastructure such as afterschool programs amidst draconian cuts and ongoing threats to federal funding for these services. Andrea Durbin, CEO of the Illinois Collaboration on Youth, told WVIK that afterschool programs “are how parents know that their kids are safe after school so they can be in the workforce.” Durbin also noted that afterschool programs boost graduation rates and are an important factor in Illinois’ 15-year graduation rate high.