DAVID TADEVOSIAN/SHUTTERSTOCK
The latest COVID-19 relief package, the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, includes a huge chunk of money to benefit young people. Of that money, more than $30 billion in education funds can flow not only to educators but also youth development professionals who work with kids after school and in the summer.
The law sets up the potential for people in youth development to join forces with schools not only to help young people get back up to speed academically, but to recover from the many other privations of the pandemic.
“It’s what the field has been asking for for a long time,” said Erik Peterson, senior vice president of policy for the Afterschool Alliance.
Advocacy groups like the Afterschool Alliance have long pointed to the number of families who want and need out-of-school time programs but don’t have access to them.
American Rescue funds could triple the number of children served, according to the organization. The funding is intended to assist young people who are most impacted by pandemic, including students of color, English learners and students with disabilities.
“Students and families need a lot of support this summer and going into next school year,” Peterson said.
Some students have fallen behind academically, and kids have been isolated from each other.
“It’s been an intense year,” said Rachel Henning, a counselor at Druid Hills Middle School in Atlanta. Some kids are thriving, but others are struggling, she said.
“Some kids are not participating [in school] at the level they would be if they were in the building,” she said.
Kids miss each other, she said: ”They’re trying to figure out how to satisfy their social needs.”
Families may have been under stress and some have had deaths from COVID-19.
Peterson said catching up academically is important, but students also need to re-engage and reconnect.
A collaboration between school and after-school this summer could look like “school-day teachers who are working in summer school programs doing the academics, but alongside youth workers and volunteers in community-based organizations who may be bringing a different perspective to really make the learning come alive,” he said. The idea is to get kids outside, do projects, be active and connect youth and families to the resources they need.
Programs could involve parks and recreation departments, YMCAs, Boys & Girls Clubs, libraries, museums and a whole host of other community organizations.
How the money can reach communities
Funds are expected to reach states in early April. The U.S. Department of Education has announced the amount for each state.
About $8.45 billion goes to state education departments to parcel out in ways that each state determines.
Of this money, about $6 billion is earmarked for learning recovery that can happen in places including after-school and summer programs. But $1 billion is specifically earmarked for after-school programs and another $1 billion for summer programs. Funds are to be spent on evidence-based activities that address academic, social and emotional learning.
“We see a lot of different ways that the states could [disperse the money] depending on what’s going on in that state,” Peterson said.
“Ask state education departments what their plan is for after-school and summer learning,” he advised after-school providers in a recent webinar. Departments may offer direct grants themselves or make grants through 21st Century Community Learning Centers. Or they could channel the funds through a third party such as United Way.
Out-of-school time providers “must make the case at the state level about how these funds can best be used,” he said.
Local school districts will have funds
A second pot of money (about $22 billion) will flow through states to local school districts for learning recovery, particularly districts working with low-income students. States have 60 days to divide it among local districts.
Organizations with after-school and summer programs should start now to show local districts how they can assist in learning recovery, Peterson said.
“Reach out to your school district,” he said in the webinar. “Share examples and evidence.” Let them know which and how many students you can serve, what you can offer, how it aids learning recovery and what it will cost.
He pointed out that programs offer opportunities for social and emotional connections, which is exactly what children and youth have lacked during the pandemic. They provide the additional supports of meals, physical activity and mental health, they are already in touch with families and they can link children to other community resources.
Working with schools
“The organizations that have an existing relationship and partnership with schools are obviously having an advantage here,” Peterson said.
Bigger providers such as the YMCA and Boys & Girls Clubs are more likely to be aware of the details of the funding than smaller programs, said Katie Landes, director of the Georgia State Afterschool Network (GSAN).
Her network, like those in other states, has been informing providers about the funding. Providers can then look at the partnerships they already have with school districts, the partnerships they can develop and how they can build greater awareness of the value of their programming, Landes said.
The funding will not only allow programs to meet kids’ current needs, but “it has the ability to stabilize the field,” she said. The youth development workforce, whether summer camp counselors or after-school program employees, wants to support young people and address learning loss, she said.
“I encourage us to think … how we can really leverage what is out there so that we can implement things quickly,” Landes said.
There could be opportunities to share the workforce, she said. For example, a school district that doesn’t usually offer summer school and doesn’t have the capacity to ramp it up could partner with an existing community organization. Certified teachers could work in the community-based program.
“Kids can still have a really comprehensive summer camp feel, but have little bits of literacy and math and really intentional remediation throughout the day,” she said.
The American Rescue Plan also provides:
- $39 billion for child care, some of which can be used for school-aged kids, to be administered by state child care agencies
- $1 billion for AmeriCorps service members to help address learning recovery and other purposes through the Corporation for National and Community Service
- $350 billion for use of state and local governments, some of which can be used for child care.
If out-of-school time programs and partnerships develop as envisioned through the new COVID relief funds, “we may see a new normal emerge,” said Jodi Grant, executive director of the Afterschool Alliance, in a recent statement. In that new normal, out-of-school time programs would be seen as a necessary and natural part of a community, an expected way to help young people — especially the most vulnerable — overcome obstacles and thrive.
