By Tanner Howard
WASHINGTON – The number of students in afterschool programs has increased to more than 10 million in the past 10 years. But a proposal to change how federal afterschool funding is allocated could jeopardize some of those programs and make it more difficult to serve the nearly 20 million students who still need care, a group of experts said Wednesday.
The Senate bill to renew the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, sponsored by Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., would change the 21st Century grant program to limit what types of afterschool programs would be eligible. Currently, private and nonprofit groups can get funding for afterschool programs, but Alexander’s proposal would allow only school districts to apply for the funding while enabling them to spend the funds on afterschool activities or other areas
Currently, two in five grant recipients are private organizations, including private schools, charter schools and community-based organizations.
The grants are the primary source of funding for afterschool programs in high-poverty neighborhoods because high-poverty states receive greater funding.
Lamar’s proposal would leave programs such as Arlington, Va.-based Greenbrier Learning Center unable to access this money, despite partnering with public schools to benefit low-income students in the city, Executive Director Courtney Reeve said at a meeting convened by the Senate Afterschool Caucus Wednesday.
Reeve said that while 21st Century grants account for just 7 percent of its budget, their connection to federal education standards enable it to partner with public schools and benefit its students.
“It would have a devastating impact on us,” she said. “Because the 21st Century structure is tied to learning outcomes, the grants allowed us to build relationships with the schools and access student data.”
Reeve and other experts urged Congress to support legislation proposed by Sens. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., and Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, that would preserve 21st Century grants for private groups like Greenbrier and the YMCA that support public school efforts.
Afterschool programs have seen participation rise by 3.7 million students to 10.2 million between 2004 and 2014, growing from 11 to 18 percent of all students. However, another 19.8 million students were hoping to use afterschool programs but were unable to do so, leaving them more vulnerable to risks such as drug use or gang violence.
“The number of kids that are unsupervised at the end of the school day is down and the number of students in quality afterschool programs is going up,” said Jodi Grant, Executive Director of the Afterschool Alliance. “But we still have a long way to go.”
According to a report by the Afterschool Alliance, both participation and demand for afterschool resources are higher among low-income and minority families, and ensuring continued access to those resources is essential to closing the achievement gap.
“In a small state like ours, teachers alone cannot close the achievement gap,” said John Fischer, deputy secretary for the Vermont Agency of Education. “These issues cannot stay in the classroom.”
