By Angela Anderson
After-school programs often serve as the only place for students to engage socially with their peers outside of the classroom. Furthermore, these programs allow a second chance for students that didn’t grasp their lessons in class that day, by providing additional tutoring and one-on-one services. An after-school program can greatly benefit students in ways of social learning and school performance.
Afterschool Alliance, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing after-school programs to schools in need, conducted a study in March of 2016 that revealed only 18 percent of schools across the United States participate in after-school programs. In rural areas the statistic drops to only 13 percent. The need is even greater for students in rural areas, where a student’s nearest neighbor may be miles apart and educational resources are slim.
Attending after-school programs can improve students’ academic performance. A national evaluation found that over 40 percent of students attending after-school programs improved their reading and math grades, and that those who attended more regularly were more likely to make gains (Naftzger et. al., 2007).
Effective after-school programs can improve classroom behavior (Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, 2010), school attendance, academic aspirations, and can reduce the likelihood that a student will drop out (Huang, Leon, La Torre, Mostafavi, 2008).
Participation in after-school programs has been associated with reduced drug use (Investing in Our Young People, University of Chicago, 2006) and criminal behavior (UCLA National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards and Student Testing, 2007).
After-school programs can play an important role in encouraging physical activity and good dietary habits. Participation in after-school programs has been associated with positive health outcomes, including reduced obesity (Mahoney, J., Lord, H., & Carryl, 2005).
Working families and businesses also derive benefits from after-school programs that ensure that youth have a safe place to go while parents are at work. Parents concerned about their children’s after-school care miss an average of eight days of work per year, and this decreased worker productivity costs businesses up to $300 billion annually (Brandeis University, Community, Families and Work Program, 2004 and Catalyst & Brandeis University, 2006).
After some business expansion, BEFA plans to partner with local schools, students, and teachers to bring after-school programs to all schools across the United States; concentrating first on rural and low income areas. We believe in the power these programs have for better influencing the students across the nation, but even more, we believe in our students first.