Nearly one-fifth of crime committed by school-aged kids happens after school hours. That’s why so-called out-of-school programs have been hailed for keeping kids busy between school and dinner time.
Representatives from a state-wide out-of-school time program praised its successes in a committee Monday.
In the rural Northern Neck where Blaire Denson lived, there’s no Boys and Girls Club and no YMCA, making it hard to get before and after school program access. That’s until the 21st Century Learning Grant program was tapped into by the Virginia Partnership for Out-of-School Time, or VPOST.
“That school division has less than 700 kids in it. And we were serving 112 kids a day with the 21st Century Community Learning Center Grant so that was a really big asset to that community,” Denson, who leads VPOST, said at a Virginia Commission on Youth meeting Monday.
VPOST is a public-private partnership that supports after school programs around the Commonwealth. They also make quality standards for these programs. New standards that were released this year and Monday’s report included a rundown of those changes.
“Things like active and engaged learning to make sure students and youth receiving these services aren't just being supervised but there’s really something meaningful happening there," said Christine Jones Monaccio, professional development and quality coordinator for VPOST, told the commission. "Things like leadership and staff development speak to what’s being done to develop the workforces that are working in out-of-school time programs to make sure they’re getting the supports that they need to provide high quality programs.”
Many of the state’s out-of-school programs were created with post-pandemic federal funds but the state has had to fill the gap ever since.
The program received about 9 million dollars over the last few years, but with 4 kids waiting for out-of-school programs for every one child enrolled, advocates say more help and funds are needed.
Commission on Youth Chair Sen. Barbara Favola said they’d consider Monday’s presentation when making the next budget in January.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
