Recognizing Critical Summer Youth Programs

As the back-to-school season is upon us, it is important that we take a moment to reflect on the experiences of Colorado youth over the last 8 to 10 weeks. Summer breaks, a staple of the American education system, can give young people and their families a much-needed reprieve from rigorous school schedules and tasks. For other families, however, it can be the source of extraordinary financial burden and stress, especially if their children have nowhere to go.

On almost any given week in the summer, one can find a wide variety of summer activities in Colorado that aim to give youth an enriching summer experience. Whether it is up in the mountains away from technology or submerged in an intensive art or educational summer class, many young people have a wide variety of options. However, these options are almost all limited by budget. A Wallace Foundation study revealed that two in five parents did not enroll their child in a structured summer experience because programs were too expensive. Moreover, some communities in Colorado have no summer programs offered at all. Young people that do not have the same opportunities as more affluent or geographically lucky youth get left behind. These youth do not have a summer experience that reinforces the skills they learned during the school year prior; nor do they get exposed to new experiences or have the opportunity to try something new or learn a new skill. This disparity in access to enrichment opportunities produces major gaps between affluent families and families who cannot afford it. It is for precisely that reason that programs like Boys & Girls Clubs are so indispensable, in particular during the months of June, July and August.

Boys & Girls Clubs in Colorado provide comprehensive summer programming. Comprehensive programming means:

·       Programming is offered all day long, so families can maintain employment.

·       Programming is provided to families at a no-cost/low-cost model, ensuring that financial barriers never preclude access.

·       And programming is embedded with robust enrichment opportunities likened to the ones that more affluent youth typically access.

Before this summer wraps up, Boys & Girls Clubs throughout the state will have served approximately 15,000 young people at more than 70 locations, making the organization one of the largest and most comprehensive programs in the state. Boys & Girls Clubs and similar comprehensive summer programs fill critical gaps for youth and families. They provide safety and shelter, meet basic needs, help prevent juvenile drug use and crime, offer educational enrichment initiatives, support youth mental health and wellbeing, expose youth to new places and experiences and increase overall protective factors.

Today’s young people are facing many serious challenges. The U.S. Surgeon General has labeled youth loneliness an epidemic, Colorado is experiencing an alarming number of youth deaths from suicide and overdoses, and academic test scores have fallen lower than they have in decades. These threats to youth wellbeing underscore the overwhelming need to ensure that all young people have access to safe places with caring adults and most urgently, when schools are not in session.

Our young people deserve opportunities that provide safety, enrichment, and academic engagement, regardless of their household income. It is time to recognize the critical role that Boys & Girls Clubs and other comprehensive programs play in supporting Colorado’s young people. Moreover, it is time to invest in these programs. Last legislative session, a bill initiated by Governor Polis, House Bill 23-1231 was passed with wide bipartisan support. This legislation will open a new 25-million-dollar grant opportunity for out-of-school providers to apply for in partnership with local districts to help students in mathematics. While this legislation is a good start, out-of-school providers need more opportunities to access state funding that supports the comprehensive work they are already doing. We hope the legislature will build from HB23-1231 and continue to prioritize out-of-school providers and the vital work they do to help students succeed. By investing in comprehensive out-of-school programs, we can shepherd a future for all young people where they have the same supports out-of-school as they have in school.

Kaycee Headrick is executive director of the Colorado Alliance for Boys & Girls Clubs in Colorado. She has been involved in Boys and Girls Clubs since 2008. Visit www.coloradoboysandgirlsclubs.org/ for more information. You can also learn more about the need for summer programs by visiting, Summer Learning - Wallace Foundation.