On Wednesday, March 11, the first day of NAA26, afterschool advocates from across the country joined the Afterschool Alliance on Capitol Hill. That same day, all NAA26 participants were challenged to contact their elected representatives using the Alliance’s Afterschool for All Challenge toolkit.

Now, we encourage all NAA members to do the same. Congress is currently debating funding levels for next year, including support for afterschool programs. Please take two minutes to tell Congress to increase funding for 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC), the only federal funding stream dedicated to afterschool and summer learning programs. Click here to contact your members of Congress.

Stand up for afterschool. Contact Congress today.

As 2026 unfolds, afterschool and summer learning programs may face a shifting policy and funding landscape alongside new opportunities that could shape the field in the months ahead.

In a recent update, the Afterschool Alliance outlines key trends to watch this year, including potential challenges tied to federal funding and agency operations, evolving Congressional priorities during a mid-term election year, and a mix of momentum and uncertainty at the state level. The piece also highlights emerging areas to monitor, like proposed regulations for a new education tax credit scholarship program and increased attention to physical activity and youth wellness initiatives.

Read the full Afterschool Alliance update

As a reminder, tracking federal policy developments is a core part of the Afterschool Alliance’s work, and their updates remain one of the most reliable resources for timely information, analysis, and advocacy tools for the afterschool and summer learning field.

Explore more Afterschool Alliance policy updates and resources to stay informed and prepared throughout the year.

The Afterschool Alliance wants to hear from you! In just 15 minutes, you can share what's really happening in your program — the successes, the challenges, and what you need to help keep kids inspired, safe, and supported. Your input will inform funders, policymakers, and education leaders as they make decisions that affect programs and the children and families they serve.

Complete the survey by Friday, December 19, to be entered in a drawing for the chance to win one of 50 gift cards in the amount of $50.

Take the survey today.

The Afterschool Alliance wants to hear from you! In just 15 minutes, you can share what's really happening in your program — the successes, the challenges, and what you need to help keep kids inspired, safe, and supported. Your input will inform funders, policymakers, and education leaders as they make decisions that affect programs and the children and families they serve.

Complete the survey by Monday, November 24, to be entered in a drawing for the chance to win one of 50 gift cards in the amount of $50.

Take the survey today.

The Afterschool Alliance wants to hear from you! In just 15 minutes, you can share what's really happening in your program — the successes, the challenges, and what you need to help keep kids inspired, safe, and supported. Your input will inform funders, policymakers, and education leaders as they make decisions that affect programs and the children and families they serve.

Complete the survey by Monday, November 24, to be entered in a drawing for the chance to win one of 50 gift cards in the amount of $50.

Take the survey today.

Do you ever wish you had a crystal ball that showed you how much it would cost to provide high-quality out-of-school-time programming for children and youth in your state or community? Do you want to use this information to guide strategic decisions for supporting children and funding the programs they need? Do you want to gain the skills, knowledge, and capacity to identify these costs yourself to better serve children and youth across your state or community? Children’s Funding Project invites you to join their national cohort designed to support partners in building their own cost modeling capacity and expertise.

Learn More

Field leaders, funders, and advocates have long understood what Elliot Haspel underscores in his latest Family Frontier piece: families don’t experience child care needs in neatly segmented age bands. Yet, policy and funding structures still do. Despite our collective work to elevate school-aged care as an essential component of a comprehensive child care system, it too often remains an afterthought in national conversations.

Haspel’s piece serves as both affirmation and call to action. It surfaces critical data that further proves what many of us already know: nearly half of families with young children also have school-aged children, making the lack of attention to out-of-school time care a consequential gap in family policy. And with federal funding at a crossroads, the opportunity to correct this is both urgent and strategic.

As a field, this moment calls us to ask:

• How do we make permanent, equitable funding for school-aged care part of the national childcare infrastructure?
• What are the policy levers, messaging frames, and data stories we must elevate to ensure that OST is not only included but prioritized?
• How can we better align early childhood and school-aged ecosystems without sacrificing the unique expertise of either?

NAA continues to champion a unified approach to care, one that spans the full arc of childhood, values the professionals who provide it, and meets the real needs of today’s families. Read the article, share it with your networks, and let’s continue driving this conversation forward.

And stay tuned: Haspel’s upcoming book, Raising a Nation: 10 Reasons Every American Has a Stake in Child Care for All (out next month), offers a powerful new framework for a more inclusive and values-driven child care system. I hope to share an interview with him soon to explore what his ideas mean for the future of school-aged care and the OST workforce.

