Many adults today consider the hours after school to be an opportunity for students to squeeze in a little more help with schoolwork. For most children, though, that final bell rings freedom. The last thing they want is more school, and faced with an after-school program that looks like an extension of their school day, they'll opt out.…

This brief discusses the signs and symptoms of alcohol and drug use and provides recommendations to assess substance use among youth in your program. It is not uncommon for adolescents to experiment with different substances such as alcohol or cigarettes, but this can lead to heavy and continued use, which is dangerous and may put their health at…

After-school programs for adolescents may be a way to promote positive youth development, and thus, it is important to understand what impact after-school programs can have on the educational achievement of high school students. Chicago's After School Matters (ASM) program offers an exceptional opportunity to study whether an after-school program…

The authors describe intermediary organizations whose aim is to provide technical assistance to sports organizations about infusing a youth development emphasis into their programming. Team-Up for Youth, Sports PLUS Global, and the National Recreation and Park Association are the three organizations highlighted in this article. Team-Up for Youth's…

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 brief provides highlights from "Advancing Achievement: Findings from an Independent Evaluation of a Major After-School Initiative." The brief underscores the potential of after-school programs in the ongoing drive to advance children's academic achievement. It shines a light on some of the issues that matter most for programs striving to…

Community schools are organized around two common goals: helping students learn and succeed and strengthening families and communities. Full-service community schools extend these guiding principles. They are centers of their communities, providing high-quality after-school opportunities, comprehensive early childhood education, real-world…

This article examines an after-school program entitled Silk City Media Workshop. Briefly, the workshop engages youth in digital storytelling as a means of enhancing both their technology and literacy skills. Transcending these goals, this workshop also provides opportunities for youth to reveal multiple aspects of their unfolding identities as…

The present study examines the effects of a culturally relevant school-based intervention in promoting cultural assets (i.e., ethnic identity, collectivist orientation, racism awareness, and liberatory youth activism) among a group of African American adolescent girls. The overall goal of the intervention was to promote cultural factors that can…

Background: Scholars are bringing much-needed attention to the persistent problem of academic underachievement among African American children in the United States, who continue to lag behind White school children in all socioeconomic groups. This is especially true of impoverished African Americans. Although some link these outcomes to poor…

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…

The provision of quality before- and after-school child care is a major challenge facing educators. This guide from the Food Research and Action Center's Building Blocks Project provides information to providers of before and after school programs on using the federal Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) to provide snacks and meals. Following…

Most typical high school programs are not meeting the needs of gifted and talented students. Programs for the gifted are often neither interdisciplinary nor differentiated as encouraged by Texas state guidelines. Gifted students can gain much from well-designed extracurricular activities. Grade weighting schemes in which gifted courses are…

THIS STUDY WAS MADE BY LONG BEACH CITY COLLEGE TO SAMPLE PRACTICES IN FACULTY COMPENSATION FOR EXTRA-INSTRUCTIONAL ASSIGNMENTS. TEN JUNIOR COLLEGES RESPONDED TO A SHORT TELEPHONE QUESTIONNAIRE. A SUMMARY OF THE REPLIES SHOWS THAT (1) 75 PERCENT GRANTED COMPENSATION FOR TEACHING LARGE LECTURE SECTIONS, HALF BY ASSIGNING ADDITIONAL INSTRUCTOR TIME,…

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…