During the 2005-06 school year, Save the Children supported 47 local programs in its model literacy initiative. Twenty of the sites operated for the first time during the 2005-06 school year, while 15 began operation in the spring of the 2004-05 school year, and the remaining 12 began operation during the 2003-04 school year. Services at local…

A summer program in Whitesburg, Kentucky teaches local youths video and audio production, then sends them into the community to produce documentaries. The program teaches marketable skills and helps participants view their community in a positive light and become active, contributing members. The program's success has spawned an after-school…

Out-of-school time programs can provide valuable supports to the positive development of children and youth. These programs can help cultivate social and emotional skills, and further students' academic achievements. Furthermore, the safe environment provided by out-of-school time programs can offer children and youth, especially those living in…

Many believe that girls lack the confidence and motivation to persist with computers when they face a challenge. In order to increase the number of girls and women in information technology careers, we need a better understanding of how they think about and solve problems while working on the computer. In this article, we describe a qualitative…

This analysis projects standards and costs for three types of day care situations: (1) care in a center for the full day; (2) care in a foster home for the full day; and (3) care in a center before and after school and during the summer. Standards are given for three levels of quality of day care: minimum (maintains the health and safety of the…

School-age children ages 5 through 12 years spend their out-of-school time in many different types of arrangements. In addition to parental care, these include relative care, non-relative care (either in their own or another family's home), center- or school-based programs, sports and extracurricular activities, summer activities, and self-care.…

If educators expect more children to be successful in literacy experiences at school, then they must strive to form lasting partnerships with parents (Fried, 2001). The educators working with the after-school and summer literacy program actively sought to form partnerships with family members at a small rural elementary school in a southern state.…

Expanded learning opportunities (ELOs), which include afterschool, summer learning, and extended day and extended year programs, can help states reduce dropout rates and increase graduation rates. Effective elementary, middle, and high school ELOs support academic rigor, boost student engagement, and provide students with supportive relationships.…

Schools and communities are finding new ways to provide students with quality learning opportunities outside the traditional school day. Statistics reveal that as many as 5 million children may be left alone at home each week while parents work. Before- and afterschool programs, summer learning activities, and mentoring and tutoring efforts are…

Tested the effectiveness of a community-based intervention designed to promote physical activity among rural fifth graders. Data on students who participated in after-school and summer programs and home, school, and community interventions indicated that the after-school and summer interventions were implemented as planned, but the home, school,…

During summers and on Saturdays, 200 motivated academically and culturally disadvantaged Negro 15- and 16-year-olds participated in Project Enrichment, undertaken at Jackson State College in Mississippi from 1961 to 1964. The students were encouraged to achieve and to participate in intellectual and social activities to change the ill effects of…

In an increasingly competitive information age and creative economy, knowledge and skills in the arts and music are important in their own right. Additionally, the integration of the arts into after-school programs helps build and reinforce important student learning. It helps strengthen teamwork, responsibility, persistence, self-discipline, and…

This article examines learning opportunities for gifted and talented students. Districts and states have developed innovative programs that include mentorships, Saturday programs, after-school enrichment activities and summer internships. However, recent experiences suggest strongly that this attention has decreased in the years following the…

Both school year and summer activities of Oregon vocational agriculture teachers were identified and the number of working hours spent on each activity was tabulated. The study indicated that over half the teachers' professional work time was spent in activities outside the classroom, including project supervision, placement development, and work…

This paper provides an overview of the Voyager Expanded Learning programs. Initially begun with hands-on, activity-based learning experiences centered around academic themes designed to pique children's interest and motivate them to learn, Voyager has expanded from elementary after- and summer-school programs to include K-8 programs designed for…