Fall Activities: Planting Seeds for Policy Success
Every fall is a busy season in the world of out of school time (OST) intermediaries, with back-to-school activities, conferences, and more. This particular fall has the added layer of being a big campaign season with many local, State and Federal offices up for grabs — and the result of these elections will have a real impact on the funding and policy picture for the OST sector. Every Hour Counts members have always been effective at developing relationships with public policy leaders who play a role in funding OST programs, to educate them about why OST programs matter and the critical role that intermediaries play. But what’s different and exciting this year is that our network and the organization as a whole are stepping up our policymaker engagement work to have even bigger influence in policy and funding decisions at all levels of government.
For Every Hour Counts, public policy and advocacy are extremely high priorities. With our Policy and Advocacy Learning Community we are focusing on member capacity building as well as building collective goals and energy behind a collective policy agenda. This agenda zeroes in on a longstanding challenge of insufficient public funding going directly to nonprofit OST providers and intermediaries, which must be addressed at the Federal and State levels. Every Hour Counts is stepping up its relationship building and collaboration with other national youth development organizations such as the Boys and Girls Clubs of America, the YMCAs, Mentor, National Summer Learning Association, the Afterschool Alliance and more in order to be a more united front in advocating for more investment. And to enhance this work, Jennifer Peck, formerly founding CEO of Partnership for Children and Youth, is serving as our strategic policy advisor in collaboration with Penn Hill Group and both are supporting Network members with developing working relationships with their Federal representatives, a necessary ingredient in our collective Federal advocacy.
Every Hour Counts continues to weigh in on federal appropriations for existing programs that matter to OST programs. We submitted our annual appropriations letter to Congress urging increased funding levels for Federal programs that support OST, such as the 21st Century Community Learning Centers Program, Full Service Community Schools and Americorps. We also submitted comments to the U.S. Department of Education (ED) to inform the Non-Regulatory guidance for the Nita M. Lowey 21st Century Community Learning Centers program. The guidance replaces the last edition of guidance for the 21stCCLC program, which was published in 2003. EHC comments focused on highlighting the role of intermediaries and youth voice as well as the EHC Measurement Framework, Putting Data to Work for Young People: A Framework for Measurement, Continuous Improvement, and Equitable Systems.
In addition, Every Hour Counts signed on as an official supporter of the new Summer for All legislation, spearheaded by the National Summer Learning Association and championed by Senator Chris Murphy of CT. This legislation would authorize $4 billion over four years to expand high quality summer learning opportunities for students most in need.
Finally, we are working hard to highlight and lift up the incredible policy and advocacy efforts of our network members, who inspire us all the time. For example, Boston Afterschool & Beyond, recently hosted local and state leaders to the annual celebration of their 5th Quarter of Learning program, which provided summer learning opportunities and enrichment experiences for 16,700 students across 235 programs.
Boston Public Schools Superintendent Mary Skipper commended the program and said that “By turning the entire city into a classroom and providing programs that interest students, we’re not only preventing summer learning loss but also nurturing critical skills like teamwork, communication, and perseverance. These programs are transforming education and setting our young people on the path to success in college, careers, and beyond.” You can read more about Boston’s 5th Quarter of Learning program, including Boston Afterschool and Beyond’s Summer Learning Debrief and Celebration, here.
OST system builders across our Network understand that in order to ensure young people are given the opportunity to learn and thrive, we MUST be advocates for them. We are energized and proud that Every Hour Counts members are so eager to expand the reach and impact of their advocacy work, and we will do all we can to amplify their voices to make positive change.
Stay tuned for an upcoming blog which will highlight the many incredible ways Every Hour Counts members celebrated Lights On Afterschool as one more important way to build our relationships and influence!