Contributed by Gina Warner, Chief Executive Officer of the National AfterSchool Association.

Millions of young people and the programs they rely on are at risk. As of July 1, 2025, states expected to receive critical federal funding for afterschool and summer learning through the 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) program. That funding has been unexpectedly withheld by the federal government, leaving state education agencies in limbo and putting thousands of local programs in jeopardy.

According to our strategic partner, the Afterschool Alliance, more than 10,000 afterschool and summer programs serving nearly 1.4 million students could be affected. As we know, these programs provide vital enrichment, meals, STEM learning, and safe spaces for young people, especially those in under-resourced communities. Without timely funding, many sites may be forced to close or scale back services, leaving families without support and youth without opportunity.

This delay contradicts the bipartisan FY25 spending bill signed into law in March, which called for funding to be made available on July 1. Yet the U.S. Department of Education notified states that 21st CCLC funds are under review, offering no explanation or timeline for release.

We urge you to act today. Contact your Governor, Congressional representatives, and Attorney General to demand the immediate release of these funds. Use — and share! — the Afterschool Alliance’s easy action tool to make your voice heard.

Take Action Now.

We are pleased to announce the release of the latest issue of JYD, spotlighting innovative research and practice that center youth inclusion, voice, and equity across diverse settings. This issue features critical insights for youth-serving professionals, researchers, and leaders working to ensure that all young people — regardless of their background or setting — can thrive. Check out the latest issue here!

In recent weeks, the proposed FY26 budget was released by the federal administration, eliminating the dedicated 21st Century Community Learning Centers funding for afterschool and summer programs. 21st CCLC supports roughly 10,000 local programs serving 1.4 million across the nation — including so many of the programs represented by our membership. We know how important this funding is to you, your organizations, and the youth and communities you serve. 

If Congress adopts the President's budget proposal, 21st CCLC would lose dedicated funds and instead be merged with numerous other programs receiving a reduced grant, representing a nearly 70% cut to current allocations. According to the policy experts at the Afterschool Alliance, “with $12 billion in cuts to education programs overall, the consolidation effectively eliminates 21st CCLC afterschool and summer program grants.”

While this proposed budget outlines the administration’s guidance for funding, the power is not in the hands of Congress to write and pass actual spending legislation. We encourage you to contact your congressional representatives and encourage others to do so. Consider using the tools at AfterschoolWorksforAmerica.org to help get the word out and engage the public in saving afterschool and summer program funding. 21st CCLC funding supports programs in every state and territory. The Afterschool Alliance has also developed this map, allowing you to see how the proposed budget cuts could impact your state.

Click here for more tools, including ongoing updates on the budget proposal and the Alliance’s monthly Policy Pulse broadcast.

The Lights On Afterschool poster contest is officially open, and this year, the Afterschool Alliance is looking for any artwork that represents the spirit of afterschool programs. We’re looking to gather new or existing materials to make things even more exciting. This includes murals, paintings, graphics on social media, and anything else that celebrates afterschool. For more information about this year’s contest, visit the Afterschool Alliance’s website.

The latest issue of the Journal of Youth Development is here! The JYD offers innovative practices and strategies that can enhance your work with young people. Check out the issue today!

Read More

The latest issue of the Journal of Youth Development is here! The JYD offers innovative practices and strategies that can enhance your work with young people. This issue explores:

•  How diverse OST participation patterns contribute to academic competence and character development.
• A proposed theory of youth sparks within the 4-H Thriving Model, linking program quality, relationships, and engagement to positive youth outcomes.
• The role of metacognition in shaping the 5Cs of positive youth development.
• Comparisons of youth experiences in 4-H community clubs and camps, revealing differences in belonging and relationships.
• The development of reliable, age-appropriate tools to measure social-emotional learning (SEL) in afterschool physical activity programs.
• Validation of the Youth Programs – Community Education Environment Scale (YP-CEES) to assess program facilitation and engagement.

Read the issue

Head to the website to access articles and follow JYD on social media platforms such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter (@JournalYouthDev) to stay updated on the latest news and developments.Along with the National Association of Extension 4-H Youth Development Professionals (NAE4-HYDP), the National AfterSchool Association sponsors the journal.

How do afterschool and summer programs best recruit, train, and retain OST staff delivering STEM activities? Help the National Institute on Out-of-School Time (NIOST) find out! NIOST needs to hear from as many Program Directors around the country as possible. We know the results of the survey will positively impact and enhance OST STEM. Take the survey here.

