MASP Looks to the Future for Afterschool in MI

After-School Bulletin | July 11, 2019

MASP Takes Strategic Action to Expand Afterschool's Profile across State

(Lansing / June 26, 2019) By Teri Banas, Communications Manager, The Michigan After-School Partnership

Fifteen years after it began, the Michigan After-School Partnership (MASP) assembled key stakeholders and service providers in Lansing on June 26, 2019 to set a course for the future of afterschool in Michigan -- renewing momentum to boost afterschool’s profile statewide, and secure needed public funds to expand programs to more of Michigan’s unserved schoolchildren and families.

MASP’s Strategic Planning Retreat brought 50 key stakeholders together to focus on broadening the reach of the state network and seek the financial support needed to serve all eligible children, youth and families. To this point, the only designated source of public funding for programs in Michigan has been from the federal 21 ^st Century Community Learning Centers program, which recently notified the state it was cutting its annual allocation by $2 million. Before the cut, the Michigan Department of Education identified the need for an additional $50 million a year based on the number of eligible but unserved schools in the state. Discussion during the day centered around the need to advocate for policies and sustainable funding, developing local partnerships through a statewide vision, and providing access to resources and professional development activities.

“We’re charting a new course for MASP today . . . setting a strategic vision for the next several years, and building a path to get there. You are here because you represent critical voices of afterschool,” said James Yake, Chair of the MASP Leadership Team.

Read more here.

MASP's Sutton in Detroit News: This is Opportune Time for Critical State Investment in Afterschool

(Detroit News / July 4, 2019) By Mary Sutton, MASP Executive Director, and Matt Gillard,

President/CEO, Michigan's Children

Summertime comes with significant losses for many families struggling to find activities to combat summer learning loss in reading and math.

Many students who rely on school meals go hungry and parents struggle to focus at work knowing their children are unsupervised. Thousands of these families who have relied on school-based programs are faced with new challenges as the news hits home that after-school programs and their summer school counterparts will close in nearly 40 school sites targeted for at-risk kids from Traverse City to Hamtramck. The result of a lack of federal funding and no state dedicated funding, these closures represent what ails Michigan’s education system: lack of commitment and vision from our state leaders.

As a state, we would all benefit by making a commitment to hard-working Michigan families struggling to secure a safe place for their kids while they’re working. That starts with a clear vision for the comprehensive educational needs of children, understanding that evidence-based after-school programs offer the added academic, social and career-inspiring benefits families crave and kids need, especially for those most at-risk of failure.

Read the rest of the commentary here.

Governor Whitmer Encourages Observance

of Summer Learning Week

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has proclaimed this week as Summer Learning Week in Michigan, encouraging the observance by all citizens.

Take a minute to read the proclamation and refresh your understanding of the great impact summer learning has here in our state.

Be reminded of the 'summer slide' that impacts all schoolchildren, particularly those from challenged circumstances, and that teachers spend three weeks re-teaching material at the start of each school year.

Be reminded of all the benefits for young children and working families! Read the proclamation here.

Thank you, Governor Whitmer!

Summer Meals Act Would Improve Access for Kids

(Afterschool Snack / July 8, 2019) Summer 2019 is here and members of Congress marked the occasion by introducing legislation that would greatly improve access to healthy meals during the summer months by making it easier for summer learning programs to provide meals and snacks.

This month Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) introduced the bipartisan Summer Meals Act S. 1908 which would enhance the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Summer Food Service Program. The Afterschool Alliance supports the legislation (as well as the similar House version HR 2818 introduced last month by Reps. Rick Larsen (D-Wash.) and Don Young (R-Alaska)) as it would help improve nutrition and enhance learning in underserved areas by better integrating summer learning programs with meal programs.

Across the country, about 21 million children receive free or reduced price school lunch—meaning their families live at or near the poverty line—but only 1 in 7 of these high-need children have access to summer meals.

Read more here .

Join these Fossil Hunters in Discovering Underworld

L ove to dig in the dirt and put together puzzles? What kind of job do you need to search for fossils?

In 2013 paleo-anthropologist Lee Berger and his team discovered more than a thousand fossil elements belonging to Homo naledi, a previously unknown early human relative in South Africa. They have since discovered many more fossils including a nearly complete skeleton. Join a team of "underground astronauts" near the Dinaledi Chamber of the Rising Star Cave System and hear from expert explorers.

This Explorer Classroom was designed with Summer Programs in mind. Get registered for Rising Star Cave Team Live ! Watch the video here.

Share resources here !

Your Afterschool Resources

Issue Brief: Investment in Staff Yields Summer Success for Students, Public Profit

Afterschool and Summer Learning: A City Strategy for Workforce Development, National League of Cities

Promoting Learning and Growth for School-Age Children During the Summer Months: Tipsheets for School-Age Care Providers, NCASE

Promoting Learning and Growth for School-Age Children During the Summer Months: Tipsheets for Parents/Caregivers, NCASE

Aligning Out-of-School Time Services for Children Experiencing Homelessness, NCASE

Addressing Adverse Childhood Experiences in Out-of-School Time Archived Webinar, The National Center on Afterschool and Summer Enrichment

Michigan After-School Partnership | Website