Research shows that OST programs can prevent adverse outcomes, decrease risks, and yield positive outcomes for youth in several areas, including academic achievement, socio-emotional functioning, and school engagement and attendance.
This practice brief shows how state-level partnerships combined with innovative practices serve to strengthen and coordinate available resources for the benefit of thousands of children and families.
One of the cornerstone strengths of the afterschool and summer learning field is our ability to connect children and young people with supportive relationships with caring adults. With the reopening process in full swing, recovery from COVID is top-of-mind for many education leaders and commentators; yet we all realize that combating learning loss is not the only key issue facing our kids. Some of the deepest scars from the pandemic will not necessarily be academic — the impacts of more than a year of isolation from peers and positive relationships with caring adults present an often unreckoned toll.
As financial literacy advocates push for more personal finance education in schools, students are also joining the cause. Only 21 states require personal finance coursework to graduate high school, with just a handful mandating a stand-alone class, according to the Council for Economic Education. Yet research shows that those who have some financial education typically have lower credit card balances, higher credit scores and take out smaller private loans for college.
Limited in-person instruction has led to higher absences, more disruptions and widespread signs of reduced learning, especially for the most disadvantaged students. But with new federal money to support reopening buildings and extended learning, districts and cities are hustling to spur academic, social and emotional recovery this summer.
New plans include free full-day camps at schools, academic lessons shared across states, elaborate experiential projects, and internships for older students. In Washington, D.C., teens who need additional credits can even get paid to take summer classes. The city’s summer youth jobs program will allow some students to work part of the day and attend classes while still earning a paycheck, city officials said.
The lack of personal finance education in this country has proven to be devastating. That is why it is so crucial to start teaching kids personal finance in high school, financial literacy advocates say. However, what many researchers have found is that far too few students — particularly those from low-income backgrounds — receive any personal finance education during high school. Yet they are expected to make big financial decisions about student loans and budgeting for living expenses after graduation.
The Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) provides funding for low-income families in the workforce to have access to quality, accessible child care for their children ages 0-13. The American Rescue Plan, in recognition of the important role of child care for American families, provided $39 billion of funding support for the CCDBG program. This funding comes in addition to the $5.9 billion appropriated for the program for FY 2021.