The Afterschool Alliance’s recent webinar, Securing Funding and Long-Term Sustainability, tackled essential questions about sourcing funds and ensuring afterschool programs remain a priority in local, state, and federal budgets. If you missed it, check out the recording here.

During the hours after school, dedicated professionals bridge the literacy gap, guiding young students toward lifelong learning with support from the Discover Literacy program—a collaborative initiative by the Dollar General Literacy Foundation, Discovery Education, and the National Afterschool Association that empowers educators and afterschool professionals through targeted professional development and flexible, research-based resources designed for K–2 literacy growth.  
 
Discover Literacy is professional learning. With on-demand resources, the program offers research-based microlearnings that fit seamlessly into a busy afterschool schedule. These bite-sized modules are designed for easy access, enabling educators to build their instructional skills whenever it suits their schedule.  

Discover Literacy’s microlearnings and instructional supports align with the Five Basic Skills of Literacy, which provide a framework to help children develop into proficient readers and writers. They include: 

• Phonological Awareness
• Phonics
• Fluency
• Vocabulary
• Reading Comprehension 

With Discover Literacy’s professional learning opportunities, educators can discover new ways to teach literacy essentials.  

Here’s the general flow for an educator completing a microlearning module:  

1. Build a Foundation: Watch a one-minute explainer video at the beginning of each section to learn about one of the five basic skills of literacy.
2. Expand Your Knowledge: Complete the 6-8 minute, self-paced microlearn for a deeper dive beyond the explainer video, offering new strategies and activities you can immediately use with students.
3. Access Your Certificate: After completing each microlearn, you’ll receive a certificate as proof of your learning—collect all 15!
4. Make a Difference: These bite sized activities and quick professional learnings are sure to sharpen your literacy skills for teaching students to become confident readers. 

These hands-on resources offer an explicit, systematic approach to instruction, complete with opportunities to apply new skills. By completing these microlearns, afterschool professionals not only gain valuable tools to support student growth and achievement but also demonstrate a versatile skill set that makes them more marketable and valuable to districts seeking dedicated, capable afterschool educators. 
 
Quick Professional Learning Tip for Afterschool Educators: 

Have a few minutes before students’ school day ends? Use this time to enhance your teaching skills with a microlearning module from Discover Literacy. 

Focus Area: Phonological Awareness Rhythm and Rhyme

Why It Matters: Phonological awareness is crucial for helping children play with sounds and understand their role in words, which is foundational for developing strong oral language skills. 

What to Do: 

1. Explore Resources: Check out Discover Literacy’s resources on phonological awareness. 
2. Learn Strategies: Discover effective strategies and tips to support your students in developing their oral language skills.
3. Apply Immediately: Use these strategies in your next session to see immediate benefits in your students’ engagement and learning. 

Pro Tip: Consistently integrating these microlearning sessions into your routine can significantly “level up” your instruction and better meet your students’ needs.  

Explore the Discovery Literacy program today and take the first step towards transforming your afterschool initiatives. 

We know many of you are focused on the ways in which the recent U.S. elections may impact your work in OST and afterschool. Recently, our strategic partner the Afterschool Alliance released an overview of possible results and ramifications of a new presidential administration and Republican-controlled House and Senate.

According to the Alliance, “Support for afterschool programs continues to be bipartisan with an overwhelming majority of parents, regardless of political affiliation, agreeing that all young people deserve access to quality afterschool and summer programs.” Those of us who believe in the power of afterschool can and should continue to promote the

Importance of afterschool and summer learning programs.

Take a look at the Afterschool Alliance’s analysis on the recent election.

The Afterschool Alliance wants to hear from you! As someone who understands the vital role afterschool and summer programs play in the lives of young people, families, and communities, we encourage you to support our partner through their open survey.

Please consider taking 15 minutes to help the Alliance tell the story of the impact of programs, as well as bring attention to the tools and resources that programs need to continue to keep young people feeling inspired, safe, and supported by trusted mentors and staff.

The Afterschool Alliance wants to hear from you! As someone who understands the vital role afterschool and summer programs play in the lives of young people, families, and communities, we encourage you to support our partner through their open survey.

Please consider taking 15 minutes to help the Alliance tell the story of the impact of programs, as well as bring attention to the tools and resources that programs need to continue to keep young people feeling inspired, safe, and supported by trusted mentors and staff.

