Washington, DC – The Afterschool Alliance announced today that Tom Haggard, Program Director, at Covington Partners, has been selected to serve as a 2017-2018 Afterschool Ambassador.  He is one of just 15 leaders from across the nation chosen for the honor this year. Each Afterschool Ambassador will continue directing or supporting a local afterschool program while also serving a one-year Afterschool Ambassador term, organizing public events, communicating with policy makers and in other ways increasing support for afterschool and summer learning programs.

“We’re delighted that Tom will serve as an Afterschool Ambassador this year,” said Afterschool Alliance Executive Director Jodi Grant. “He is exactly the kind of powerful champion we need at this time when federal funding for quality afterschool and summer learning programs is at risk. I know he will mobilize business, community and faith leaders, parents, educators and others to convince lawmakers to secure resources for the afterschool programs that keep kids safe, inspire them to learn and help working families. These programs offer hands-on learning opportunities, homework help, mentors, science and technology, healthy snacks and meals, sports and fitness, arts programming, college and job prep, and much more. We’re facing very real challenges this year, and more than a million students across the country could lose their afterschool programs. We will work together to stave off that threat.”

“I am thrilled to join in the Afterschool Alliance’s work to build support for afterschool programs,” said Haggard. “In my 10 years working in the field, I’ve seen up close the many ways afterschool programs help students to explore their interests and discover their passions, while giving parents the peace of mind that comes with knowing their children are safe and supervised, with opportunities to learn and grow, after the school day ends. I look forward to raising awareness and support for the out-of-school-time opportunities all students need.”

The Covington Community Learning Center program served 2,100 students in Covington Independent Public Schools during the 2016-17 school year at five elementary schools (K-5th grade), one middle school (6th-8th grades), and one high school (9th -12th grades).  The program helps students meet state and local academic standards in core academic subjects through individualized academic support; offers students a broad array of enrichment activities like gardening, dance, robotics and more; and offers opportunities for families to become more engaged in their child’s educational career. Nearly 3 in 5 students who attend the afterschool programs improve their reading grade or maintain the highest grade possible.  Programs receive funding from the federal 21^st Century Community Learning Centers program and from the generous support of community foundations and individual donors. 

Each Ambassador will organize a major event for Lights On Afterschool, the Afterschool Alliance’s annual rally for afterschool, to be held on October 26 this year. Last year, 1 million people participated in some 7,500 Lights On Afterschool events across the United States and at U.S. military bases worldwide. 

The 2017-2018 Afterschool Ambassadors are:

·         Arkansas: Ben Rediske, Program Director at Camp War Eagle in Springdale;

·         Florida (2): Justin Pinn, Director of Auxiliary Programming at Breakthrough Miami and Sierra Newhouse-Ragoonanan, Project Coordinator at After-School All-Stars in Orlando;

·         Kansas: Tony Yungeberg, Director of Valley Heights Community Education in Waterville;

·         Kentucky: Tom Haggard, Program Director at Covington Partners in Covington;

·         Louisiana: Samuel Trevathan, Education Director at Kids Orchestra in Baton Rouge;

·         Maryland: Terrell Sample, 21st Century Community Coordinator at Dorchester County Public Schools in Cambridge;

·         Michigan: Rebecca Idzikowski, SPARKS Director at Clare-Gladwin RESD in Clare;

·         Montana: Veronica Willeto, Site Coordinator at Pryor Public Schools 21st CCLC in Pryor;

·         Nevada: Matt Sampson, Director of Operations at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Western Nevada in Carson City;

·         New Jersey: David Haggerty, Director at the Morristown Neighborhood House in Morristown;

·         North Dakota: Robin Nelson, Chief Executive Officer at the Boys & Girls Club of the Red River Valley in Fargo;

·         Oklahoma: Danielle Hovenga, Director of the True Blue Neighbor’s Initiative at The University of Tulsa in Tulsa;

·         Tennessee: Jennifer Pettyjohn, Chief Executive Officer at the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Clinch Valley in Knoxville; and

·         Washington: Dorinda Belcher, Project Director K-12 for the White Salmon Valley School District in White Salmon.

The America After 3PM household survey of more than 30,000 families, commissioned by the Afterschool Alliance, found that participation in afterschool programs has increased to 10.2 million students nationwide, up from 6.5 million in 2004. But the unmet demand for afterschool programs has increased as well. Today, for every child in an afterschool program, there are two more whose parents say they would participate, if a program were available. Unmet demand is especially high in rural communities and communities of concentrated poverty. One in five students in the United States today is unsupervised after the school day ends.

A large and growing body of evidence demonstrates improvements in attendance, behavior, academic achievement and more among children in afterschool programs. Researchers have also found that afterschool programs encourage increased parental involvement – an important building block for student success.