The "IDRA Newsletter" serves as a vehicle for communication with educators, school board members, decision-makers, parents, and the general public concerning the educational needs of all children across the United States. The focus of this issue is "Building STEM Education Pipelines." Contents include: (1) IDRA Youth TechXperts…

Intentionally designed afterschool and summer programs can benefit students' social-emotional skills, accelerate their learning, and even increase their school attendance during the school year. This infographic touches on the value of these programs, possible barriers that might limit access to students, and states with innovative models.

This Practice to Policy brief, based on insights from UnidosUS's Affiliate Network of community-based organizations and public charter schools in Illinois, Florida, Texas, Arizona, and California, highlights the critical role of Out-of-School Time (OST) programs in supporting the Latino community, particularly in the aftermath of the COVID-19…

Afterschool and summer programs offer a multitude of benefits for students and families across the nation, from providing tangible resources like wraparound services to connecting students with supportive adults and peers. These programs not only deliver immediate benefits, but research also shows they bear long-term positive effects on students'…

This quantitative study examines the relationship between implementation of the 21st Century Afterschool Centers on Education (ACE) program and fourth grade student performance on the State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness (STAAR). Data collection was extracted from schools within South Texas. The campus variation chosen for this study…

Over the last decade the 21st Century Community Learning Center program (21st CCLC) funded by the U.S. Department of Education has served over 100,000 Texas students annually in after-school centers. Approximately 779 local Texas 21st CCLC programs served students from over 800 schools during the 2012-13, and/or 2013-14 academic years. Statewide…

Black and Brown men continue to be underrepresented in engineering. One explanation for the dearth of Black and Latino men in engineering is that engineering (and STEM) identity often is not inclusive of People of Color. As a result, Black and Brown boys may be less likely to become interested in STEM subjects. The purpose of this study, then, was…

A wealth of literature shows positive outcomes and experiences from arts learning, yet youth access to arts education has become significantly more inequitable over the past 30 years. Alongside the growing discourse around arts learning and equity issues, there is a recognized and persistent need for more research. We conducted a critical,…

This narrative study investigated the experiences of three Hispanic students in South Texas who participated in after-school robotics programs in secondary school and discover the role these experiences had on their academic and life skills. Data were collected through individual semi-structured interviews with one female participant and two male…

By providing early access to education, early childhood and community-based programs are helping to close the achievement gap prevalent among children from impoverished homes.

Out-of-school time learning occurs in a variety of settings including formal-learning environments, such as afterschool programs, or informal-learning environments, such as museums or youth clubs. Educators in out-of-school time contexts serve diverse youth populations. Many educators often have limited experience or preparation in how to support…

The AISD Afterschool Centers on Education (ACE Austin) program provided academic assistance, enrichment, college and career readiness, and family engagement activities at six elementary and four middle school campuses through Cycle 9 funding through the Texas Education Agency. ACE Austin was found to have a positive impact on students' academic…

The Afterschool Centers on Education of the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Austin Area (ACE BGCA) provided academic assistance, enrichment, college and career readiness, and family engagement activities at four elementary, three middle, and two high schools through Cycle 10 funding through the Texas Education Agency. ACE BGCA was found to have a…

The third case study from the Aspen Institute National Commission on Social, Emotional, and Academic Development discusses the role community partners can play in supporting children's learning in collaboration with schools. "School-Community Partnerships: Joining Forces to Support the Learning and Development of All Students" cites key…

The number of U.S. children attending after-school programs has been steadily increasing. In 2014, the most recent year for which data were available, approximately 10.2 million students, representing about 23 percent of U.S. families, were enrolled in an after-school program. Of the students attending after-school programs, the majority do so at…