PRIEST RIVER — Priest River Lamanna High School’s 21st Century Community Learning Center Agoge afterschool program is hoping to spread the word about afterschool programs through its Lights On Afterschool rally on Thursday, Oct. 25, from 5-7 p.m. The rally will take place at the high school, 596 Highway 57.

The rally will be one of more than an expected 8,000 such events across America as part of Lights On Afterschool, the annual nationwide celebration of afterschool programs organized by the Afterschool Alliance, according to a press release from CCLC Agoge.

This year, Lights On Afterschool will highlight youth voices in the upcoming national election, encouraging kids to share their thoughts with the next president and teaching them about our electoral process. To that end, our rally will feature the theme, “How STEaM Impacts Our Government.”

The 21st CCLC Agoge opened in 2014 with a 21st Century Community Learning Centers grant from the U.S. Department of Education. The program now serves over 50 students and counting, providing homework assistance, mentoring, tutoring, and classes and clubs in sports, recreation, mathematics, and several other subjects. The program is a collaboration between the school system, local churches, wilderness organizations as well as community organizations.

The Afterschool Alliance is a nonprofit public awareness and advocacy organization working to ensure that all children have access to quality afterschool programs.

Information: Afterschool Alliance, afterschoolalliance.org