Students are struggling to keep pace with rising academic standards. More and more parents are working -- with child care expenses out of reach for many -- and unsupervised kids often go from school to trouble when the final bell rings each day. Teachers, school administrators and community groups often can't find the time or space for enrichment programs, including art and music, for young people with few opportunities for such hearty brain food.

It's clear there's one big answer for all these needs: strong after-care or "extended school day" programs, making fuller use of public and private facilities already outfitted for multiple purposes. But after-school offerings are not free, and many school systems that are hard-pressed to find funding for regular school-day programs can't divert money elsewhere.

In Boston, a broad-based public-private partnership has risen to the occasion, raising $23 million to provide 5,000 more kids after-school opportunities at public schools, churches and community centers, bringing the total number of Boston students enrolled in such programs to more than 22,000. The partnership is chaired by Chris Gabrieli, a former Congressional candidate in Massachusetts and a long-time New Democrat. Participants in the effort include Harvard University, FleetBoston, and the City of Boston. The partnership's $23 million donation was announced on March 13.

According to a Boston Globe report on the new initiative, several other cities are also significantly boosting their investment in after-school opportunities. In New York, philanthropist George Soros has donated $125 million over five years to help finance afternoon programs at 158 sites serving 40,000 students. San Diego is now using public money to keep all of its elementary and middle schools open until 6:00 p.m.

Boston's Gabrieli told the Globe that he views the after-school initiative as "part academics, part social justice," providing inner-city students with the kind of enrichment opportunities that wealthier families often provide for their kids.

As Joy G. Dryfoos reported in a Fall 1999 Blueprint magazine article on "Open Door Schools," early studies on broad, after-school programs are very positive. "The research shows improved achievement, much better attendance rates, lower delinquency, and significant student and parent approval."

With so many potential payoffs, the Boston community's investment in after-school expansion is a very smart bet.