School district leaders and experts on after-school and summer programming for students discussed the end of ESSER, a vital federal source of school revenues over the past four years, at a Thought Leader presentation at the AASA national conference Thursday.

The panel consisted of Quintin Shepherd, superintendent in Pflugerville, Texas; Magaly Sanchez, chief family advancement officer in the Boston Public Schools; Aaron Dworkin, CEO of National Summer Learning Association; Gigi Antoni, vice president of the Wallace Foundation; and Terry Peterson, who is director of the Afterschool and Community Learning Network. They took turns on the stage to discuss how school leaders can manage a future with less federal government funding while still fighting to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Bryan Joffe, AASA director children’s programs and panel moderator, began by addressing the political camel in the room, highlighting the controversy between public education and the current federal administration.

This provided a segue for the panelists to address the current attack on public education and how they as public school leaders will need to respond.

Shepherd, author of several books on education, called it, “The great dismantling of public education” with Sanchez stating, “This is a call to action.”

All panelists have accepted the newfound reality of decreased funding, and the superintendents' conversation veered toward the need for a strategic game plan.

The conversation focused on the effectiveness of after-school programs and cross-sector collaborations, but first it was important for them to address the school systems’ unwillingness to change.

“We have standing proof that our system is not able to reinvent itself from within … even with a global pandemic. It was still not enough,” Shepherd said.

He made it a priority to emphasize that superintendents must be creative in how they seek funding.

Peterson, an official with the Mott Foundation, elaborated on those sentiments calling for school to start their quests for funding support among parents, teachers, local businesses and civic leaders. He admitted superintendents may have to go along with changes they do not prefer stating, “No one’s going to fund the same old thing. … They’re going to fund more opportunities and change.”

But what does change look like? That’s where cross-sector collaboration and enhancing after-school programs come into play. Partnering with local establishments creates a collective roll in students’ lives that provides a helping hand for superintendents.

Antoni, of the Wallace Foundation, which studies education issues and connects educators with the resources and latest findings in education, stressed the necessity to rework after-school programs in a way that engages the student. To explain cross-sector partnerships, she highlights the improvements made in Boston where teachers are bringing their classrooms into cultural institutions, such as libraries, museums and even sailing programs.

But how effective are after-school programs? Paterson delivered a definite answer. He cited multiple studies detailing the positive effects kids receive from after-school programs, even highlighting a 26-year longitudinal study. He said educators have the knowledge of what should be done but admits the difficulties in partnering with institutions during the school year.

To combat the decreased funding from the federal government while recovering from the pandemic, the panel urged more effort into connecting with local businesses while reinventing after-school programs. Changing can be difficult, yet it is vital for creative methods to be implemented so students’ needs are met. In the eyes of this panel, after-school programs and community outreach are the places to start.

(Mohammad Tantawi, a senior journalism major at Louisiana State University, is a reporter for Conference Daily Online.)