Weekly Media Roundup: June 18, 2025

Trump Plans Endanger Madison After-School, Summer Programs, The Cap Times (Wisconsin)

Advocates in Wisconsin are sounding the alarm that President Trump’s proposal to eliminate federal 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21CCLC) funding would cause enormous harm to students and families across the state. Tens of thousands of students in Wisconsin benefit from 21CCLC programs, and research shows they help reduce chronic absenteeism. “It would be a huge, huge blow,” advocate Jackie Scott told the Cap Times. “The state of after-school programs across our state is looking pretty sad. These (programs) really are the backbone of our communities. Without them, families have to stop working at 2:30 to go pick up their kids. If those funds go away, communities across Wisconsin are going to feel it.”

Hornell Area YMCA Grows After School Programs, Jobs. See Highlights From Annual Report, Hornell Evening Tribune (New York)

Over the past four years, the Tri-County YMCA of New York has expanded in size and number of locations, offering afterschool programs in nine districts and summer enrichment programs in two districts. “We partner with each of the schools we’re in to offer the programs they need,” Kristoph Kocan, CEO of the Tri-County YMCA of New York, told the Hornell Evening Tribune. “Some schools do offer their own afterschool program but a lot of that was grant funded and those grant funds are drying up.” Kocan noted that with these expanded services comes more employment opportunities for residents. “The more we grow, the more jobs we’re able to offer to the communities we service, which is another bonus. We only see that going up as we continue to expand.”

Nonprofit Funds Summer-Learning Programs in Montgomery and Across Alabama, Montgomery Advertiser (Alabama)

Thanks to funding from Summer Adventures in Learning (SAIL), 84 summer learning programs will take place across Alabama, offering math, reading and other enrichment classes to students in kindergarten through fifth grade. “We want as many kids as possible to get involved with summer learning," SAIL’s program director Suzy Harris told the Montgomery Advertiser. Harris explains that unless the summer learning loss is addressed, “[it] becomes larger each year as they go through school." SAIL will also provide students with free books this summer.

Guest Commentary: AmeriCorps Matters Now More Than Ever, Idaho Press (Idaho)

Afterschool programs across Idaho depend on the support of AmeriCorps volunteers to provide mentorship, academic support, and engaging, hands-on activities for students, Idaho Out-of-School Network Director Anna Almerico writes in a recent guest column for the Idaho Press. But programs such as Community Youth in Action, Girl Scouts of Silver Sage, and University of Idaho 4-H Extension are now scrambling to sustain their essential programming after sudden cuts to AmeriCorps. “AmeriCorps is a service communities rely on. These cuts affect real kids, real families, and real futures,” Almerico writes. “The spirit of volunteerism is at the core of values we teach and share in afterschool and the AmeriCorps program models to our youth the service Americans choose. We need to stand behind, and support them, just as they have for us throughout time.”