November/December 2006

Afterschool Programs Help Students Succeed in School and Life

by Doug White, Director, Student Services/Prevention and Wellness, Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction

"Afterschool programs work. They work for students and their academic achievement and safety. They work for families and they work for our economy. Afterschool programming helps in our effort to raise achievement for all students and to close the achievement gap. They are clearly one of the best investments we can make as a state and as a country."

--State Superintendent Elizabeth Burmaster

Some young people need extra time or support to succeed in school and develop into responsible citizens. Growing consensus in our state and nation supports the value of afterschool programs in helping young people succeed in school and in life. Recent studies and program evaluations provide convincing evidence that afterschool programs providing both academic support and youth development activities benefit students in a variety of ways. These benefits include improving their academic achievement, strengthening their social and emotional skills, enriching their understanding of society and culture, and boosting their commitment to a healthy lifestyle. Given these benefits, wise investments in afterschool programs are being made by private and public organizations.

Effective after-school programs, also known as extended learning opportunities, offer numerous benefits to students and their families. These benefits include:

  • A safe, supportive and developmentally appropriate learning environment before and after school. Families led by single parents or two parents with full-time jobs are increasingly common, resulting in less family supervision in the critical after-school hours. With more working families, more children are left unsupervised when they get home from school. In Wisconsin, more than one-third of children in working families are unsupervised in the afternoons. Nine percent of Wisconsin children in working families participate in afterschool programs, while 34 percent of children in working families are "latchkey children" with no adult supervision when they come home from school.
Children left unsupervised between the hours of 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. are at greater risk of poor grades; displaying behavior problems; using drugs, alcohol, or tobacco; committing crimes and participating in other high-risk behavior. Afterschool programs help keep youth safe and help prevent them from being the victim of a crime, since juvenile crime peaks during the after-school hours.
  • Opportunities for building skills that enhance learning and close the achievement gap. Students can better retain and even enhance what they are learning in the classroom each day when the afterschool program provides organized tutoring, academic support and enrichment activities that link to the school-day curriculum.
The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction's 21st Century Community Learning Centers (CLCs) Executive Summary, 2004-05, documents success in helping to close the achievement gap between students of color, economically disadvantaged students and their peers. Wisconsin CLCs provide students with academic enrichment opportunities as well as additional activities designed to complement their regular academic program. CLCs provide high quality services to support student learning and development, including tutoring and mentoring, homework help, academic enrichment, community service opportunities, healthy snacks, sports, and arts and cultural activities. The Wisconsin CLCs typically recruit students with the highest needs for academic support. Of the regular attendees in 2004-05, 80 percent were economically disadvantaged, 76 percent were students of color, and 11 percent were English language learners. For regular attendees, teacher surveys and grade reports indicated the following:
  • 69 percent improved academic achievement.
  • 47 percent increased reading grades by one-half grade or more.
  • 44 percent increased math grades by one-half grade or more.
  • 68 percent improved in completing homework satisfactorily.
  • 54 percent improved in classroom behavior.
  • 51 percent improved in volunteering for extra credit or responsibility.
  • 45 percent improved in class attendance.

Specifically, Milwaukee Public Schools' CLCs reported the following results:

  • Over the last five years, a larger percentage of regular CLC attendees have achieved proficiency in reading, mathematics, and language arts than have their day school peers (non CLC attendees).
  • Regular CLC attendees have the highest average day school attendance in comparison to district, day school, and low attendees.
  • A chance to experience new activities in arts, culture, life skills, and recreation. Through after-school programs, children from low-income families are afforded enrichment opportunities such as art, theater, and music in which they might not otherwise be able to participate. These programs help children find undiscovered talents and interests, while strengthening their self-esteem and enabling them to be more successful in achieving long-term goals.
  • Opportunities to belong and be part of a community. Parental and community involvement is encouraged and enhanced. Many afterschool programs depend on and draw upon parent and community volunteers. When families are involved in schools, students experience greater success.

