Guided by symbolic interactionism and cultural historical activity theory this study investigated how four bilingual Latina/o pre-service teachers use language (Spanish and English) and culture, defined as social practices, as instructional resources in mathematics. The setting of the study was an after-school bilingual mathematics program, namely…

Background: This study assessed parent reactions to school-based body mass index (BMI) screening. Methods: After a K-8 BMI screening program, parents were sent a letter detailing their child's BMI results. Approximately 50 parents were randomly selected for interview from each of 4 child weight-classification groups (overweight, at risk of…

This article highlights the perspectives of young women who have participated in dance for many years. Their viewpoints reveal the unique multimodal nature of embodied learning; in dance classes, teachers and learners communicate through a variety of modes: visual, auditory, kinesthetic, spatial, musical, tactile, gestural, and linguistic. The…

This paper is a documentary account of a project currently under investigation. The project engages pre-service teachers in a self-study about their participation in community based literacy activities with elementary school children and their families involved in after school programs. Participants in the study are members of a student volunteer…

This 2-page resource describes the benefits of afterschool programs for children, youth, and families, including evidence of improved school attendance and engagement learning, improved test scores and grades, and students at greatest risk showing the greatest gains. Additional benefits of afterschool programs include keeping kids safe, healthy,…

Closing or substantially narrowing achievement gaps requires combining school improvement with reforms to narrow the vast socioeconomic inequalities in the United States. Recognizing the effects of socioeconomic disparities on student learning is not "making excuses" for poor instruction or "letting schools off the hook" for raising student…

This case study documents how a group of 14 academically at risk Primary 5 students (11 year olds) were engaged in academic related tasks in an after school program mediated by a "3-D Multi-User Virtual Environment (MUVE)." Although there was no significant difference in the students' academic performance, they were found to be more engaged in the…

An interior with trees, plants, and a "street" generates excitement at the Children's Learning Center in Brooklyn, New York. (MLF)

Elizabeth C. Knight left the suburbs to major in English at Boston University. Knight currently lives in New York City and works for an afterschool program that deals primarily with inner city youth. Having grown up in an affluent neighborhood, Knight dispels many of the myths centered around growing up in beautiful, safe, wealthy suburbs, saying…

The article describes a program sponsored by International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) in which approximatey 60 children (14 to 17 years old) gifted in science spent much of 1941 after school hours in a science laboratory in IBM's showroom building. A number of these former students have achieved such positions as head of Goddard Space…

The project activities highlighted in this publication were conducted within the framework of school-based afterschool programs operated by community-based organizations. The intention of the Discovering Community initiative, created by The After-School Corporation and MetLife Foundation, is to foster greater collaborations and mutual respect…

Noting that after-school programs have the potential to reduce not only juvenile crime but also later adult crime, this report examines the needs for after-school programs, the impact of such programs on youth, and the importance of quality programming. Following an executive summary, the report is presented in six chapters. Chapter 1 details…

The Richland Northeast High School in Columbia, South Carolina, finds an after-school detention program and a student supreme court to be successful in handling discipline problems. (JM)

Describes successful strategies used by school superintendents in Sauk City, Wisconsin; Beaverton, Oregon; and Vancouver, Washington to overcome barriers to implementing after-school programs. Provides brief summary of Mott Foundation-funded study of after-school programs conducted by the American Association of School Administrators (AASA). (PKP)