Report to the Community
2020
In an unprecedented year of uncertainty and hardship, all of the systems that support young people have been strained. At Partnership for Children & Youth, we have leaned into our roles as partner, capacity builder, connector, and advocate to help young people and the adults who support them through immense challenges.
As a statewide intermediary working across complex systems, we pride ourselves on our ability to be nimble and responsive to shifting context. That skill has been needed this year more than ever. Below is a summary of the ways we have responded to existing and emerging needs across the state.
Topics covered
learning & wellness in the time of covid
When the Governor of California announced Shelter-in-Place orders and school closures, it became immediately clear that the children and families we serve would be most adversely affected. We quickly recognized that the educators we support in schools, afterschool programs, and affordable housing communities would need immediate tools and resources to pivot the instruction and care they deliver to these children on a daily basis. To meet these needs, we listened to our partners, created critical resources, and developed targeted trainings.
Shelter-in-Place Resources for Learning
We quickly compiled a comprehensive list of resources for distance learning, afterschool programs, affordable housing agencies, and social-emotional learning to help educators grapple with how to continue to support young people.
Summer Planning Guides
PCY collaborated with the Association of California School Administrators (ACSA) to develop two guides to help educators with rapid scenario-planning for summer 2020:
Webinars & Technical Assistance: Creating an Afterschool Meals Program
The pandemic has increased the need for food assistance across the country while simultaneously creating new challenges for families to access healthy food. PCY provided webinars and tailored technical assistance to schools, community-based organizations, and housing agencies, to make use of current flexibility in federal child nutrition programs that make it easier than ever to provide free, healthy meals to all children and teens in the community.
Supporting Affordable Housing Agencies
Public and affordable housing sites have become a vital hub where community partnership, school day, afterschool, social services, and home intersect. PCY hosted a series of eight listening and resource-sharing webinars in the spring for staff in public and nonprofit housing across the region. These sessions created a space for staff members to give and receive support; share challenges, anxieties, and immediate needs; and highlight creative practices. In response to this feedback, we developed several resources and trainings to help staff navigate some of their primary concerns:
advocacy in the time of covid
Like other advocacy groups, the goals we originally set for 2020 around the state budget and policy rapidly shifted in March and our advocacy took on a different kind of urgency. It was a moment we had to draw on the relationships and experience of nearly 20 years in our field and act quickly and strategically. As you will see from our activities, our partnerships and alliances have been key to everything we do on behalf of children and youth.
A Successful Campaign to Fight Cuts to Afterschool
With the support of a large coalition of allies, we led the charge to successfully fight off proposed cuts that would have been devastating to afterschool programs and the children and families who depend on them. As the coordinating member of the California Afterschool Advocacy Alliance (CA3), PCY organized hundreds of advocates to successfully call for legislators to reject the $100 million cut Governor Newsom proposed last May. Our efforts were backed by over 80 organizations, school districts, child and equity advocates, and cities (see logos of organizations that signed onto our letter of support).
Jennifer Peck Testifies Before State Assembly
In June, PCY CEO Jennifer Peck testified before the California State Assembly Education Committee about the critical role afterschool programs will play in reopening the state’s schools and economy.
Lights On Afterschool Event
In October, we collaborated with our other CA3 partners for a statewide virtual event to celebrate the hardworking afterschool staff members and to honor six of our legislative champions. With nearly 200 attendees, we heard from students, families, staff members, and five state legislators about the important role of afterschool programs across California, especially during COVID-19.
This event kicked off our advocacy for the 2021 legislative season, preparing our advocates and champions for budget and policy fights in the coming year.
afterschool’s role in reopening & recovery
As the new school year approached, schools had a massive task in front of them, far beyond the capacity and resources at their disposal. We began to raise awareness and develop resources to show education leaders why and how to work with expanded learning partners who play such critical roles in supporting the learning, social-emotional, physical, and mental health needs of students. As plans to reopen in-person supports are still unfolding in many communities, these will continue to be critical resources.
No Longer Optional: Expanded Learning in School Reopening
In collaboration with the Opportunity Institute, PCY released this brief outlining the challenges schools and districts are confronting during this time, as well as the opportunities to partner with expanded learning programs to better meet the needs of students.
COVID Quick Guide: Expanded Learning Supports
We created this Quick Guide in response to requests from local educational agencies and community-based organizations for up-to-date, practical information on the role of expanded learning partners, current flexibility, and availability of state and federal funding.
This video was a collaborative effort with expanded learning programs across the state to highlight the critical role of these programs before, during, and after COVID.
looking ahead
The coming year will continue to be a difficult one, even as we head towards recovery. We have to double down on our investments of financial and human resources to provide the learning and wellness supports all kids will need.
PCY’s Priority Areas:
Gather data and stories on in-person learning supports and learning hubs emerging around the state to share with educators and system leaders. Stay tuned for a new webpage PCY will launch early next month on in-person learning supports with an emphasis on the role of expanded learning partners.
Develop awareness and tools for summer of 2021 to ensure as many students as possible can access summer learning programs, which will be critical for mitigating learning loss and providing social and emotional support.
Provide ongoing supports to affordable housing communities so they can support student learning and food security.
Provide facilitated peer learning support and technical assistance to educators on social-emotional learning for adults and students.
Protect and grow California’s investment in expanded learning programs and their critical workforce.
Track new presidential appointees and proposals so we can effectively advocate and share information in California on critical federal resources.