When covid-19 became a pandemic nearly two years ago, Kanesha Barnes-Adams took on a challenging task to help students whose education would be impacted in some form or fashion as a result of the health crisis.
"When covid happened, I built the first virtual tutoring program for the state, but it came out of AR Kids Read," Barnes-Adams said, referring to the literacy intervention program she worked with. "We got funding from the Walton Foundation, and we didn't have to put a gap in our programming."
The National AfterSchool Association has taken notice of Barnes-Adams' extensive career in establishing and supporting afterschool programs and named the Pine Bluff resident one of its 2022 Next Generation of Afterschool Leaders. The 30-year-old program consultant and former teacher will be profiled in the spring issue of AfterSchool Today magazine.
The NAA is the lead organization for the advancement of afterschool professionals, according to a news release.
As a consultant, Barnes-Adams goes into afterschool programs and works to make them successful. She is the CEO and founder of both EduScape, an education technology platform, and Bearapy, a program that uses books and bears to promote positive self-care.
"I've worked with probably anywhere from 15 to 20 different afterschool programs across the state, and now my consultant firm has a contract with the Arkansas Afterschool Alliance where I will oversee all of their reading programming for anywhere from 45 to 50 afterschool programs," Barnes-Adams said. "My work is just going in, looking at what they're doing, thinking about measures of evaluation, how to communicate with parents, how to make sure what is happening in the program reflects what is or is not happening in the school, and that is a lot of what the work I do is wrapped around."
Much of Barnes-Adams' professional career has revolved around afterschool programs. Joining the Teach for America program, she was sent back to Pine Bluff to teach at Lighthouse Charter School and was later assigned to the Helena-West Helena School District.
She started programs at both locations.
"They had some of the best grades," Barnes-Adams said of her pupils. "They were really swift, really smart and really sweet. When I left, another teacher picked it up and kept it going. When I went to Helena, I did the same thing, started a girls club afterschool called ROYAL -- Reminding Our Youngsters About Leadership. They had some of the best grades in the school. When I left, another TFA member picked it up."
Barnes-Adams returned to her alma mater Watson Chapel School District as an instructional coach and started an afterschool drama club.
"I was always doing something afterschool to support enrichment, what kids were not getting in school or just giving them an outlet to do something outside of what was happening at school," she said.
The career Barnes-Adams has built is much different from her intended path of becoming a lawyer. Faced with the high cost of law school, she earned a master's degree in psychology from Oklahoma State University with thoughts of becoming a counselor.
Now, she's considered a leader in helping kids grow after the final bell.
"The National AfterSchool Association knows that strong afterschool leaders develop the skilled professionals and teams that run strong organizations and quality programs that result in positive youth outcomes," NAA President and CEO Gina Warner said. "These emerging leaders will help shape the afterschool field and profession for years to come."