Back-to-school season is typically a joyful time in our household–shopping for first-day outfits and essential supplies, and filled with hopeful anticipation for my two elementary-aged children.

But this year feels different.

As I dropped my kids off for their first week, my enthusiasm was shadowed by uneasiness many parents share. Federal funding cuts through the so-called "Big Beautiful Bill," mass firings at the Department of Education , and freezes in counties across the country – including mine – have put the future of critical programs my children cherish at grave risk.

The after-school enrichment activities that make public school a joy for so many families are now under the greatest threat they have ever faced.

The very programs that have made public school a joy for so

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