The Baltimore nonprofit Elev8 is expanding its after-school program at select city schools to fill a gap left by those shut down due to federal funding cuts.
Earlier this month, city schools leaders said that they are canceling after-school activities at 44 schools after the Trump administration decided to not reimburse Maryland for over $400 million of pandemic-era relief spending. That means around 3,000 students lost their programs this week.
When she heard the news, Elev8 Director Alex Warrick Adams said she immediately decided to open as many seats as possible.
“We know that our families are working, and after-school is a critical support for those that live in communities that are disproportionately impacted by systematic racism and poverty,” Warrick Adams told WYPR. “There was no time to request a meeting and strategize. This is just a response to what we know is a need.”
Warrick Adams said five schools – Arlington Elementary, Sandtown-Winchester Achievement Academy, New Song Academy, Cecil Elementary, and Thomas Jefferson Elementary/Middle – will open 10-15% more Elev8 seats in the coming weeks.
The nonprofit is also “fast-tracking” applications for a few new staff positions at those sites, geared specifically towards teachers and other community members who were working at programs that are now shut down.
“If they're interested in maintaining some of those wages for the remainder of the school year, we're happy to absorb them in our process,” Warrick Adams said. “This isn't just a school system problem or an individual school problem, this is a Baltimore problem, and Elev8 is here to be part of a Baltimore solution.”
After-school programs offer more than just child care, Warrick Adams added. Students at Elev8 receive a free meal each day. Elev8 learning coaches offer specialized tutoring and homework help.
Victoria Bruton is a learning coach at Thomas Jefferson Elementary School. It’s her part-time job alongside being a substitute teacher.
She said she gained two new students this week because of Elev8’s expansion – and there’s a waitlist for more.
“I look into the subjects that the kids struggle in, and I make lesson plans,” she told WYPR. “I actually got a compliment from one of their teachers because of me helping them. They were like, ‘Well, hey, they've been improving in class. So can you work on this with them?’”
Bruton attended an Elev8 after-school program when she was younger.
“It’s very important for Elev8 to exist,” she said. “I enjoyed being in the program, and now just knowing that [my students] are improving in class is making me happy.”
The students say they stay in Elev8 because of all the extracurricular activities, like picking up trash around the neighborhood and going on field trips.
“We do arts, we do dance,” said ten-year-old Kataleya. “I like that we have different teachers and get to experience different stuff.”
