The 3 p.m. bell at Telpochcalli Elementary School marked the start of students’ and teachers’ favorite hours. Students played instruments under the guidance of their talented music educators and swirled paint on canvases, eventually graduating and creating murals that adorned the walls and ceilings of the school.
For the first time in 20 years, the once-bustling halls of the Little Village school are silent, with unfinished murals serving as a poignant reminder of the after-school program’s closure.
Nearly three months into the school year, Illinois now faces a statewide after-school funding crisis.
About 40% of the state’s after-school programs were cut this year, following delays in 21st Century Community Learning Centers funding, and that number is expected to rise to 87%, for a total of about 290 sites, by the end of this year.
The problem is that the governor’s office is at a standstill with the money and there has been no communication on when the funds will be released.
The Illinois State Board of Education did not respond to a request for comment.
In 2023, the 21 CCLC grants served 578 schools across the state with $76 million in funding. At the start of this school year, only 271 sites were still receiving funding (totaling $36.9 million in spending), representing a 53% reduction in the number of schools served and a 47% drop in funding.
Distributed and administered by the Illinois State Board of Education, the 21CCLC grant is federal funding that provides after-school programs and educational development to students, 80 percent of whom are people of color and all of whom attend low-income, low-performing schools .
Tears came to the eyes of bilingual teacher Marisol Ceron as she shared what Telpochcalli’s after-school program meant to her and her students.
“I was approached by different students from different grade levels asking if there would be an after-school program: ‘Are you going to do music again?’ “Is there going to be art?” And I had to turn them down and tell them no,” Ceron said. “It was very sad and sad to hear the laughter and the children in the corridors until late in the evening (now), it’s just quiet. It’s different.
Chicago Arts Partnerships in Education (CAPE), an after-school program in partnership with Chicago Public Schools and funded by the 21st Century Grant, has expanded from eight schools to three this school year. Most recently, the program had to halt operations at Telpochcalli School, one of Little Village’s oldest participating schools, after receiving notice in March from ISBE that 10 sites would have to close in September.
Although they were able to raise enough funds to maintain programs at two other schools, Telpochcalli was unfortunately one of the programs forced to close.
CAPE provided a variety of extracurricular activities for students. They attended workshops focused on music and art, with various musicians and artists visiting each week to open students’ eyes to different genres.
Several parents shared how the program allowed their children to explore their creative pursuits in ways they could not during the school day. Parents felt reassured knowing that their children were being cared for while also devoting time to the crafts that interested them.
CAPE’s after-school program allowed Amelia Lorenz’s son to develop a love of art he wouldn’t have otherwise, said the mother of two Telpochcalli students.
“It’s funny that the students who need these kinds of programs the most…have less access to these kinds of programs that make them feel like they’re valuable human beings who have something to contribute to society,” Lorenz said. “It’s these kids who are losing these programs first, and it’s just a step backwards.”
It is now a daily struggle for Rocio Lugo to know who will watch over her once she finishes her studies. The Telpochcalli teaching assistant could once count on the after-school program to care for her daughter while she finished her shift the day before the program closed.
“My mother, who has a knee injury so she can’t help me as much, now has to step in because either I pay my rent or my daughter comes to school,” Lugo said. “It’s hard. I don’t think whoever decides funding for us gets that. This affects people’s livelihoods.
Lugo said the loss of the after-school program has resulted in many students being left unsupervised after the school day is over. She took it upon herself to accompany her daughter, along with other students, to the Boys and Girls Club, about 10 minutes from the school, once the students were released.
At the Boys and Girls Club, parents at least have the peace of mind of knowing their children are being supervised. The difference between the two extracurricular programs, however, is “huge.” The Boys and Girls program is not as arts-focused as the Telpochcalli program once had, Lugo said.
“It’s not that I’m criticizing them, but I’ll see a lot of coloring pages and basic worksheets,” Lugo said. “At Telpochcalli, they work with different mediums and work on elaborate artistic projects. They’re there with real teaching artists, not high school teenagers. The difference is enormous.
Brighton Park Neighborhood Council Chicago (BPNCC), an after-school program that serves eight schools and approximately 1,900 students throughout the Southwest, is among approximately 120 Chicago sites that have remained open despite statewide closures due to delays. disbursement of funds due to planning.
BPNCC was able to attract funding and grants outside of the 21st Century Fund for the following year, although once those grants ended at the end of the school year, the program could find itself in a situation similar to that of the state.
Discussing the importance of these after-school programs to the city’s marginalized communities, Patrick Brosnan, executive director of the BPNCC, said the loss of these programs can be incredibly detrimental.
Studies have shown that one of the most essential violence prevention tools is keeping students busy from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. When students are not actively engaged during this time, there is an increase in violence, he said, putting some of the city’s most vulnerable communities at risk. crime and violence among young people.
“You can’t wait until a crisis happens, a shooting breaks out or a child gets hurt, and then (ask) why, what happened, what’s happening in these communities? Why are there no after-school programs? » said Brosnan. “It’s going to make headlines, so we can’t wait for that.” We must act now.
With 13,500 students from low-income and majority Black and brown communities already without “crucial programming” statewide, that number is expected to reach 27,500 by Christmas. Susan Stanton, executive director of ACT Now Illinois, an advocacy group for after-school programs, said closing the programs would have a devastating impact on communities.
Brosnan said he and other after-school advocates have been lobbying the governor’s office for answers regarding the status of the 21st Century Grant. Most recently, ACT Now Illinois organized a rally to pressure lawmakers to release funds, especially at a time when they are expected to request funds for the upcoming school year.
Instead of celebrating the $50 million release they were eagerly awaiting on Oct. 24 at Lights On Afterschool, afterschool advocates rallied outside the Illinois State Board of Education to highlight the delays funding that threatens their programs.
Concerned that young people will likely be victims of gang and gun violence and fights at school, Stanton said it will be similar to what has been seen during the COVID-19 pandemic, when Schools and after-school programs had temporarily closed their doors. She said her claims are not hyperbole.
“These are things we’ve seen before here in Illinois and we have the power and resources to address this problem right now. So we just hope that our policymakers in Illinois will hear this call and take swift action to solve this problem, because we know they can,” Stanton said.
Shootings increased by nearly 30% in Chicago between 2019 and 2022. More than 90% of young shooting victims were not enrolled in school. After launching programs in communities across the city, the University of Chicago Education Lab saw a 48 percent drop in arrests for violent crimes.
Advocates, parents and students are all urging the governor’s office and ISBE to immediately release funds to keep after-school programs operational.
Until then, the unfinished murals will continue to serve as reminders of what was lost and what they are fighting for.
“We miss it,” Ceron said. “Art should be part of (their) lives.”