Communities Meeting the Need for
After-School Activities

The following after-school programs are examples of how local communities across the country are meeting the need for safe and smart after-school activities that serve young people of all ages. These examples are by no means exhaustive; they are intended to illustrate the kinds of after-school programs that are working in schools and communities. The contact listed with each example has agreed to provide more information upon request.

CCEE blends the resources, expertise, and services of the YMCA, youth service agencies, schools, and the community to deliver services to at-risk youth and their families. The YMCA, school districts, the City of San Antonio, the Texas Education Agency, foundations, and federal funding together support and maintain services in 17 school districts in San Antonio. Services are based on consultation with school faculty, collaborative partners, students, parents, and community leaders and include child care, care for children of teenage parents, tutoring, mentoring, service-learning, youth government, youth employment readiness, experiential education, academic enrichment and supports, arts, outdoor education, sports, intergenerational activities, and family/ community involvement programs.

At the Hawthorne Elementary School Campus, YMCA collaboration with the community has been key to the success of the program. The staff nurtures and maintains partnerships with corporations, neighborhood businesses, universities, and human service agencies in delivering services to children and their families. With a permanent office within the school building, the program is staffed by a YMCA program director, aides, support staff, interns, parents, and volunteers. YMCA staff members attend school-day staff meetings to coordinate curriculum and activities. The collaboration between school day and YMCA staff has created a seamless system where activities throughout the day adhere to a core knowledge curriculum designed by Trinity University.

The Campus YMCA is one of several strategic school improvement initiatives underway at Hawthorne. Together, as a coordinated effort, these initiatives have significantly improved attendance, attitude, and academic achievement. Attendance has improved from 63^rd among elementary schools in the San Antonio Independent School District to 12^th. Parent and community involvement has improved dramatically. The physical, emotional and spiritual health of students shows excellent progress; and student achievement has improved significantly as have standardized test scores.

As a result of a 21^st CCLC grant, five after-school programs in rural Lake County have been in operation since 1998. Middle school students around the county participate in enriching learning opportunities from the moment the school day is over until 6:00 p.m., Mondays through Thursdays. Each site is staffed by two core staff members plus two high school students who serve as tutors. Each program begins the afternoon with an hour of homework completion and academic skill building, followed by an enrichment hour offering a broad range of learning opportunities structured as 6- to 10-week club sessions. Examples of clubs include cooking, photography, science, crafts, and clay. Once a week, the life skills instructor spends time with students on topics such as peer relationships, team-building, hygiene, finances, and health and nutrition. On Thursdays of each week, students work on their community service projects such as coat drives, campus clean-ups, participating in community events, and visits to retirement homes. The last hour of the program is recreational where students have the opportunity to hang out with friends, participate in structured activities, or spend time outdoors as weather permits. One night a week is teen activity night when the gyms are open for structured activities for all children. During the summer, a six-week recreational summer school after-school program is offered in conjunction with the summer school.

After the first year of operation, evaluation results indicated an increase in the overall student grade-point average, and decreases in disciplinary referral, detentions and suspensions of students in the program. Staff report that students are turning homework in on a regular basis, making new friends, and having fun. Staff also report that school-day teachers are more and more supportive and many are interested in donating time or become involved in the program as tutors or supervisors of a club activity.

The Harbor is an urban community-based program located in East Harlem. It was founded in 1937 as a summer camp for disadvantaged youth, and is now a multi-faceted, education-oriented agency that offers over 4,000 youths ages 5-21 a range of services combining recreation, education, and guidance through holistic programming. The after-school component runs 3 p.m.-6 p.m. every weekday and all day on school holidays and in summer for elementary and junior high school youth, and serves on average 400 youths. The program focuses on supporting and reinforcing academic skills introduced in school, developing debating and critical thinking skills and resolving conflict. Areas of activity include science and the arts, sports, foreign languages, photography, filmmaking, computer workshops, ceramics, and cooking and nutrition.

