Over the last four years, the Afterschool Alliance and MetLife Foundation have worked together to identify exemplary, and often lesser-known afterschool programs across the nation. For the past two years, efforts have focused on finding innovative afterschool programs serving middle school students. This focus was developed to address the need for…

The Afterschool Alliance, in partnership with MetLife Foundation, is proud to present the third in a series of four issue briefs examining critical issues facing middle school youth and the vital role afterschool programs play in addressing these issues. This brief focuses on service-learning opportunities for middle schoolers. Pairing service…

The Afterschool Alliance, in partnership with MetLife Foundation, is proud to present the second in its latest series of four issue briefs examining critical issues facing middle school youth and the vital role afterschool programs play in addressing these issues. This brief explores afterschool and arts enrichment. The arts have the remarkable…

The transition to adulthood in the United States has changed in recent decades as many of the traditional milestones that mark adulthood, such as household establishment and marriage, have changed or been delayed (McLanahan et al. 2010; Arnett 2000). Among these changes are increased participation and attainment in education; extenuation of…

This article introduces the clover model, a research-based developmental model of resilience and psychopathology related to the prevention of aggressive behavior and the promotion of resiliency in adolescents. It describes how social cognitions and emotions function differently at different periods of adolescent development and influence problem…

While research on program effectiveness offers ample evidence that afterschool programs can benefit young people in a variety of ways, this same body of research demonstrates that not all programs are equally effective (Granger, 2008). Some programs show positive results in many or all major outcome categories. Other programs are associated with…

The authors introduce the RALLY (Responsive Advocacy for Life and Learning in Youth) approach. RALLY is a school- and afterschool-based approach addressing academic success, youth development, and mental health for youth. Based on developmental and relational principles, RALLY's main goals are to promote students' resiliency, development, and…

This report by the National Institute on Out-of- School Time (NIOST) in association with The Forum for Youth (FYI) investigates how after-school programs in Boston can most effectively promote positive youth development as a support to academic achievement. The positive youth development approach addresses the broader developmental needs of youth,…

Children spend more time in school than in any social institution outside the home. And schools probably exert more influence on children's development and life chances than any environment beyond the home and neighbourhood. The purpose of this book is to document some important ways schools influence children's development and to describe various…

Opportunities for children and youth to engage in activities during out-of-school hours come in various shapes, sizes and flavors. At one end of the spectrum are highly structured, five-day-a-week, school-based programs focused broadly on encouraging and supporting academic and social development. At the other end are assorted activities and…

This collection of papers from U.S. and British contributors focuses on positive social inclusion policy and practice for black students. There are 15 chapters in five parts. Part 1, "Tackling Historical and Contemporary Education Problems," includes: (1) "Racism, Policy and the (Mis)Education of Black Children" (David…

This research compendium summarizes and reviews the evaluations of 13 out-of-school time programs with positive outcomes for young people. The programs are (1) 4-H; (2) 21st Century Community Learning Centers; (3) The After-School Corporation; (4) Beacons; (5) BELL After School Instructional Curriculum; (6) Big Brothers Big Sisters of America; (7)…

As the amount of resources allocated to out-of-school (OST) programming and policymakers' demands for research-based results increase, there is increasing interest in rigorous research designs to examine OST program outcomes. This issue of "Out-of-School Time Evaluation Snapshots" reviews 27 quasi-experimental and experimental OST…

Over the past decade, "out-of-school time" and "after-school programs" have been identified as objects of research, funding, and policy initiatives across federal and state agencies as well as public, private, and nonprofit foundations. The increasing attention to and funding of programs that engage youth outside of the formal…