Lights On Afterschool 2025, all across South Dakota

For Lights On Afterschool, I was able to spend a whole week in South Dakota as the guest of afterschool network director Billy Mawhiney. I was asked to share a little bit about my whirlwind experience on both sides of the Missouri river.

Day 1: Sioux Falls

On the first day, we visited  Terry Redlin Elementary School, part of the new innovative community learning center model to coordinate programming and partners across the school district[1]. I visited an on-school site run by Volunteers of America. I was able to begin a chess game, participate in a soccer game, watch a volunteer from Cub Scouts bring programming into the school, and see a community volunteer provide a group of students with some voluntary math games and support time. Being at the school, the children also made use of the same positive behavioral intervention and support system they use during the school-day and were earning credits for good behavior that would communally lead to even more fun activities for everyone. I also had an opportunity to speak with staff as well, and the program results on areas from student school attendance to academics and behavior have been excellent.

Day 2: Sioux Falls

The district and city are building on the community learning center model across elementary schools with an expansion to middle schools. First, we stopped by one more elementary school served by the model. I talked to a student success coordinator whose job is designed to allow her to work across the school day and afterschool programming to provide continuity for participants. The curriculum that day involved an experiment to see which materials might best remove contaminants from bodies of water.

Then we walked over to the George McGovern Middle School – it has a Boys & Girls Club center connected to the school! I watched as students came in, had a snack and picked between 3-on-3 basketball, art, e-sports, cooking and other activities. I choose cooking! I joined students and teachers in a great cooking room (it even has a washer/dryer). A Boys & Girls club staff member had brought in the product from his weekends hunt: a pheasant, the South Dakota state bird. We were led through the preparation and grilling of pheasant quesadillas – a first for me and many other students in the urban school. I noticed a few students had phones on them, but they activity was compelling and the phones did not come out!

Day 3: Chamberlain

Next up, a trip to Chamberlain, S.D. on the banks of the Missouri River to support the Statewide Childcare Task Force, led by Sen. Tim Reed, R-Brookings. The Task Force put forth a report on early care last year, and spent 2025 extending and connecting the work to out-of-school time.  More to come later, as the Out of School Time report gets finalized by early 2026!

Day 4: Chamberlian to Burke to Spearfish

This was probably the busiest day of the trip. Billy and I presented to the Annual Early Learners Summit hosted in coordination with the South Dakota National Association for the Education of Young Children (SDAEYC). The connections afterschool shared with the early education community were evident, everything from youth development to advocacy to family engagement. Even a few participants in the room currently had or formerly had 21^st Century Community Learning Center grants. The highlight, in my opinion was a panel of two legislators and a lobbyist: a Republican state senator and a Democratic state representative, talking together about how important early education and youth development work was to them. They told the whole room how essential it is for them to be connected to child care and afterschool programs and staff so to not be intimidated by their positions. They want to be invited and love to see programs in action.

We then drove out to Burke, S.D., a small rural community with an impressive streak for working together to advance community needs. The community had established its first child care center as a community investment project in 2016. By 2023, the center was at capacity. By working with local partners, the statewide afterschool network and some state seed funding, the city was able to identify a donated location in the nearby school building for additional space and hire staff. The older students in the child care center were able to go to programming at their school and more students were able to join the afterschool programming. Additionally, more slots where then available at the center – resulting in more parents staying in the workforce. With everything managed by one entity for the two sites, the center stabilized its finances as well.

Finally, we drove to Spearfish. A 4-hour drive is nothing in a big state! As we entered into the Black Hills, the views made it all worthwhile.

Day 5: Spearfish

In coordination with the South Dakota School Age Care Alliance Annual Conference (SoDakSACA), Billy and I were able to present the new America After 3 PM data for South Dakota, and provide other polling data and resources. Best of all, we were also able to learn from the afterschool educators in the state: staffing is still a huge top priority, but what keeps them in the work is their love of their students and the joy of having high-quality programs to provide.

At night, as part of a Lights On Afterschool celebration, Billy and a partner from a local afterschool program hosted a “Taki About It” live podcast interviewing 4 students about their interests and experiences while everyone ate increasingly spicier levels of Taki snacks. From art to drones to some form of dodgeball I’d never heard of, the students enjoyed their afterschool experiences. Asked about their interactions with staff at Black Hills Special Services, a student specifically pointed out a staff member who was in the room and said, “He goes around to every one of us, every single day. Everyone always feels included and welcome.”

That seemed like a good capstone, so with that, I flew home.

I am so grateful to all the students, afterschool staff, professionals, politicians, advocates, and others I was able to meet with and learn from.

Oh, and South Dakota is a gorgeous state! What a week!