Turner: 'The City of Houston is proud to champion these opportunities for our children and youth'

Mayor Sylvester Turner is celebrating the city’s recent achievement of becoming an official partner in the nationwide Engage Every Student Program. The Office of Education and Youth Engagement under Mayor Turner was one of the latest additions to the program focused on creating afterschool programs and extracurricular opportunities for students.

“The City of Houston is proud to champion these opportunities for our children and youth,” Mayor Sylvester Turners said in a July 19 city press release. “We look forward to working with the U.S. Department of Education to provide schools and communities the connections and assistance they need to expand access to afterschool and summer learning programs.”

Engage Every Student is a new federal program launched in July of 2022 by U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona. With the Department’s five main partners, Afterschool Alliance, AASA, the School Superintendents Association, National League of Cities, National Summer Learning Association and the National Comprehensive Center, they are providing the knowledge and connections to local schools to be able to create or expand their after school and summer programs, something the covid pandemic emphasized the importance of, according to the Engage Every Student website.

The Mayor’s Office department helps lead the Out 2 Learn program alongside community partners like the United Way of Greater Houston, Houston Endowment and the Harris County Department of Education. Out 2 Learn is committed to offering high-quality programming outside of the normal school day to all students and families in the Greater Houston Region, regardless of school or income level, according to the Out 2 Learn website.

"There are so many issues surrounding our young people that have been left unaddressed for far too long, such as the lack of accessibility to afterschool and summer programs. Receiving this recognition from the U.S. Department of Education demonstrates that our efforts are aligned with national priorities to advance education," Director of the Mayor’s Office of Education and Youth Engagement Olivera Jankovska said in the city press release.