Gadsden Schools in The Washington Post

 From a story in The Washington Post about funding cuts impacting schools, including at least one system in Alabama:

"At Gadsden City Schools, a district about 60 miles northeast of Birmingham, Alabama, nine of the 12 schools use $1.5 million in federal community learning center funds to operate their after-school programs.

Gadsden’s median household income is $38,699. About 72 percent of the district’s 4,000 students qualify for free or reduced lunch, according to school officials.

The district’s after-school programs have contributed to increased student achievement, said Janie Browning, who runs community education and coordinates 21st Century Community Learning Centers grants for Gadsden City Schools.

With the expansion of after-school academic enrichment programs, Donehoo Elementary School improved from a middling 71 percent state report card grade to an 88 percent in the 2023-24 school year. The school was recognized statewide as one of the top 25 schools for greatest improvement this past school year.

Raeven Bagley, 34, said she was pleasantly surprised when her 9-year-old daughter, Cassiyah, came home from the after-school program at George W. Floyd Elementary in Gadsden knowing how to write in cursive.

Bagley earns $40,000 a year raising funds for child literacy for a local United Way branch. The after-school program gives her peace of mind that her daughter has a safe and educational environment to grow in at no extra cost.

“It’s not just play time. It’s not just babysitting. They’re actually learning,” Bagley said.

Gadsden City Schools’ current grant, which was awarded in 2022, expires in September. If cuts are approved by Congress, the $1.8 million in after-school funding the district is set to receive in October could be put in jeopardy.

Congress is in the midst of drafting legislation to fund education programs, along with the rest of the federal government, by the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30.

“Without [funding], kids are going to be going home often to no one being there because families have to work,” Browning said. “After-school is a lifeline for families and students. To think we would have to operate without providing that lifeline to parents is devastating.”

 FULL STORY IS HERE.