This report provides an evaluation of the academic impact of afterschool programs. Although afterschool programs for children have been operating for many years in some communities, the afterschool movement is just a few years old. As public demand for afterschool has grown, so has the demand for accountability. That is particularly true in…

Parents often become involved in their children's education through homework. Whether children do homework at home, complete it in after school programs or work on it during the school day, homework can be a powerful tool for (a) letting parents and other adults know what the child is learning, (b) giving children and parents a reason to talk…

Described is a program developed by parents and school personnel which provides art education to students in the Palo Alto (California) district in an after school setting. There is a fee; the teachers are professional artists. (KC)

Studies indicate that active participation in student activities is predictive of adult and professional success. A model depicts the structure and people ingredients of a student activities program. (Author/MLF)

With the help of community organizations, schools can enable student activities to play a major role in developing community awareness and concern, preparing youth for more responsible involvement later as adult citizens. (Author)

Draws from the authors' own experiences in working with youth in an after-school media literacy club to examine the notion that it is possible to arrive at an understanding of how adolescents make meaning of popular culture texts by observing them in action. Teases out some meaning-making strategies that one adolescent used in strategically…

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…

Describes a Houston, Texas, school superintendent's effort to establish a shelter for homeless and unattended children. The project, depending on support from community agencies and featuring a modest budget, received board approval through June 1989. (MLH)

An anecdotal account by a Queens (New York) school principal about serving homeless students and their families during the 1988-89 school year. (MLF)

Studies 48 after school care programs selected from a survey of 141 public school systems in North Carolina. Provides information on location, population, operational policies, content, personnel evaluation, and plans for future changes. (RJC)

Describes a teacher-researcher project involving an after-school writing class composed of sixth graders. Discusses the children's participation in a session at a professional conference. Relates children's earlier nurturing episodes involving writing. Discusses the implications of the project on the author's "failure" in motivating two…

Three companies (Voyager Expanded Learning, Mindsurf, and EXPLORE) have introduced after-school programs that emphasize stress-free academic enrichment activities. The companies differ, but share a fun-learning concept, maintain low staff-child ratios of about 1:8, and serve grades K-8. The operative words are flexibility and affordability. Some…

Drawing on personal experiences with homeless urban children living in shelters, discusses liberatory science education (focusing on an after-school science program) and describes dilemmas inherent in such work, considering how an understanding of the complexity of the relationship between margin and center is necessary in moving toward liberatory…

Discusses a proposed study of the types of friendships and quality of friendships that exist among older children (ages 6 to 12) in after-school programs and the role of these programs in facilitating friendships. (JPB)

Out-of-school educational settings and activities should involve varied learning modes deviating from the narrow skills and tasks of schooling. As a Los Angeles after-school program shows, students learn better when instruction builds on what they already know, helps them express their ideas, and develops activities related to their interests.…