Imagine it’s 2:30 in the afternoon. School just ended, but work hasn’t. Parents across Los Angeles are stuck in traffic or in back-to-back shifts. Rent is due. Groceries are more expensive than last month. There’s no one home yet. But the kids need somewhere to be.
For thousands of families in this city, expanded learning isn’t a luxury. It’s survival. But finding it? Affording it? That’s another story.
Private afterschool programs can cost anywhere from $3,888 to over $11,000 per child each year. For families with two kids, that climbs to more than $22,000. That’s more than many people pay for housing. And the need doesn’t stop with cost. Across Los Angeles, more than 50 percent of households are cost-burdened, more than 30 percent of children live in food-insecure homes, and nearly one in three adults do not feel safe in their neighborhoods.
The challenge is clear. And for 37 years, so has the city’s answer.
A Promise from City Hall
In 1988, Mayor Tom Bradley launched LA’s BEST with a simple idea: if families don’t have access to safe, affordable, enriching spaces for kids after school, the city should step in and create them.
That idea became a city-supported program based in public schools, together in partnership with the Mayor’s Office and LAUSD, and designed to offer free expanded learning in the neighborhoods that needed it most.
It wasn’t a side project. It was part of Los Angeles’ public infrastructure. A commitment not just to children, but to their families. A recognition that public safety, economic opportunity, and child development are deeply connected.
That promise, made at City Hall, still lives on today.
37 Years of Standing with LA’s Kids
Every sitting mayor since Mayor Bradley has renewed that commitment.
Mayor Karen Bass continued that legacy. She visited Gates Elementary. And on the 9th of April LA’s BEST Day she welcomed students into her press conference room at City Hall and spent time listening to what they would do if they were Mayor for the day. She took the time to listen, to witness, and to understand how LA’s BEST supports LA’s families directly from the community.
For nearly four decades, LA’s BEST has been a reflection of what kind of city Los Angeles chooses to be: one that shows up after school.
Today, in partnership with the City and LAUSD, LA’s BEST serves 16,200 students at more than 200 LAUSD elementary schools. All at no cost to families all year round.
A Full-Circle Moment
Some of the students who grew up in LA’s BEST are now leading Los Angeles.
Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez is one of them. She attended LA’s BEST at Monte Vista Elementary. This year, she returned to that same school and found the program thriving: joyful, relevant, and just as essential as ever.
As a City Councilmember, she introduced the resolution celebrating LA’s BEST Day. Her remarks weren’t abstract. They were personal. She knows firsthand how expanded learning programs can open doors, change trajectories, and strengthen entire communities.
In her words and presence, the story came full circle.
A Citywide Celebration of Care
The campaign leading up to LA’s BEST Day on April 9 was a clear show of public support and purpose. It began in early March, when our first-ever Staff Advocacy Cohort traveled to Sacramento for the California Afterschool and Summer Challenge. There, they met with state leaders to champion expanded learning programs. They spoke with clarity and heart about what it means to serve the neighborhoods they grew up in and why that work is essential.
The advocacy work began months earlier. In December, Councilwoman Monica Rodriguez met with the cohort before their Sacramento trip, encouraging them to share their lived experiences and speak with confidence about the impact of their work.
Back in Los Angeles, the momentum continued to grow. On April 4, the City Council convened to hear directly from LA’s BEST parents, students, a principal, and our CEO. Their stories brought to life what data alone can’t capture. From the peace of mind parents feel knowing their children are cared for, to the academic gains, stable routines, and trusted relationships that help students thrive. Councilwoman Hernandez’s resolution recognized the impact LA’s BEST has had on families and communities for more than 35 years.
On April 9, LA’s BEST students met with Mayor Karen Bass and shared their stories inside the Council Chambers. That night, thanks to Councilwoman Monica Rodriguez, City Hall lit up in LA’s BEST blue and green.
For the students, staff, and families walking by, the glow said it all. The city sees them, values them, and knows they belong.
A Sound Investment in a Stronger City
LA’s BEST is a smart investment. For every dollar spent, families and the public see as much as three times the return through educational gains and reduced costs tied to public safety and social services.
Supporting LA’s BEST is not about starting something new. It is about sustaining what already works and continuing to reach the kids and communities that rely on us most.
Even in higher-income areas, families are stretched. In District 11, the city’s highest-income district, over 40 percent of households are still cost-burdened. Food insecurity exists everywhere. LA’s BEST exists for everyone.
A City That Shows Up
LA’s BEST didn’t appear by chance. It was built by a city that made a choice. And for 37 years, that choice has paid off for children, for families, for neighborhoods, and for the future of Los Angeles.
It’s not just about afterschool hours. It’s about the critical hours of the day and the crucial years of a child’s life, when joy, safety, second chances, and bright beginnings matter most.
The city showed up. And it keeps showing up.
