School-age children and adolescents in the United States have a lot of discretionary time (6.5 to 8 hours per day). Participating in organized out-of-school time programs and activities is one constructive and safe way that children can spend their free time. These activities can provide supervision, fun, and opportunities to develop new skills…

Despite the negative image of many adolescents and the perception that they are more influenced by peers than by adults, research consistently finds that most adolescents value positive relationships with parents, teachers, and other adults. Research also shows that adolescents who have positive relationships with caring adults are more likely to…

Homes for the Homeless initiated a family and community approach to learning at its American Family Inns (homeless shelters) via a customized, shelter-based, accelerated after-school program, Brownstone/FutureLink. The program helps improve students' grades, self-confidence, and academic potential. It requires parents, shelter staff, and public…

This report describes the DC Children and Youth Investment Partnership, which helps improve outcomes for DC youth by building a sustainable partnership to increase the quality and quantity of youth services. Data from interviews with key actors, attendance at Partnership meetings, and site visits with affiliated initiatives show progress in…

This document is comprised of the single 2000 issue of a newsletter of the Harvard Family Research Project, designed to share new ideas and experiences in evaluating systems reform and comprehensive child and family services. The issue focuses on after-school programs and includes the following articles: (1) "Building the After School…

This study examined high-performing after-school projects funded by The After-School Corporation (TASC), to determine what characteristics, if any, these projects shared. Evaluators reanalyzed student performance data collected during the multi-year evaluation of the TASC initiative to identify projects where the after-school program was…

Service-learning is a form of instruction in which students design projects to address community needs as part of their academic studies. Many afterschool programs use service-learning to help improve youths' academic achievement, develop their leadership skills and strengthen ties to their community. With proven benefits, service-learning is…

As demand for after-school services has grown, the public has responded with support for growth in federal, state, and local funding for these services. As in other successful grassroots movements, this high level of support is evident across groups with diverse objectives. Some after-school advocates are mainly interested in increasing the supply…

This publication documents a participatory assessment project conducted from 1993 to 1995 with four afterschool programs in New York City. Key questions were whether the assessment project would develop the capacity of program staff to assess their own projects and whether the programs were successful in supporting the literacy development of the…

This report examines the performance of students facing the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) policy to end social promotion in 1999. As the third group to face CPS promotional test cutoffs, they received more programmatic support than previous students. An afterschool program was expanded considerably, and many more at-risk students were required to…

This report is a description and evaluation of two computer-based learning environments, Rappin' Reader and Say Say Oh Playmate, that build upon the lived literacy experiences African-American children bring to classrooms as scaffolds for early literacy instruction. When Rappin' Reader and Say Say Oh Playmate were used with…

The number of family programs in low-income communities that promote computer and Internet literacy is steadily growing. This digest describes urban after school and community programs found to be effective among low-income youth and their families. Some are projects of national initiatives that welcome new local affiliates, and others are…

This publication presents a tool for community foundations interested in developing out-of-school-time programs in their communities. It explores what is being learned about efforts to build quality systems and to challenge community foundations to help their communities sustain them. The accounts it presents were gathered through a survey of over…

This chapter describes how a federally funded farmworker housing facility in northern Colorado--Casa de la Esperanza--has changed the lives of migrant students and their families. The history of migrant workers in Colorado is described, as well as the struggle to construct a permanent farmworker housing facility. Casa was built in Boulder County,…

Despite the importance of breakfast, summer, and after-school child nutrition programs, coverage in these programs in Massachusetts is low. This report describes the barriers facing the states School Breakfast, Summer Food Service, and After-School Snack Programs and suggests many innovative solutions and resources that program sponsors can use to…