In partnership with the New York City Board of Education and Chancellor Rudy Crew, the YMCA in New York is working to bring extended school services to 10,000 public school children by turning 200 of the city's public schools into Virtual Y's from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. after school each day. At each Virtual Y, 50 second-, third-, and fourth-graders will take part in the Y's traditional curriculum, the spirit--mind--body triangle, designed to build strong values, enhance education, improve academic performance, and promote healthy lifestyles--with reading as the "golden thread" woven throughout to meet President Clinton's challenge that all children be able to read well by the end of the third grade.

Bailey Gatzert, a Title I schoolwide project, and five other elementary schools in the Seattle School district offer extended-day tutoring activities lasting from 3:15 p.m. to 5 p.m. after school four days a week. Approximately 30 adults--high school volunteers, teachers, and college students--help to provide students with one-on-one tutoring each day. In addition, on Saturday mornings, children and parents can join an enrichment program from 9 a.m. to 12 a.m. The Saturday activities range from reading and language arts to work in the school's computer lab and sign language classes, all for the whole family.

Serving 5,000 K-12 students, this program offers activities for the entire community of 25,000 at nine public schools and one community resource center. Activities include after-school enrichment, school-age child care, drug prevention for students and families, family advocacy (such as counseling and gang prevention), and recreation for children and adults. Partners include the PTA, Ankeny Substance Abuse Project, Ankeny Family Advocacy Project, and City Leisure Service.

This statewide system supports the hiring of coordinators to implement extended learning programs in public schools. In 1994-95, the state sponsored 65 staff members as community education coordinators, each of whom oversees about five school-based programs. Activities include extended-day opportunities, tutoring, programs for children and youth at risk, and parent training and involvement.

Originally opened at a year-round elementary school in 1993, the Twilight Family Learning Center program now operates at four large elementary schools in the district. These school-based centers--all schoolwide Title I programs--are open year-round. Emphasizing literacy development, the centers offer K-12 homework and tutoring activities, preschool classes, and a variety of classes for adults, many of whom are recent immigrants. On a typical night, the four Twilight Learning Centers attract a total of 800 students, parents, and preschool children.

In this elementary school program, nine schools--with a total enrollment of 5,400 K-8 students--are open five days per week, year round, from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Eighty percent of the students participate during the year in activities ranging from an optional full-day schedule of learning and enrichment to arts and recreation. Partners include local college students and others.

This after-school and summer program is open to all students at the school, which serves 280 students in grades 4-6, many of whom come from high-poverty families. The program includes a computer lab (also open before school), tutoring, and summer workshops in science, math, reading, and social studies. Partners include parent volunteers and local businesses. Carmen Park students score near the 80th percentile on state assessments, which the principal attributes to student participation in year-round educational activities and to the program's provision for adult role models who value education.

This before- and after-school and weekend program serves 600 children a day and 1,000 parents each week. Activities include learning opportunities for students; classes for parents in literacy, citizenship, English as a Second Language, and other topics; and medical and mental health services. Partners include the Children's Aid Society, Boys and Girls Clubs of America, and parent volunteers. Attendance at the school is the highest in the city for comparable neighborhoods, and student math and reading scores are improving steadily.

These before- and after-school and summer programs are located in 41 schools, with at least one in every district. Each site serves an average of 120-150 children per day. Activities include academic enrichment, arts, community service, peer mediation, and recreation for students as well as comprehensive social services for students and families. Partners vary from site to site, but include the Children's Welfare Administration, the Boy Scouts, and Narcotics Anonymous among others. The Beacon Program at Countee Cullen Community Center/P.S. 194 reports that student performance on standardized reading tests has improved, and police report fewer juvenile felonies in the community.

Chicago public schools and ASPIRA collaborate to offer a variety of extended learning opportunities to students, including an afternoon enrichment program for 100 Hispanic students in three middle schools, 17 clubs for 600 middle and high school students, tutoring on weekday afternoons and Saturday mornings, and a six-week summer program for 40 middle school students at risk of academic failure. Programs include science and math activities, tutoring, and leadership development. Partners include community and student volunteers and Northwestern University, which is developing a longitudinal evaluation of program participants.

Operating in 24 low-achieving Los Angeles elementary schools, LA's BEST provides a comprehensive, supervised after-school program that includes academic tutoring, instruction, academic enrichment, recreation, nutrition, and personal skills and self-esteem development. An evaluation of the program by UCLA's Center for the Study of Evaluation indicates that participation has a positive effect on grades. Through interviews with children, researchers found that program participants felt significantly safer during after-school hours (even up to one year after they were no longer in the program), reported liking school better, and expected to complete more grades in school than those who did not participate. The Carnegie Corporation has praised the program, which is free to participants. Due to its popularity among students, the program must maintain a waiting list at 10 of the 24 sites.

Through the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Cooperative Extension Service, business, education, and government join together in local partnerships to run the 4-H After-School Activity Program, which provides opportunities for hands-on learning to children ages 7-13 who live in public housing communities. Often operated in a school or public housing facility, the program offers students a safe haven after school, caring adult mentors, assistance with school work and extended learning activities, and encouragement and reinforcement of positive attitudes and healthy living. In an evaluation of the program in Los Angeles, many parents reported that the 4-H program had a positive effect on the attitude and behavior of their child.