Research has documented the positive impacts associated with participation in afterschool programs, including academics and social and emotional outcomes, and many news stories have raised awareness about the essential supports and services afterschool programs provide to students and their families. Afterschool programs have come to be recognized as critical partners in helping to ensure that all children are afforded the opportunities that will help them thrive and meet their full potential.
Afterschool programs can enact meaningful change by encouraging children to explore different interest areas to find their passion, finding new and creative ways to keep kids excited about learning, offering academic help to students who are struggling with their school day lessons, and helping keep their students from hunger by providing nutritious foods. In particular, afterschool programs have the ability to help address some of the inequalities facing families living in communities of concentrated poverty, including existing disparities in segments of the population that that are more likely to live in these high-poverty areas, such as African-American and Hispanic families.
Findings from America After 3PM document the role that afterschool programs play in supporting families living in high-poverty areas by answering questions about what afterschool program participation looks like, what the demand for afterschool
programs is, what is preventing parents from taking advantage of and children from participating in afterschool programs, and what the afterschool program experience is like for families in communities of concentrated poverty.
To learn more, read the full report here.
