Dear Friends and Supporters,

On Friday, we learned that–due to the US Department of Education’s decision to renege on previously approved pandemic-recovery funding–Baltimore City Schools was forced to abruptly cancel our After School Arts for Learning Academy (ASALA) at five schools. In addition to ASALA, 11 other after-school and tutoring programs, serving 65 schools across the city were canceled.

Thousands of students and families will be impacted.
Baltimore City Schools is as pained about this occurrence as we are. As the Baltimore Banner reports, the Federal Government is not just ending pandemic-recovery funding; they are refusing to reimburse school districts in Maryland for funds already spent or contractually committed. This places Baltimore City Schools immediately in $48 MILLION of debt.

Cutting ASALA before the end of the school year will impact 539 students who benefit from the academic support. For us, this is particularly painful because our data clearly show how remarkable ASALA has been in reversing COVID learning loss for students who participate.

ASALA families depend on safe, engaging out-of-school-time care and educators and teaching artists rely on this work to pay their bills. For all of these reasons, and despite awareness that these cuts may be just the beginning of what may be coming down the pike, we have decided to use our own reserve funds to continue ASALA through mid-May.

A4L’s Board Executive Committee met Sunday to approve the continuation of a scaled-back program at the impacted sites: Arundel, Dorothy I. Height, Glenmount, Sinclair Lane, and Wildwood.

We are exploring how we can partner with impacted families, staff, and fellow after-school and nonprofit providers to raise awareness about how this Federal action is harming our community.

As always,  Arts for Learning remains committed to Maryland students, artists, educators, and families. Our work is strengthened by our passionate community.
Stacie Sanders Evans, President & CEO