More Education Plays

Everyday, millions of children across the country arrive to vacant homes after the official school day concludes. This is time that should be spent enhancing skills and reinforcing information gathered by the student during class time. Instead, as parents finish their day at work, children are often left to fend for themselves.

Unfortunately, children who do not find themselves occupied by watching purely entertainment-driven television programs are often getting into trouble, befriending the wrong peers, or developing poor social skills that hamper them as they grow and are expected to meet the challenges the world provides. In fact, a profusion of research from the 1990s along with the 2002 report, Fight Crime: Invest in Kids, shows the most-risky teen behavior usually occurs between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m.

Teens who do not participate in after-school programs are nearly three times more likely to skip classes than teens who do participate, according to a study done by the YMCA in March 2001. They are also three times more likely to use marijuana or other drugs, and they are more likely to drink alcohol, smoke cigarettes, and engage in sexual activity.

"This is a statewide effort. The network will build bridges between leaders of schools, communities, businesses, and families. The best way I know to achieve (upgrading after-school and out-of-school time) is to link our schools with families and businesses." -- Gov. Ted Kulongoski, Oregon

Organizing children into structured activities with adult supervision is one of the best ways to keep students active and productive when they are not with their teacher in the classroom or with a parent at home. After-school programs and activities have proven to be effective not just in controlling where children and teenagers hang out and what they do in the afternoons, but also in improving their scholastic performances in crucial grade levels. While children of all ages, races, socioeconomic classes, and backgrounds benefit from after-school programs, it is clear that such programs can do a great deal in closing the increasingly disturbing achievement gap minority students face in school.

A 2004 Afterschool Alliance study, America After 3 PM, however, found that only 11 percent of children in grades K-12 actually participate in after-school programs. According to the study, that number would more than double if quality programs were available in every community, eliminating children being home alone after school almost altogether.

In an effort to keep at-risk teens off the street while supplementing the students' school experience, state and local governments are experimenting with new methods to provide safe and educational after-school programs. States such as Oregon and California have started public-private partnerships to get the entire community involved in providing children with the resources necessary to grow up safely and realize their goals.

In May 2006, Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski unveiled the "Oregon After School for Kids" program, which constructs a statewide network to help provide after-school opportunities for thousands of children. The network is funded by the Oregon State Child Care Division and the C.S. Mott foundation, an organization committed to creating a world where everyone works together for the well-being of the local and global community.

The Child Care Division is also teaming up with other state agencies, including the Department of Education, the Department of Human Services, and the Department of Community Colleges and Workforce Development, in support of Oregon's schools. In these schools, students, families, and local residents work as partners with schools and other community institutions to develop programs and services, focusing specifically on improving education and developing the community's youth, family, and community engagement; community development; and support for the family.

In 2002, California voters passed Proposition 49 to put funds toward a program similar to the one Oregon has just enacted. As in Oregon, the California programs allow schools and communities to work together to present academic enrichment and safe opportunities for children. Initial evaluations have demonstrated improved student achievement, attendance, and behavior among participants.

Another innovative model worth replicating that provides safe after school educational enrichment for kids are Citizen Schools. Founded in 1995 in Boston, the Citizen Schools now serve more than 2,000 students from 30 schools and five states.

The approach pairs small groups of students ages nine through 14 with volunteer "Citizen Teachers," community members who share valuable skills by teaching after school "apprenticeships." Through the apprenticeships students have the opportunity to learn practical life skills and develop supportive relationships with caring adults. By capitalizing on the skills of local volunteers, Citizen Schools are able to offer apprenticeships to a greater number of children. In addition to supporting and encouraging adult community service, the young "apprentices" frequently learn the value of community service as they perform volunteer work in preparation for their final demonstration project.

In 2005, an outside evaluation of Citizen Schools found that participants at some grade levels saw improvement in their reading and math test scores and grades. The evaluation also found that grade-to-grade promotion and attendance rates also improved, as did performance in high school.

Although Citizen Schools are run by a private nonprofit organization, state and local officials can play a critical role establishing and expanding such programs by building partnerships to encourage state and local employees to become Citizen Teachers, creating education policies that support such initiatives, and creating their own Citizen Schools programs as part of after school or service initiatives.

By demonstrating how adults can be mobilized to serve their community's children, Citizen Schools offer a model for state and local officials seeking to increase children's opportunities to learn new skills and the value of community service.

Resources for Action

Fight Crime: Invest in Kids
www.fightcrime.org/

Coalition for Community Schools
www.communityschools.org/

Afterschool Alliance
www.afterschoolalliance.org/after_over.cfm

Oregon After School for Kids
www.oregonask.org/

Citizen Schools
http://www.citizenschools.org/

Additional Reading

Monitor on Psychology, "What makes a good afterschool program?"
www.apa.org/monitor/mar01/afterschool.html

Cavanagh, Sean, "Citizen Schools: An After-Hours Adventure," Education Week, January 17, 2007
www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2007/01/17/19citizen.h26.html

Newcomer, Amelia "Citizen Schools,"Christian Science Monitor, August 18, 1998
www.csmonitor.com/1998/0818/081898.feat.feat.1.html

Contacts

Andrew J. Rotherham
Co-Founder and Co-Director
Education Sector
1201 Connecticut Ave, NW, Suite 850
Washington, DC 20036
(434) 973-2173
arotherham@educationsector.org

Eric Schwarz
Co-Founder and President
Citizen Schools Headquarters
Museum Warf
308 Congress Street, 5th Floor
Boston, MA 02210
(617) 695-2300 ext. 102