Importance of After School Programs

Growing up, After School programs played a big role throughout my education. The times where my parents had to pick me up late from school, my After School teacher was there to make sure not a single child was left behind and alone waiting for their parents to come back from work and pick them up. My school did not have adequate funding for after school programming, so our after school teacher went above and beyond to ensure all students had a good time, and were entertained. For many students, After school time was a time they could escape a difficult situation at home for free time at school. He brought snacks, taught students how to play basketball before there was a basketball program for elementary students, brought crafts from home for students to play with and gave everyone long talks and stories about his life and advice. For young students, funding for after school programs is important to enrich their educational experience— the opportunity to play sports after school as an elementary or middle school student and for that passion to grow early on. Discovering a talent in music or theatre, and many more other after school opportunities are important for a child’s education journey. Teachers should never have to dip into their own pockets or resources in order for these things to be available to children. 

In high school, I decided to volunteer at other schools that also lacked funding for after school programs and would join students in play time, teach them how to learn piano, soccer and other extracurricular activities, because I saw the importance in access to educational opportunities outside of classrooms. These opportunities shouldn’t only be limited to those that can afford outside programs, but they should be accessible to all students. - Increasing funding for public schools is an investment for supporting California students not only in the classrooms, but into the future. That’s why we need to fight to reform Prop. 13, so that our public education can be significantly improved along with the lives of hundreds of thousands of California students.