By Siobhan Stewart •
For three years, the Trump Administration has proposed an education budget that would significantly cut funding for afterschool programs which would also affect STEM programs, summer education programs, and free in-school meals. According to the New York Times,
President Trump’s budget would cut $8.5 billion from the Educational Department budget.
While the chances that this bill will be passed by congress look slim, it has still raised concern in the afterschool advocacy community. This leads to the questions, why are afterschool programs so essential for a beneficial childhood and adolescence? Why would this budget be something negative?
The Afterschool Alliance, a national organization based in DC, has a vision statement explaining why:
“Afterschool programs keep kids safe, inspire them to learn, and give working parents peace of mind. They help children learn, grow, and reach their full potential, offering new learning opportunities that help students do better in school and in life. Children in afterschool programs attend school more often, get better grades, and are more likely to graduate. They are less likely to use drugs or alcohol.”
In Washington D.C. alone, around 26,000 K-12 students are enrolled in afterschool programs. While these children are fortunate enough to have somewhere to go after school, 32,000 aren’t. 19,700 students are unsupervised after school which could lead to engaging in the risky behavior mentioned above.
What would be significantly affected are the 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC). 21st CCLC is a federally funded program that, explained by the US Department of Education, “supports the creation of community learning centers that provide academic enrichment opportunities during non-school hours for children, particularly students who attend high-poverty and low-performing schools.” The initiative has been providing programs to students since 1998.
Under federal afterschool funding, almost 6,000 students in Washington, D.C. are served. Without the funding, that number would drop to 0.
Afterschool Alliance has a mission of ensuring there are affordable, high quality afterschool programs. They work with around 26,000 programs in the United States, research, provide best practices, work with federal and state police, and more. In addition those efforts, (When?) they created an online petition to oppose the bill along with providing contact information for congress members.
“For the third year now the Trump administration has proposed as part of their annual budget proposal to eliminate the largest, or the only exlclusive funding for after school and summer learning programs (21st CCLC),” Erik Peterson, Vice President of Policy at Afterschool Alliance, said.
On a hyper local level, the DC Alliance of Youth Advocates (DCAYA) also works towards safe spaces for youth outside of school, along with other areas of focus. Through working with youth, families and nonprofits, the coalition researches and works on policy to positively impact youth.
The afterschool community has been facing hurdles aside from the budget proposals under the Trump Administration.
“Roughly two and half to three years ago the organization that was responsible for granting out money to nonprofits that were providing afterschool programs had to dissolve due to mismanagement,” Maggie Riden, the CEO and President of DCAYA said.
Riden said DCAYA took charge and created a new strategy for DC government afterschool funding. Through working with around 250 parents, they launched a campaign to increase the investment. This led to a $15-18 million increase in funding.
Part of DCAYA’s vision statement says “We envision a community where no youth is considered at-risk.”
One of the factors of being considered an at-risk youth is living below the poverty line. In Washington DC, 27.5% of youth are in this group. Government funding and programs like 21st CCLC are many kids’ only option for a place to go after school.
“If you don’t have free or reduced access to these programs, the only kids that would get to access these opportunities are rich kids and that’s wrong,” Riden said.
According to Riden, this disparity is called an “opportunity gap.”
“It relates to why we see disturbed outcomes around race and ethnicity in young people. Not investing in kids who need it most.”
Afterschool programs have been proven to have many benefits. Youth.gov says “Effective afterschool programs bring a wide range of benefits to youth, families and communities.
Afterschool programs can boost academic performance, reduce risky behaviors, promote physical health, and provide a safe, structured environment for the children of working parents.”
Bart Hirsch, a Human Development and Social Policy professor at University of Notre Dame, has studied after school programs and their benefits for over 20 years. He specifically focused on the Boys & Girls Club and Afterschool Matters in predominantly black, urban areas.
Hirsch has witnessed several benefits of afterschool programs on youth over the years from creativity to relationship building. He has realized in an afterschool setting, youth can be taught in more subjects than those offered academically.
“I think that is very limiting to restrict education solely to school as only the academic programs… What afterschool programs often involve is leaving some room for people to be creative in their own interests and their interests can go beyond what is taught in class and school,” Hirsch said.
He also said it helps students develop leadership skills and helps them develop positive relationships with adults of authority, as relationships with teachers aren’t always positive.
“It’s a major social institution,” he said.
Youth can also learn skills that they wouldn’t typically learn anywhere else.
“At one Boys & Girls Club we studied, the most exciting activity was chess. It just caught on like wildfire. That was because this one staff member the kids really liked had a passion for chess.”
Passion and familiarity are keys to a good afterschool program, Hirsch learned. When the adults around the kids are passionate, the kids become passionate too.
Also, when the staff come from a similar cultural background, they understand the youth more and in turn, earn respect. Hirsch said the staff at the Boys and Girls Club were “street smart” and knew how to handle misbehavior in a way that resonated with the students.
This is especially important in urban areas such as Washington DC. In a school where the student population can be majority minorities, the teachers probably won’t reflect the classroom.
The 74 posted this information from a study: “In 2015-16, there were an estimated 3,827,100 public school teachers in the United States. Slightly more than 80 percent of them were white, while less than half of students were white.”
Afterschool programs can provide a place where students can be themselves with adults that naturally understand them better. This can lead to less misunderstandings and a feeling of comfortability.
As previously stated, public school systems are test and lesson plan oriented. After school programs give kids the opportunity to have creative and calm outlets without the stress of worrying about a grade. Through these programs, whether provided by the government, school, or a non profit organization - students can truly be themselves.
Cheryl K. Baldwin is an assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee teaching Adult, Continuing, and Higher Education Administration. She has studied and researched professional learning for improving developmental practices with children and youth, and community youth development and youth program quality for the past 25 years.
“Social relationships and an interest rich context fosters self understanding,” she said about the positive effects of after school programs. “They begin to understand themselves in terms of their competence and what it is they’re interested in and helps them focus on goals.”
Through also navigating with peers, important social and emotional learning happens, Baldwin said. After School programs are proven to enhance academics, but that is not the most important thing, according to Baldwin.
“In terms of academics, I think the best outcome is learning to be a learner. One of the areas where projects and interests and a sense of confidence in the habits that support academics can be taught,” she said.
Kyle Hudson, a Howard University senior attended School Without Walls in Washington, DC. Schools Without Walls has over 30 afterschool clubs and activities that students can attend. Hudson said most students were involved in these programs.
“Being involved in afterschool programs taught me the importance of time management and being involved and taking leadership in multiple aspects of my life,” he said.
With youth tending to be at school more than they are at home, feeling comfortable and having fun is important.
“It did help create a home away from home environment,” Hudson said.
Affordable afterschool programs are proven to be beneficial to youth. Without them, the school primary and secondary experience would be drastically different.
While the education budget has been denied for the past two years and seems unlikely to pass again, the president and the Secretary of Education are on board. This could affect the lives of thousands of America’s students who need it most.