PCY collaborated with these community-based organizations and school districts in October to host and uplift a series of events in eight communities across California to raise awareness about the positive impact ELO-P is having on children and families statewide and demonstrate the connection between statewide policy and individual experiences in communities. Programs in Oakland, San Francisco, Fresno, Modesto, Salinas, Los Angeles, Rialto, San Rafael, and San Diego showcased their programs to over 200 people, including superintendents, members of the legislature, and staff from the Governor’s office. We’re seeing momentum for these programs across California around Lights On Afterschool: a media review found over 250 mentions of events taking place up and down the state.

KTVU covers BACR Lights On Afterschool Celebration

As California moves to provide all four-year-olds with full-day, full-year care and kindergarten readiness through Universal Pre-Kindergarten, districts will need to partner with and leverage expanded learning programs. At the same time, the afterschool sector still has a lot to learn from early learning experts to better understand the unique needs of younger children. PCY, DIAL EE, and others teamed up to provide a multi-day convening for district teams to learn from experts and leaders across a variety of whole-child initiatives, including expanded learning. Held over four days in October and November, 75 people from eight California school districts came together to develop their early learning strategies.

Attendees at The Institute: Implementing Universal PreKindergarten

This video promotes stronger coordination between UPK and expanded learning programs to provide whole child support.

In our efforts to secure more funding for teens, we’ve often been told that high school students don’t need or want afterschool programs. This couldn’t be further from the truth: expanded learning opportunities and the relationships they foster are crucial for adolescents whose brains are developing more intensely than at any point since infancy. But programs for older youth do look and feel different from elementary programs. To combat this misperception, we developed this primer in October in collaboration with our partners highlighted above. It makes the case for investing in expanded learning programs for middle and high school students with compelling evidence of their benefits, examples of what these programs look like in action, and charts a path forward for public policy advocates and education leaders.

We co-created a guide (English and Spanish versions) released in October geared at helping families understand how they can advocate for increased funding that will best support their child’s educational journey. This resource offers families an overview of ELO-P, tips about what to look for to ensure their district is taking advantage of available ELO-P funds, a list of questions to inform conversations with school and/or district leaders, and examples of districts that have successfully used ELO-P funding to provide additional opportunities to students. We will continue our partnership to bring this guide to life through webinars and videos to build the collective power of families to advocate for their children’s expanded learning experiences.

In spring 2023, PCY, CalSAC, and ExpandLA began planning for an event with a collective commitment to moving beyond ideas and toward action. The first convening of its kind, held December 7-8 in Los Angeles, brought together over 200 district and community-based organization leaders, workforce development stakeholders, and funders from Butte County to San Diego. Panels, workshops, and regional discussions offered new ideas for creating a thriving expanded learning workforce. A clear theme was the need to raise awareness and recognition of expanded learning professionals, and build on the assets of a primarily BIPOC and young adult workforce. Stay tuned for a full recap of the event and how to get involved in the movement!

Power of Partnerships Panel Discussion:

Chris Valenzuela (PCY); Lou Calanche (ExpandLA);

Kim Richards (Boys and Girls Clubs of Carson);

Elizabeth Cushing (Playworks)

PCY and CalSAC Program Managers lead a Unity Clap in the spirit of Isang Bagsak to engage attendees in a practice with deep history in grassroots movements. “We rise together, we fall together, and when we work together as one, we can move mountains.”

“Our work side-by-side with PCY on [the Summit] has helped us to not only gain a deeper understanding of how this issue impacts the sector but also begin to work with our region's systems leaders and partners to take steps toward solutions. The Summit has created energy and momentum across the State.”

In November, welcomed two new staff members and two new board members. Destiny Lopez and Chris Valenzuela will help us to forge new partnerships and strengthen existing ones in the technical assistance and workforce arenas. Rene Casas and Efrain Mercado bring their networks and expertise in youth organizing and the California K-12 ecosystem. These new perspectives will bring fresh ideas and possibilities for collaboration to bolster PCY’s work.