Think Together Inspires Students to "Think It. Dream It. Go for Greatness!" with State Senators and Policymakers at its Annual Lights on Afterschool Event

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Oct 28, 2024, 21:09 ET

The livestream broadcast shined a light on the impact of expanded learning programs with notable expanded learning champion California State Board of Education President Dr. Linda Darling-Hammond.

SANTA ANA, Calif., Oct. 28, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Think Together, California's leading nonprofit provider of afterschool, expanded learning and school improvement programs, held its annual Lights On Afterschool virtual event on its YouTube channel on Thursday, Oct. 24. The event, themed Think It. Dream It. Go for Greatness, marks the fourth year Think Together has hosted a virtual statewide celebration.

Think Together Founder and CEO Randy Barth celebrates Lights on Afterschool with Think Together regional leadership at Sultana Elementary School in Ontario, Calif.

The broadcast featured highlights from Think Together's expanded learning, afterschool and summer programs, as well as impactful testimonials from students, parents, staff and top policymakers such as:

U.S. Senator Alex Padilla
California State Board of Education President Dr. Linda Darling-Hammond
California Department of Education Director of Expanded Learning Michael Funk
U.S. Deputy Secretary of Education Cindy Marten
California Secretary of State Dr. Shirley Weber
California Department of Justice Attorney General Rob Bonta
State Senator John Laird
State Senator Anthony Portantino
State Senator Dave Cortese

In addition to the virtual broadcast, Think Together hosted over 400 school site celebrations across the state in collaboration with school district partners that have benefited from increased state and federal investments including the formative Expanded Learning Opportunities Program (ELO-P) grants. Celebrations included harvest festivals, art exhibits, and STEM showcases.

"ELO-P offers quality resources for students to engage in enriching activities from academic support to arts to sports programs," said Think Together Founder and CEO Randy Barth. "That is why Think Together continues to encourage partners to take advantage of the investment ELO-P provides to ensure students across the state receive quality academic support after the regular school day."

California Governor Gavin Newsom and state legislators approved the 2024-2025 state budget, which not only establishes systems to sustain funding, but it also lays the groundwork for improving data and evaluation of expanded learning programs through the passage of AB-1113.

With AB-1113, the California Department of Education will now track student data for those enrolled in After School Education and Safety (ASES) and 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) programs, through the California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System (CALPADS). This new requirement will create benchmark data for improving program effectiveness, expanding access, and promoting equity for students across the state.

"The passing of AB-1113 marks a significant step toward fully understanding the reach and effectiveness of these programs, ensuring we meet the needs of all students and strengthen communities across California," added Barth. "We can't thank our state legislators enough for reaching this agreement, despite there being a statewide budget deficit."

Throughout California, Think Together serves nearly 200,000 students across 600 schools with afterschool, early learning and non-instructional day programs. According to the Afterschool Alliance, an additional 1.7 million children are enrolled in afterschool programs, yet roughly one in five kids are still without afterschool care across the state.

With increasing investments through initiatives like ELO-P, Think Together and its partners remain committed to expanding access, ensuring more students have opportunities to succeed both in and out of the classroom.

About Think Together

Think Together partners with schools and communities to pursue educational equity and excellence for all kids. As a nonprofit organization, Think Together innovates, implements, and scales academic solutions that change the odds for hundreds of thousands of California students. Think Together's program areas include early learning, afterschool, school support services and leadership development for teachers and school administrators. For more information, call (888) 485-THINK or visit www.thinktogether.org

SOURCE Think Together