A Bold New Initiative – Opportunity to Engage Every Student

Engage Every Student is a bold new call to action to provide high-quality out-of-school time learning opportunities for every child who wants to participate. The initiative, launched by U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona in July, works to provide schools and communities the connections and assistance they need to expand access to afterschool and summer learning programs.

According to Secretary Miguel Cardona, “Quality out-of-school time programs have always supported students’ academic, social, and emotional growth, but as we recover from the pandemic, these opportunities have never mattered more. We need bold action, especially for low-income students and students of color who have historically struggled to access quality afterschool programs and rich summer learning experiences. This new partnership cements the Department of Education’s commitment to ensuring that more students have access to meaningful, enriching out-of-school programming, not just some of the day, but all day, all year round.”

The Initiative will encourage and support schools, districts, local elected officials, local government agencies, community-based organizations, states, and others connected to out-of-school time efforts to take up ED’s call to action on universal access, and to encourage the utilization of American Rescue Plan resources in addition to other federal, state, and local resources to support access to out-of-school time as an evidence-based strategy to support student recovery from lost instructional time during the pandemic.

Through the American Rescue Plan, school districts, cities, and states have funding and an unprecedented opportunity to partner with high-quality expanded learning programs to support students’ well-being and academic growth.

To learn more about the Engage Every Student Initiative and the call to action on universal access, visit https://engageeverystudent.org/.