  • Opportunities to build strong relationships and connections with peers. Students can work together on projects and learn in smaller group sizes.

  • A place to practice developing language skills. English language learners can obtain additional support through afterschool programs and experience more opportunities to learn and use English in an educational setting.

Many other reports, polls and surveys document the educational need for and benefits of afterschool programs. For instance, the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) issued a 2006 policy statement supporting extended learning opportunities as an effective means to "increase student achievement, offset summer learning loss, reduce the incidence of risk-taking, negative and unsafe behaviors, and increase student engagement." Among its recommendations for state education agencies was "support the establishment of a dedicated line item for state-administered extended learning programs." They conclude: "Extending and expanding learning opportunities within the school day and during out-of-school hours should be a part of a comprehensive strategy to ensure that every child, regardless of race, ethnicity or income, has access to a high quality education." CCSSO recognizes supporting publicly funded extended learning opportunities is a basic access equity issue for economically disadvantaged students.

Similarly, the National Governors Association issued a policy statement supporting extended learning opportunities. The 2005 Governor's Guide to Extended Learning Opportunities highlights the benefits of before- and after-school programs to students, schools, families and communities. It emphasizes the value of extended learning programs in reaching a variety of state goals in student achievement, overall development, health and community safety.

For these sound educational reasons, State Superintendent Elizabeth Burmaster has forwarded a budget proposal to dedicate $5 million annually in new state funding to high quality afterschool programs such as those described above. Working with a variety of state and local stakeholders through the Wisconsin Afterschool Network, the Department of Public Instruction is committed to supporting quality afterschool programs that work to increase students' success in school and life.

In Wisconsin and across the nation, carefully designed afterschool programs that target academic achievement and provide a range of enrichment and development opportunities are improving students' success in school and life. To become involved in the statewide effort to provide quality afterschool programming for all children and youth that need it, you may contact Steve Fernan, Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, at 608-266-3889 or Kathi Vos, University of Wisconsin Extension, at 608-262-2496.

More Facts About Aftershool Programs

· The Afterschool Alliance's Afterschool Alert Poll Report, (taken from a survey of 800 adults, 18 years or older, who are registered to vote) shows the following:

  • Ninety-two percent say that there should be some type of organized activity or place for children and teens to go after school every day.
  • Two-thirds believe that federal and/or state tax dollars should be used to expand daily afterschool programs and to make them accessible for all children.
  • This support is based in part on the public's recognition that the three-hour difference between children's school day and their parents' work day presents significant problems for young people, families and communities.

· A report from the U.S. Department of Education on the 21st Century CLC, Providing Quality Afterschool Learning Opportunities for America's Families, states that children and youth who regularly attend high quality afterschool programs have better grades and conduct in school, more academic and enrichment opportunities, and better peer relations and emotional adjustment.

· Dr. Beth M. Miller, a senior research advisor to the National Institute on Out-of-School Time at the Center for Research on Women at Wellesley College, has reported that quality afterschool programs can markedly increase engagement in learning by providing students with opportunities for personal attention from adults, a peer group with positive aspirations, and hands-on activities that hold students' interest and develop their skills and sense of competence.

· Surveys done for the After-School Corporation (TASC) suggest that students in afterschool programs are more likely to finish their homework, read, use computers and feel comfortable solving math problems, while their parents report being able to work more hours and develop closer relationships with the children's schools.

· According to the report, Assessing Afterschool Programs as Context for Youth Development, 80 to 90 percent of parents surveyed who had children enrolled in a range of different types of afterschool programs believed that their children acquired new skills and became more confident learners as a result of their involvement in the programs.

· A University of Wisconsin study of 64 afterschool programs found that teachers reported these programs promoted better behavior and improved academic performance of participants. "There's definitely a strong link between student academic performance and activities like afterschool programs," says Sandy Gunderson, principal of Mendota Elementary in Madison, WI. "Research shows that kids who are engaged and have opportunities to extend their time in school through clubs and activities generally do better in school because they want to come to school, and they feel part of the community."