Experiences that are deeply engaging and enjoyable, engender full concentration, and present a balance between challenge and skill propel or push development forward. For the past twenty years, researchers have sought to locate environments in which this combination of effort, skill, interest, and enjoyment is more likely. This article describes a…

The purpose of this study was to develop the Scale for Program Facilitators (SPF) to assess the effectiveness of after school achievement programs through four steps: (a) identification of a theoretical framework, (b) formulation of the initial scale, (c) test of content validity, and (d) conducting confirmatory factor analyses (CFA). A…

This article examines how out-of-school time programs can promote youth involvement in civic action by focusing on four interrelated programmatic strategies: establishing organizational readiness that fosters engagement; promoting youth-adult partnerships; engaging youth as leaders and decision makers; and involving youth in research and…

Out-of-school programs provide a context for enriching academic experiences. This study describes a 12-week after-school reading program, Project Expanding Horizons, which is based on the Schoolwide Enrichment Model-Reading (SEM-R) framework. SEM-R has three phases: exposure, supported independent reading, and choice. The exposure phase is…

This article discusses an open-door policy and innovative program of Thorncliffe Park Public School, located in the heart of the diverse immigrant community in Toronto, that greatly expands community use of public schools. Community use of schools is hardly a new concept in Canada or in the United States, where schools have traditionally been the…

A study examined specific reading competencies after participating in Hmong literacy instruction in an after-school setting in the Thermalito, California School District, grades kindergarten through 4. Control and treatment groups were established to compare the English literacy skills of the Hmong students who participated in 40 hours of primary…

This report is based upon survey responses from 139 school districts and 59 nonpublic schools in Minnesota that offer School Age Child Care (SACC), or extended day programs. The report presents data on public and private SACC programs related to: (1) administration and growth; (2) number of children served; (3) types of services offered; (4)…

This handbook is the fruit of two projects of the University of Minnesota's College of Education: (1) the Dowling Friendship Program, a 3-year project at a public elementary school in Minneapolis in which children with and without disabilities participated in a variety of recreation activities during school, after school, at each other's homes,…

A practicum was designed to devise a system of literacy instruction to train teachers to select appropriate text for at-risk students by an authentic assessment of the 'running record' as a starting point for meeting the literacy needs of each individual student. (The 'running record' is a written record of the student's reading as observed and…

The Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians' OSAP High Risk Youth Demonstration Program seeks to prevent substance abuse through experiences offered in an after-school program. In 1990-91 the program served 710 students in grades K-8 in 7 of the reservation's 8 schools, each of which tailors the program to its own needs. Five components were common to…

This digest briefly discusses some ways to involve families in their children's drug prevention education. Helping children and teenagers stay away from drugs and those who use and sell drugs is an important job in which parents and other close relatives play the most important role. Because youth experiment with drugs for the same reasons they…

This document consists of the first two issues of a brief (usually 6-page) serial publication highlighting the Making After-School Count initiative, programs across the country wherein communities and schools cooperate to serve children after school hours. The June 1998 issue discusses a teleconference discussion with Vice President Al Gore to…

Chapter 1 of this document introduces AgeLink, a 5-year model intergenerational child care project for school-age children. The project implemented after-school services that linked children with volunteer older adults in 17 western North Carolina counties. Ten sites participated in the project between 1984 and 1989, and 11 sites currently have…

The Extended Day Enrichment Program in Orlando, Florida, is designed to enrich elementary school children's lives educationally, socially, culturally, emotionally, and physically, and to provide them with a safe and familiar setting after school. The program is a fee-supported community education program operated by Orange County (Florida) Public…

The program description and curriculum for Art Partners, a Cranford, New Jersey, after-school program to meet the needs of artistically talented children in grades 3-6, are provided. The program description includes information on: a suggested sequence of activities for 38 sessions, program organization, the artist-in-residence component, area art…