afterschool alliance

About the Afterschool Alliance

The Afterschool Alliance is working to ensure that all children have access to affordable, quality afterschool programs. Afterschool programs are critical to children and families today, yet the need for programs is far from being met. 

• In communities today, 15.1 million children take care of themselves after the school day ends.
• Just 8.4 million children are in afterschool programs—but the parents of another 18.5 million children say their children would participate in afterschool if a program were available.
• A report on 21^st Century Community Learning Centers (afterschool programs receiving federal funds) showed that 45 percent of all participants improved their reading grades, and 41 percent improved their math grades.
• On school days, the hours between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. are the peak hours for juvenile crime and experimentation with drugs, alcohol, cigarettes and sex.
• Teens who do not participate in afterschool programs are nearly three times more likely to skip classes than teens who do participate. They are also three times more likely to use marijuana or other drugs, and they are more likely to drink alcohol, smoke cigarettes and engage in sexual activity. 
• Parents with children in afterschool programs are less stressed, have fewer unscheduled absences and are more productive at work. 

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intro’d to them via the radio as they shared the bullets above.

sounds amazing..  facilitating kids’ passions.. they said – getting them noticed.. after school, before school and summer.

imagine – if we just did this as the day. wouldn’t that completely change crime rate? the *economy? the city? the world?

great idea.. great support.. if we could just call facilitating curiosities/passion.. enough.

no?

*on the economy – we’d have enough so parents/people didn’t have to work so much, and so that the 18 mill plus could be involved in a heart beat. we’d have lehigh everywhere.. but the entire city. as the day.