One of the keys to sustaining the Harbor has been ongoing staff development and support. In the last five years, a full-time literacy specialist and resource development specialist were hired to help teaching staff develop thematic plans for encouraging and incorporating developmentally appropriate literacy practices into the various after-school activities. Students are often engaged in summer or school-year literacy projects researching and learning about such topics as world leaders, themes of the 20^th century, and famous authors. Students choose to use such forms as art, poetry, videos, and plays to present their learning to other students at the Harbor. In addition, a literacy clinic is available to students through referrals. The staff at the Harbor maintains regular contact with the schools through teachers and parents.

With a 21^st CCLC grant, Proyecto Sano y Salvo opened its doors in September 1998 at three Tucson, Arizona, middle schools. Each middle school has an advisory committee composed of teachers, school administrators, parents and community members who collaborate to design after-school enrichment courses that are aligned with the school’s core curriculum. The after-school programs are open five days a week from the end of school until 6:30 p.m., and at least one Saturday a month for family activities. Each program has an after-school coordinator with courses taught by teachers, community members, and students from the University of Arizona and Pima Community College. The colleges also provide tutors.

During an afternoon, youths have the opportunity to choose from a number of courses focused on math and science, fine arts, computer technology and social development. Examples of courses include a science-based curriculum designed by the University of Arizona; Boot Camp provided by officers from the Davis-Monthan Air Force base and teaches youth respect, discipline, physical conditioning, social awareness and teamwork; and a class in African American Studies offered by the Tucson Urban League. After-school students have also built model airplanes and a model biosphere, learned about automobiles, and solved a crime using DNA testing.

The summer program consists of a morning rotation of reading, language arts, math and science classes and afternoon electives such as arts, music, marine biology, folk dancing and drama. Youths keep journals for each project.

Proyecto Sano y Salvo has also begun implementing a program improvement and evaluation model. Building off a sophisticated data collection and entry system that already exists through the Tucson Unified School District, program and evaluation staff have designed instruments and templates, scannable surveys, and a continuous feedback system for program-level data collection and input, and analysis and feedback. Early observations by staff note that school attendance has improved as a result of the after-school program, as well as lower suspension and adjudication.

New Futures for Youth in Little Rock, Arkansas, in partnership with the Center for Human Resources at Brandeis University, piloted Summer Transitions, a capacity-building effort to improve school and career options (with an emphasis on math and science) for youth. The initiative strives to integrate lessons learned from education reform, workforce preparation, and positive community youth development, and emphasizes an asset-based approach to learning and the importance of strong youth-adult partnerships. Funded by DeWitt Wallace-Reader’s Digest Fund, the project-based learning effort focuses on the following specific outcomes: 1) increasing learning gains among youths at high risk of falling behind in school; 2) improving their knowledge of the connections between school and work; 3) enhancing their understanding of opportunities in the labor market, including education fields; and 4) providing local businesses with a model that demonstrates the role they can play in education.

During the summer of 1999, four sites in urban Little Rock participated in the Summer Transitions initiative. The initiative focused on incoming 9^th-grade youths who were behind in math and science. A community-based after-school provider and a school teacher formed a team at each site to coordinate the six-week full-day summer program. Projects at the sites included researching, designing, and constructing a community-based science lab, pool tables, and portable greenhouses. Participants working on the greenhouses also began production of a how-to manual for youth on how to build a greenhouse. This manual will be completed during the regular school year after-school program. Another site designed and constructed math and science manipulatives and taught younger children the concepts represented by the manipulatives.

At the end of the six-week summer initiative, one site reported significant increases in math scores. Students reported they not only felt good about increasing their math and science scores, but also learned a great deal about how to get along with others, and gained problem-solving and decision-making skills. "We want this all summer and during the school year!" said many participants. Participating teachers and community-based organization providers plan to continue ongoing and supportive relationships to link and expand learning opportunities throughout the day. During the next two years of planning for full-scale implementation, the initiative will focus on building a curriculum to infuse learning and enrichment, and continue to work with the same students as well as engage additional students.