Afterschool Ambassador Deepmalya Ghosh is the director of youth development programs at the Child Center of New York, Inc. This post is adapted from advocacy tips he shared at the Afterschool for All Challenge.

1. Don’t be afraid.

Most elected and non-elected officials are motivated to run for office to address the needs of everyday people—especially the needs of people who VOTE.  But once they are sworn in, they often don’t hear from us enough to know what our concerns are or how they might help. Staying in touch with the people who represent us in government—whether it is our local school board member or state senator—is one of the best ways we can begin to make the work & family issues we care about as parents a bigger priority. (from www.parentswork.org) 

4. Use the power of the Internet & cell phones to do all of the above.

The meaning of being “social” has changed in monumental ways. Consider that we’ve been witness to revolutions started in the Middle East through social media.  Public officials understand how easily we can reach thousands of voters and activists through social networking. We have a new ability to engage folks easily and personally; smartphones, Kindles, iPads, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn have taken on new roles.

 

Do you know where your next meal is coming from?  For many children during the summer months, the answer to that question is no.  Every summer, thousands of children rely on healthy, nutritious meals provided through the Department of Agriculture’s Summer Food Service Program (SFSP).  That’s why I found new research released this month by the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) very troubling.

According to FRAC’s annual report, Hunger Doesn’t Take a Vacation, fewer children participated in federal summer nutrition programs in July 2011 than at the same time the previous year.  Last summer, only 1 in 7 of the children who depend on free or reduced-price school lunches through the National School Lunch Program during the school year received a summer meal.  Since 2008, participation in SFSP has dropped by 112,000 children nationwide—a significant figure when you consider that the Summer Food Service Program is already underutilized compared to the better known National School Lunch Program.

FRAC blames the decreased participation on tightening state and local education budgets.  As state and local governments slash funding for programs such as summer school and youth programs, fewer children are able to access services such as the Summer Food Service Program.  Therefore, fewer summer meals are getting into the hands of children.

So how can we, as afterschool professionals, ensure that all kids have access to healthy meals during the summer months?  If you run a summer program and do not already participate in the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP), consider offering meals this summer.  Participating in SFSP is not difficult.  If another program in your area is a sponsor, you can partner with them to become a site.  As a site, you are only responsible for providing meals to your students.  The sponsoring organization is administratively responsible for running the program; they take care of the paperwork and will supply the food.  School districts, parks and recreation departments, and large youth development organizations like Boys & Girls Clubs and the Y are often sponsoring organizations. 

Afterschool Ambassador Deepmalya Ghosh is the director of youth development programs at the Child Center of New York, Inc.

Every spring, the mayor and city council do their annual dance over budget, but this year the dance is unlike any other.  Those of us on the front lines of youth services have been forced into a painful and contentious environment where we are joined by parents, school administrators and even children to voice deep concern over a process that is projected to close more than 170 afterschool programs throughout the city.  This means that come September approximately 25,000 children will be left without safe and enriching activities after school.

At the Child Center of NY, where I have worked for almost 20 years, two of the  programs that were deemed “not eligible for award” first opened their doors in the late 1990s.  Since then, they  have never experienced a year where participation in the program did not exceed expectation, always with huge waiting lists. They are both well known and very popular.  Still, the recent process of renewal applications adhered to “competitive bidding rules” and didn’t reward organizational commitment or proven ability to sustain successful programs for such a long time.  The process also failed to include community or youth input in the decision-making process. 

Furthermore, The Child Center of NY raised hundreds of thousands of dollars at these two schools so that we could provide richer offerings in academics, enrichment and recreation than what the city budget afforded.  In doing so, we ensured that the programs became part of the community fabric. And yet there seems to be little recognition for this tremendous value proposition we offered to these schools.  I can’t imagine why the city wouldn’t chose to invest in an afterschool program that brought in diverse funding streams and demonstrated ongoing connection to the local neighborhood and its families.

Herb Higgin is an Afterschool Ambassador

Last month I was honored to coach the Michigan City Robotics Team 3936 as they won a spot in the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics World Championship competition to be held in St. Louis later this month!  This was a fantastic victory, but the success was truly a community effort. 

It started with the Indiana Afterschool Network and the Indiana Department of Education’s commitment to get involved with STEM (science, technology, engineering and math).  Our community also stepped up.  Michigan City is filled with people who want to give whatever they can, from volunteer time to resources.  And I can’t say enough positive things about our afterschool students.  These young people kept moving forward even when they couldn’t see any end in sight!  I’m so very proud of them! 

Our team couldn’t have been successful without the guidance and leadership from our FIRST mentors, our parents and our school administration. 

