Dear Superintendent:
When COVID-19 closed schools in March 2020, afterschool programs across Missouri didn’t skip a beat. They expanded their hours and services to provide safe spaces and remote learning supports for students and to support schools’ virtual and hybrid models. Some programs went beyond their scope to distribute meals, make home visits, and connect parents to health care, employment, and food assistance resources.
On October 28, 2021, our nation will celebrate Lights On Afterschool. The 22nd annual event will recognize the vital work that afterschool professionals are doing to help youth recover from the pandemic. Please join us in recognizing the afterschool staff and afterschool program administrators in your district. Like school day educators, afterschool professionals have worked hard during the pandemic to adapt to the changing situations and meet the needs of children and families in the community. Afterschool program directors have been stressed to their limits trying to keep their programs open and continue to serve families. The stress has been compounded by lower staff to student ratio requirements, increased labor costs, and inability for families to pay, to name a few. Frontline staff have been impacted by the stress of low wages, part time schedules, and health risks.
As afterschool programs go through their own recovery process, your acknowledgement, appreciation, and recognition for their dedication and service to the students in your district will go a long way toward rebuilding morale and reenergizing the “workforce behind the workforce”. Your district may already recognize classroom teachers, educators, and other school day staff, and we encourage you to also recognize the caring individuals who work in the afterschool setting. Suggestions for recognition of the afterschool staff include:
- Morning and/or afternoon announcements recognizing and thanking afterschool staff on October 28th (Lights on Afterschool)
- Article in building or district newsletters
- Signs hung around the school thanking afterschool staff
- Wear blue on October 28th to celebrate Lights On Afterschool
- Invite the afterschool program director to share information at a school board meeting
- Ask the PTA(s) to celebrate Afterschool Professionals Week (April 25-29, 2022)
Afterschool professionals will continue to inspire children to learn, keep them safe in the hours when juvenile crime peaks, and give working parents peace of mind that their children are safe and supervised after the school day ends. We appreciate your time and attention to recognizing the important role that afterschool leaders and program staff play in the lives of children, youth, and families in your district.
Sincerely,
Terri Foulkes, Executive Director
Missouri AfterSchool Network
