Vital after-school programs aren’t available for many of Austin’s kids
Each weekday afternoon in Texas, about 935,000 children are alone and unsupervised. Once the final school bell rings, they’re excused from school, and then ... well, what they do then depends. No doubt some do homework peacefully and constructively, and some probably just play video games or watch television. But some engage in destructive behaviors with alcohol and drugs, while others even get caught up in juvenile crime.
In all cases, and for all those children, we can do better. One big reason so many children aren’t some place safe and constructively engaged is that we don’t have enough after-school programs across the state — or across the nation, for that matter. According to data from the Afterschool Alliance, about 880,000 Texas children participate in an after-school program — fewer than are unsupervised. Even more telling: 1.5 million Texas children not already in an afterschool program — like 4H Capital, It’s Time Texas, Campfire Central Texas and others — would participate if a program were available to them. That’s the extent of the unmet demand for after-school programs in the state.
The problem is most acute in low-income communities. Again according to data from the Afterschool Alliance, twothirds of parents living in communities of concentrated poverty across the nation say that finding an enriching environment for their child in the hours after school is a challenge, compared to less than half of parents living outside impoverished areas. Moreover, parents in communities of concentrated poverty report having fewer programs available and more difficulty affording the programs that are available. Similarly, unmet demand for after-school program— children whose parents say they’d enroll their child in a program if one were available to them — is much higher in communities of concentrated poverty (56 percent) across the nation than elsewhere (41 percent).
Amidst those disturbing numbers, the Del Valle school district, located just east of Austin, has risen to the challenge. All of its 12 schools provide after-school programs for youths in K-12th grade, so that every child in this predominantly low-income, mostly Latino area has access to afterschool programs.
The district’s commitment to after-school programs began with a five-year grant from the Texas Education Agency, funded by the federal 21st Century Community Learning Centers initiative. By the time the initial grant ran its course, the school district board of trustees was sold on the value of afterschool activities and decided to continue the program using a mix of state and local dollars from their general budget. Additionally, through partnerships with nonprofit service providers including Creative Action, which diligently seek funds from private donors, and the city of Austin Department of Health and Human Services to support campus programs, Del Valle receives significant additional support for its afterschool classes. It has required a lot of dollar-stretching and creativity, but every school offers a free program every day. That’s an extraordinary accomplishment.
As a result, children in Del Valle can take part in a broad range of after school activities. They can get help with homework; create a film; act in a play; dance in a ballet folklorico group; learn about various science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) topics; play soccer or chess; plant and harvest a garden and more. And they do all those things under the watchful eyes of caring adults. Just as impressive, because Del Valle’s board of trustees wanted to be sure the program would be available to everyone and widely used, it’s free to all students.
Elsewhere in Austin, those of us in the after-school world are still struggling to piece together the funding to provide similar services to children and families. There’s no doubt that it’s needed, and Del Valle is an outstanding example of what’s possible when policymakers are willing to commit to keeping our kids safe and engaged in the afternoons. We can only hope that leaders in other communities will find a way to follow Del Valle’s example.
Re: Nov. 30 article, “Texas to require burial or cremation of aborted, miscarried fetuses.”
Once again, our governor and state leaders have imposed a new rule to make it more difficult for women to exercise their constitutional right to have an abortion. The new rule requiring all medical facilities to bury or cremate all fetal remains from an abortion or miscarriage has no health or public safety basis. It places an undue burden on women and the medical facilities that serve them. I attended the second hearing at the Texas Health and Human Services Commission
Dec. 6 marked the 25th anniversary of the darkest moment in the history of Austin: the night Amy Ayers, Jennifer Harbison, Sarah Harbison and Eliza Thomas were savagely murdered in the I Can’t Believe It’s Yogurt shop on West Anderson Lane. Twenty-five years have passed, and so have numerous loved ones of the girls, while the world waits for some semblance of justice to occur.
The case grows colder as each day and year passes. The families of the victims deserve more, Austin deserves more. If the Austin Police Department can make a case against those that they believe did it, they should make that case. If APD can’t, it is time to focus on other possible strategies and suspects.