5 facts about rural school districts’ pandemic relief spending on afterschool and summer programs

In rural Washington State, one school district invested a quarter of a million dollars of its American Rescue Plan (ARP) funds to create a brand-new afterschool program for the district’s elementary school students that provided extra homework help, STEM learning opportunities, and time for physical activities, as well as worked with students on building their teamwork and leadership skills. This example highlights the difference APR funds can make to help increase access to afterschool opportunities in rural communities is especially high given that for every one rural child in an afterschool program, four more are waiting to get in.

Following up on the report “Investments in Student Recovery: A Review of School Districts’ Use of American Rescue Plan Funding to Support Afterschool and Summer Opportunities,” released late last year, a new fact sheet takes a closer look at if and how rural school districts have allocated their American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ARP ESSER) funds toward afterschool and summer programming. Based on a review of nearly 2,000 rural school district plans, the five key takeaways are:

1. Most rural school districts included afterschool or summer programming in the ARP ESSER plans, but less frequently than school districts in cities and the suburbs. For examples, while 60% of rural school district plans included afterschool programming, this is 10 percentage points lower than city school districts (70%).
    
2. Rural school districts allocated at least $539 million dollars toward afterschool and summer programming. Although this is a significant amount of funding for afterschool and summer programs, it represents only 7% of rural districts’ total ARP ESSER funds.
    
3. Rural school districts were more likely to dedicate funds to academic-only programming than comprehensive afterschool or summer programming that offered both academics and enrichment. For example, more than half (55%) of rural district plans that included afterschool focused on academic-only programming, such as tutoring support.
    
4. Compared to other community types, rural districts were least likely to dedicate funds toward comprehensive afterschool and summer programs. While a minority of school districts, regardless of community type, dedicated ARP ESSER funds toward out-of-school time programming that included both academics and enrichment, rural school districts were the least likely. For example, 14% of rural districts included afterschool programming that was a combination of academic and enrichment activities compared to 26% of city districts.
    
5. Rural school districts were most likely to include transportation-related costs in their ARP ESSER spending for afterschool or summer programming.

With time still remaining for school districts to spend their ARP ESSER funds, this fact sheet underscores the need for greater investments in afterschool and summer programs in rural communities to help close the opportunity gap that exists. For a deeper dive into the findings, read “5 Facts about Rural School Districts’ Pandemic Relief Spending on Afterschool and Summer Programs.”