IDEA scholars, parents, and community leaders from the IDEA Rio Grande Valley region are rallying for afterschool programs this week as part of Lights On Afterschool. This event celebrates the achievements of afterschool students and draws attention to the need for more afterschool programs to serve the millions of children nationwide who are unsupervised each weekday afternoon.
IDEA Public Schools in the Rio Grande Valley is proud to be home to 23 of approximately 8,000 Lights On Afterschool events taking place across the nation this month to emphasize the importance of keeping the lights on and the doors open after school.
Some 24.7 million U.S. children not in an afterschool program would be enrolled, if a program were available to them, according to a survey of nearly 1,500 parents commissioned by the Afterschool Alliance and conducted by Edge Research in May and June of 2022. That is the highest number ever recorded.
Unmet demand for afterschool programs is significantly higher among Latino and Black children (at 60% and 54% respectively) than children overall (49%). Cost is the top barrier to enrolling, cited by 57% of parents as a reason for not enrolling their child. Ninety percent of parents rate the quality of the program their child attends as excellent (51%) or very good (39%).
Afterschool programs at IDEA in the Rio Grande Valley provide homework assistance, mentoring, tutoring, and classes and clubs in sports, music, mathematics, chess, and dozens of other subjects.
Attend an Official Lights On Afterschool Event Near You
Visit an official Lights On Afterschool event in the Rio Grande Valley to see the impact of out-of-school programs. Click on the campus name listed to visit their Facebook page and learn more about each event.
| Campus | Event | Date |
| IDEA North Mission | Lights On Afterschool Parade | Wednesday, October 25 |
| IDEA Alamo | Lights On Afterschool – IDEA Alamo | Thursday, October 26 |
| IDEA Harlingen | Lights On After School at IDEA Harlingen | Thursday, October 26 |
| IDEA Weslaco Pike | Lights On Afterschool “Trunk or Treat” | Thursday, October 26 |
| IDEA San Benito | Lights on After School “Trunk or Treat” | Thursday, October 26 |
| IDEA Edinburg | Lights On Afterschool “Trunk or Treat” | Thursday, October 26 |
| IDEA Mission | Lights on After School IDEA Mission | Thursday, October 26 |
| IDEA Weslaco | Lights on After School Community Pep Rally | Thursday, October 26 |
| IDEA San Juan | Shine Bright – Lights On After School Event | Thursday, October 26 |
| IDEA Rio Grande City | Lights on After School at IDEA Rio Grande City | Thursday, October 26 |
| IDEA Tres Lagos | Lights On After School Trunk or Treat Event | Thursday, October 26 |
| IDEA La Joya | Lights on After School Event | Thursday, October 26 |
| IDEA Frontier | Lights On Afterschool – IDEA Frontier | Friday, October 27 |
| IDEA Quest | Lights on After School – IDEA Quest Trunk or Treat | Friday, October 27
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| IDEA Elsa | Lights on After School – Spooktacular Night | Friday, October 27
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| IDEA Palmview | Lights On Afterschool – Fall Festival | Friday, October 27
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| IDEA Riverview | Lights On Afterschool Dean Porter Park Pavilion | Friday, October 27
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| IDEA Donna | Lights on After School at IDEA Donna | Friday, October 27
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| IDEA McAllen | Lights on After School- Fall Festival | Friday, October 27
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| IDEA Robindale | “Lights On Afterschool: Afterschool Moves & Grooves” Event | Friday, October 27
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| IDEA Los Encinos | Lights on After School Trunk or Treat | Saturday, October 28, 2023 |
| IDEA Pharr | Light the Night- Lights On After School Event | Wednesday, November 1, 2023 |
Lights On Afterschool is organized by the Afterschool Alliance, a nonprofit public awareness and advocacy organization working to ensure that all children have access to quality afterschool programs. More information on the Afterschool Alliance and Lights On Afterschool is available at www.afterschoolalliance.org.
