Meeting the moment: How afterschool programs kept the lights on through the COVID crisis

By Mark Cowsert, Associate Director of Policy and Partnerships for the Missouri AfterSchool Network. This article was originally published on Kids Win Missouri on October 21, 2020. The blog is reposted with the author's permission.

Mid-March, 2020 seemed like any other late winter, early spring time of year, but as we all know now, things shifted drastically in school buildings and community-based organizations across the state (and the nation). As COVID-19 caused schools to close and working parents to stay home, before-and afterschool/out-of-school-time programs across the state went into overdrive to make sure that school-age children were safe, fed, and on course academically.

Life shifted drastically, and afterschool professionals sought ways to serve essential workers as well as support the virtual education efforts of schools when the great move happened that begins with the letter “p.” Pivot! As much as I used this word early in what I now call Covid-interruptus, I have joked that I never want to use the word “pivot” again; yet it so describes the work and resiliency of the thousands of amazing professionals that care for over 135,000 school age children in grades K-12 in nearly 1,100 before-and afterschool programs across the Show Me State.

 Prior to my current role on the Missouri AfterSchool Network (MASN) team, I was the program director of a 21^st Century Community Learning Center (CCLC) program, and I was never prouder of my friends and colleagues as I was from mid-March until now. As Zooms became a way of life several times a day, the stories of “pivoting” to serve families gripped my heart. Staff delivered meals everyday to children who lived several miles out of town or just a few blocks away so they could see that their students were safe and taken care of. Facebook Live, Zoom and Google Hangouts replaced the warmth of in-person care, and afterschool professionals still found a way to provide a broad array of activities, a warm voice of encouragement and the assurance that their students were not forgotten.

Thursday, October 22, 2020 is Lights On Afterschool Day. Established 21 years ago by the Afterschool Alliance, this special celebration event shines a bright light on the important role that afterschool plays in the development of and care for school age children. Afterschool provides a vitally important safe place for school age children whose parents must clock into a mid-Missouri factory at 7:00 a.m. or the children whose parents can’t leave their downtown St. Louis or Kansas City office until 5:00 in evening. Beyond providing a safe place while parents begin and finish their workday, afterschool programs provide quality educational opportunities for academic enrichment that supports the success of students, encourages students to dream big dreams through career awareness and entrepreneurship initiatives, and builds confidence for students through mentorship. If ever there was a time to shine a big spotlight on afterschool, it is now. Working families need this critical care and students need the safety and support of a consistent mentor. Missouri has the most amazing programs, from deep in the bootheel to the other three corners of the state and all points in between.

This week, seek out the staff of an afterschool program and tell them “thank you” for the dedication to serve families and care for the students of your community. This year, we honored some wonderful afterschool champions, heard from students whose lives have been changed forever, honored the lifetime achievement of a dedicated professional, and reminded the afterschool community that all those “pivots” have been and will continue to be worth it for Missouri’s kids!