Middleboro Review 2: Invest in the 80 percent: Why Mass. must fund summer and after-school learning

Sunday, March 29, 2026

Invest in the 80 percent: Why Mass. must fund summer and after-school learning

LOTS OF POSTS IGNORED BY BLOGGER.....

OR REMOVED ON THEIR WHIM!

ALL POSTS ARE AVAILABLE ON

MIDDLEBORO REVIEW AND SO ON

BLOGGER DOESN'T LIKE TRUTH OR FACTS!

BLOGGER DOESN'T LIKE FUND RAISERS AND DELETES

POSTS THAT INCLUDE FUNDRAISING THAT 'VIOLATES THEIR

UNDEFINED COMMUNITY STANDARDS SO ALL 'FUND RAISING'

IS DELETED - CONTRIBUTE AS YOU ARE INCLINED TO SUPPORT

IMPORTANT ISSUES! THESE ARE NOT SOLICITATIONS

Invest in the 80 percent: Why Mass. must fund summer and after-school learning

March 29, 2026

By Chris Smith and Paul Reville

Massachusetts has a generational opportunity to change thousands of lives by filling a conspicuous gap in our education system. We can do this by giving our students—particularly the most disadvantaged—more of what they actually want and need: robust summer and after-school learning and enrichment opportunities.

Currently, the state’s primary vehicles for funding such opportunities—the Afterschool/Out-of-School Time (ASOST) and Summer Learning budget items—are an important initial step in the right direction. However, much more is needed to meet the needs of students and families.

Consider the scale of that need: Children spend 80 percent of their waking hours during their K-12 years outside of school. It is a shocking but true statistic. And children learn every bit as much, if not more, outside of school, provided they have the opportunity.

For the 20 percent of time spent in school, we invest an average of over $23,000 per student per year. For the 80 percent of time spent outside of school, public expenditures sit at a mere $13 per student.

Affluent families fill this gap out of their own pockets, paying for camps, tutoring, sports, travel, and music lessons. But those without these financial resources are simply out of luck. This profound opportunity gap has a significant impact on educational achievement and attainment, representing a glaring inequity in our system.

While Massachusetts has made historic commitments to schooling recently, the math for out-of-school learning doesn’t yet add up. Legislators can and should change this dynamic starting with the fiscal year 2027 budget. For context, our state funding for public schools in FY 2025 was roughly $6.9 billion. By comparison, the $11.5 million allocated for summer and after-school programs in the FY 2026 budget is a drop in the bucket.

Consider that $11.5 million in comparison to other vital investments related to education:

$475 million for early learning grants
$190 million for free community college
$180 million for universal free school meals
$25 million for high-dosage tutoring

This gross disparity between in-school and out-of-school learning investments represents a singular challenge for the Commonwealth. We need a new mindset regarding when and how learning occurs. We must create year-round opportunities that are affordable and accessible to all students. Otherwise, our quest for an equal-opportunity society can never succeed.