Your response to the survey from the Afterschool Alliance will inform funders, policymakers, and education leaders about the supports afterschool and summer learning programs are currently providing, the challenges they face, and what their needs are to better help their children and families. Don’t miss the chance to make sure that your voice is a part of this important conversation!

Click to take the survey.

All those who complete the survey by 11:59 p.m. Pacifict on Monday, Nov. 18, will be entered into a drawing for the change to win one of fifty $50 gift cards.

If you need assistance completing the survey or would like more information about the research, please contact Nikki Yamashiro at nyamashiro@afterschoolalliance.org.

Are you interested in learning how the National AfterSchool Association’s Healthy Eating and Physical Activity (HEPA) Standards can be used to support youth and staff health and well-being in out-of-school time? Join the Collaborative for Advancing Health Equity in OST (CAHE-OST) for today’s webinar, Healthy Eating & Physical Activity Standards in Out-of-School Time: Training 101 at 2:00 p.m. Eastern. REGISTER HERE!

Want more from CAHE-OST? Click for information on their upcoming 4-part workshop series.

Join MySchoolBucks on October 29, 2024 at 1 p.m. Eastern for their free webinar, Best Practices for Streamlined Program Enrollment & Billing.

Navigating the complexities of B&A fees can be challenging. From payment plans to notifying parents to tracking unpaid fees, afterschool professionals can find themselves overwhelmed with the day-to-day hassles of program billing. Go digital and improve the entire enrollment process with online payments, automatic parent notices and improved fee tracking.

Register for the webinar to discover the ease of managing your program enrollment and billing online. You’’ll learn about the advantages of digital payments and strategies for streamlining your billing for faster payment collection.

In this webinar, MySchoolBucks will:

• Take a look at the benefits of digital payments and best practices for keeping parents informed
• Share success stories of how fellow aftercare programs have expedited fee collection with an online platform
• Show how to automate the entire enrollment and billing process to ensure fees are paid on time
• Give an exclusive look at how MySchoolBucks’ MSB Activities was designed to help your program succeed

Register Today!

The webinar will be held on Thursday, Sept. 26 from 3 to 4 p.m. ET. For more information, check out the webinar web page or register today.

Earlier this month, 200 advocates from across the country arrived in Washington, D.C. to take part in the Afterschool for All Challenge. On June 11, afterschool and out-of-school time advocates attended meetings and workshops on Capitol Hill to urge their elected officials to support increased funding for afterschool and summer learning programs across the country. Read more highlights about the Challenge from our strategic partners at the Afterschool Alliance.

The Children’s Funding Project has updated their popular Federal Funding Streams for Children and Youth Services database with new fiscal year data, additional funding streams, and more! The updated tool now includes funding allocations from 2019 to 2023 for more than 320 funding streams from 20 federal agencies that support programs and services for infants, toddlers, children, youth, and their families.

Enhanced usability and improved search functionality also make it easier to find funding that supports initiatives from the prenatal stage through young adulthood. Users can filter data by categories such as age, outcome, services, types of recipients, and more.

This week, afterschool leaders, professionals, and advocates participated in the Afterschool Alliance’s Afterschool for All Challenge, a two-day event in Washington, D.C. that combined Capitol Hill visits, workshops, and showcases designed to celebrate the power and promise of specific afterschool programs from across the country. Participants were invited to make the case on the Hill for more investment in afterschool, to expand access, improve the quality of programs, and support the talented professionals who are vital to afterschool.

National AfterSchool Association CEO Gina Warner was invited to join a panel focused on Supporting the Afterschool and Summer Learning Workforce, which featured resources, tools, research, and outreach efforts designed to support and strengthen the OST workforce.

Gina shared updates on NAA’s Thriving OST Workforce Initiative, including NAA resources like the Code of Ethics and Core Knowledge, Skills, and Competencies and CKSC Self-Assessment. She also presented on the forthcoming OST Job Quality Standards, a resource and assessment tool designed for advocates and leaders across the out-of-school time spectrum to use in supporting workforce stability and addressing challenges of recruitment and retention in the field.

Other workshops focused on leveraging funding and the impact OST programs can have on the mental well-being of the young people we serve. A special session featured Afterschool Alliance Youth Ambassadors for a conversation around the impact that afterschool programs have on young people and learn why advocating for increased investments in afterschool programs is important to them.

The Afterschool Alliance continues to encourage participation through sharing your thoughts with Members of Congress through the Afterschool Alliance’s campaign.

For more information on the Afterschool for All Challenge, and how your ongoing efforts can continue to support funding and access, click here.