This paper examines the long-term effect of enrollment in center- or school-based care programs on the academic performance of language minority students in the USA. The study applies a longitudinal multilevel analysis to a nationally representative database, the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study (ECLS-K). Of particular interest are the differential effects of the programs on the reading performance of language minority students compared with that of native English-speaking students. Language minority students are further divided into 2 groups according to Limited English Proficiency (LEP) status at kindergarten. Results indicate that kindergarten LEP students who regularly attended center-based programs from preschool through the 5th grade demonstrated a significantly higher reading score than those who did not. The study suggests an important potential benefit of arrangement of afterschool care programs for language minority students in the USA and other countries. (Contains 5 tables and 3 figures.)