To earn our ticket to the World Championships we competed against 48 other FIRST Robotics teams from Arkansas, Kansas, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio and were awarded the “All-Star Rookie Team Award” at the Midwest Regional.  The award was based on cooperation, community support, volunteerism, website design, industrial design, innovation and having a diverse mix of mentors. 

After the team’s thrilling win, we quickly moved into fundraising mode!  It started on the bus ride home from the championships when we accepted an impromptu invitation (offered by phone) to bring Team 3936 to the Michigan City Area Chamber of Commerce Annual Dinner.  After the team and students were introduced to the several hundred attendees, we received a thunderous standing ovation from the crowd. 

Should schools have longer, structured days?  That was the topic of a debate in The Washington Post’s Answer Sheet blog last Wednesday.  The entry featured a point-counterpoint between Afterschool Alliance Executive Director Jodi Grant and Jennifer Davis of the National Center on Time and Learning on using 21^st Century Community Learning Center program funds to extend the length of the school day at the expense of afterschool programs. 

More than 85 comments have been posted to the blog since Wednesday morning, with the vast majority supporting 21^st CCLC funding for afterschool programs.  The comments come from a number of afterschool program providers, community based organizations, Afterschool Ambassadors, parents and other friends of afterschool programs.  Here is a sampling from the discussion:

 This year more than ever it is imperative that we stand up to protect the afterschool programs that keep our kids safe, inspire learning and help working families. Recent policy developments in Washington not only jeopardize afterschool funding, but threaten the engaging learning opportunities and community partnerships that makes the afterschool space so unique and vital.   As the afterschool field faces these challenges, we are fortunate to have our newest class of Afterschool Ambassadors with us on the front lines, educating their communities and our nation’s leaders about the benefits of afterschool.

Afterschool Ambassadors are afterschool program providers and advocates selected from all over the country who serve a one-year term as local spokespeople for afterschool—on top of their already busy schedules. Tireless voices for afterschool, they work to show the public, media, policy makers and their communities the importance of investing in afterschool programs. Afterschool Ambassadors meet with local officials and community members,  place op-eds and letters to the editor, speak with reporters, meet with Members of Congress, and organize events from roundtables to rallies. The new class didn't waste any time getting straight to work coordinating major events in their communities to celebrate the 12^th annual Lights On Afterschool on Oct. 20, 2011.

This year, we welcome 20 Afterschool Ambassadors from 17 different states—from New Hampshire to Hawaii. In keeping with our pledge to make 2011 the Year of Science in Afterschool, most of the incoming Ambassadors have experience working with STEM afterschool programs and will use that experience to bring attention to the importance of advancing STEM in the afterschool field. We are honored to be working with each of our Ambassadors throughout the coming year to provide them with training and technical support, and grateful to our supporters for making the Afterschool Ambassador program possible, especially to the Robert Bowne Foundation for their investment in nine New York City Ambassadors over the last five years; Bright House Networks for supporting our new STEM Ambassador from Florida; and the C. S. Mott Foundation for their general support and investment in our STEM Ambassador program.

Unified Leader Chosen as National After-School Programming Ambassador (Journal Times, Wisconsin) and  Boys & Girls Club Director Gets National Appointment (Havre Daily News, Montana)
Kathy Dunkerson and Tim Brurud are among the new Afterschool Ambassadors to receive media coverage for their appointments.  The class of 20 Ambassadors, from 17 states, will serve a one-year term organizing public events, communicating with policy makers and building support for afterschool programs.  They will also coordinate a major community event for the 12th annual Lights On Afterschool on October 20.

After-School Research Continues to Show Impact (Education Week’s Beyond School blog)
The Beyond School blog provides a roundup of recent research on the benefits of afterschool, including key components of quality afterschool programs and the results of a two-year longitudinal study that shows afterschool programs raised math and reading scores for at-risk middle school students in Baltimore.  Find more research and facts about afterschool here.

Schools Tailor After-School Programs to Target Needs (Reno Gazette-Journal, Nevada)
Nevada schools that receive 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) funds for their afterschool programs offer a variety of enrichment activities for students that include supplemental academic lessons, like cooking classes that teach math through measuring ingredients.  "It ties back into the school day," said Sharyn Peal, director of Nevada's Department of Education 21st CCLC program.  “Some people think that school and after-school are separate, and they're not."

Greenacres Kids Spend Day Off Learning About Government (Palm Beach Post, Florida)
“Thirteen boys and girls toured Greenacres departments, including finance, planning and engineering, public safety and leisure services as part of the annual Florida City Government Week project for students in the city's after-school programs,” the Palm Beach Post reports.