This report summarizes key findings from a 1999 nationwide poll regarding support and demand for after-school programs. Participating in the poll were 1,100 adults over age 18 who are registered to vote, and an oversample of 100 parents of school-age children. The findings indicated that 92 percent of respondents agreed that there should be an…

The National Household Education Surveys Program (NHES) is an ongoing project of the National Center for Education Statistics that uses random-digit-dial sampling and computer-assisted telephone interviewing to conduct studies on important education issues. There are three NHES data sets on this CD-ROM, which also contains the electronic codebook…

Community Drama with Youth is an as yet marginalized practice in the larger drama education field. Yet Community Drama with Youth, and other community youth arts, are fueling a burgeoning after-school youth arts movement. This paper considers federal policies which have shaped youth arts in the last several decades, and the ways in which these…

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…