A Lafayette College community engagement program suspended its schedule with the Easton Area Middle School on Oct. 7, part of a district-wide pause on after-school activities to shore up against Pennsylvania’s gridlocked state budget. The pause prompted members of the program, LafKid Connect, to pen over two dozen letters to state and local government calling for a resolution to the four-month-late budget.
“I’m hoping that these representatives read this and take it seriously and understand that this isn’t just a college program,” said Jodi Fowler, the associate director of civic leadership programs for the Landis Center. “It’s not just community service, it’s not just to check a box. It’s not just hours that our students are getting.”
The program pairs Lafayette students with Easton middle schoolers to create artistic projects and foster mentorship. The paired students met just once before the district put a halt to after-school activities, restricting funding for the bussing and staffing that LafKid Connect relies on.
“When these budget delays are put in action and funding is halted, it jeopardizes these programs and these connections,” Fowler said.
Katie Simpson ‘26, the co-president of LafKid Connect, said the organization is working to brainstorm new ways to work with middle schoolers without an in-person connection; the group recently filmed a video for the school’s morning announcements and delivered handwritten cards to the students.
She said the organization is “staying positive” and “trying to do what we can.”
“We were like listening to music, talking about it, and we also had reflection questions to try to get people just thinking more about why writing letters to our legislators was so important,” Simpson said. “While it might not feel like super fun, it’s really important work to be doing, and it’s impactful for the students.”
Joyce Arrizza, the program coordinator and an Easton Area Middle School teacher, said that the students were “anxious for it to come back.” She added that notifying parents of the shutdown was “not a pleasant time.”
Benita Draper, an assistant superintendent of the Easton Area School District, said the district is weighing alternative transportation options and looking for new ways to fund the programs. Draper said she met with volunteers, staff members and nearby nonprofit Family Connections to discuss alternatives.
Family Connections had a role in reviving another after-school program with Lafayette volunteers, America Reads, after it too lost funding this month, according to Fowler.
Draper said the conversation sought to see “how we can work more closely with the university to have students who can volunteer their time, either before, during or after school, to make sure that we’re providing different types of support for our students.”
Lindsey Christman ‘28, the co-president of LafKid Connect, said Lafayette volunteers see the middle schoolers as “a big part of our life.”
“We get to give to them, and they give back to us,” she said.
