Leveraging the Afterschool Value Added Terry Peterson, Ph.D. Terry is the Director of the Afterschool And Community Learning Resource Network, funded by the Mott Foundation. He is also the University of South Carolina Educational Foundation Senior Fellow for Policies and Partnerships and educational consultant to the dean at the College of Charleston. He can be reached by calling 843.953.7403 or
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Leveraging the Afterschool Value
Added
Terry Peterson, Ph.D.
Terry is the Director of the Afterschool And Community Learning Resource Network, funded by the Mott Foundation. He is also the University of South Carolina Educational Foundation Senior Fellow for Policies and Partnerships and educational consultant to the
dean at the College of Charleston. He can be reached by calling 843.953.7403 or 803.238.4343, or by emailing him at [email protected]
• In too many schools 3pm marks a daily missed opportunity.
• It’s when learning effectively stops.
• Many school districts’ investments in learning resources
and facilities sit idle.
• Afterschool programs make a positive difference.
• Surveys show that an overwhelming majority (90%) support afterschool
programs, and most (76%) would be willing to pay extra taxes to make
them available.
• Rising academic standards require students to have more
learning opportunities.
• Changing workplace demands means parents need additional
support supervising their children after school.
There was tremendous growth in afterschool programs
through the 1990s.
Local, State, and Federal budget cuts have halted that
growth.
Are we missing a prime opportunity to fill the after school hours with enriching
activities and expanded learning opportunities?
Multiple Effects
Superintendents face great challenges:
• increase student performance and academic standards while balancing financial concerns
with limited public support.
While some still see afterschool programs as an extraneous burden,
others are leveraging existing resources to provide effective
programming.
Utilizing existing resources this way demonstrates to taxpayers that their investments are being
used efficiently.
• Reducing afterschool funding is seen as a mistake.
• Extensive research on the effectiveness of afterschool programs in
terms of student achievement, social interaction, and safety clearly
demonstrates that, if done properly, they live up to their promise.
According to Anne Duncan, CEO of the Chicago Public Schools:
“For the first time ever, we have 8th graders beating national norms…part of the reason-we
think we did so much better is [that] last year we added about 50,000 students to our after-school programming. So [after-school] is a core, a core
part of our educational strategy.”
Learning and Growth
Well-structured afterschool programs effectively expand learning time for students.
• reinforce classroom work
• develop team-building and leadership skills
• “21st Century skills
California students who participated in afterschool programs for 7 or more months demonstrated improvements in math scores that were 2.5 times
greater than found statewide.
Attendance was also greatly improved as compared to the previous year.
“High quality afterschool programs don’t just keep children away from
trouble. In today’s educational world, where the expected level of
achievement keeps rising, afterschool opportunities provide the extra time and
help that many children need.”
- Inez Tenenbaum, South Carolina State Superintendent of Education
One outlier: an examination of pre-NCLB 21st Century Community
Learning Centers programs.
Results are likely related to the fact that pre-NCLB programs were not required
to make academics priority.
A Resource Question
Federal funding increase for 21st Century Community Learning
Centers would be helpful.
States could provide a boost by including afterschool funding in their
state school finance formulas.
One answer - Leverage existing resources:
• community involvement
• law enforcement
• youth
• parks and recreation
• faith, cultural, and civic organizations
• district facilities
• classrooms
• computer and language labs
• libraries
• art studios
• sports facilities
Keep children learning after 3pm
Some resources can be found within the district.
By combining district and school programs that have a student and
community focus allows for higher participation with lower per-
student costs.
Afterschool programs can be part of a broader outreach effort to
parents and other family members.
These efforts can build a critical mass that can lead to the employment of a
full-time coordinator.
By working with principals these coordinators can continue to build
public support for both the afterschool programs and the school in general.
The cost of afterschool programs is significantly less expensive than
the regular school day.
Most of the operating cost and overhead is already paid for.
District Progress
The synergies to be found in afterschool programming are not
limited to the financial side.
The afterschool environment can attract participation of other groups
who are interested in helping children such as parents, senior
citizens, volunteer and mentoring organizations.
Afterschool programs are useful tools for accomplishing multiple
goals.
Robust and comprehensive afterschool programs are an
important way to leverage more student success and public