Discusses a bill introduced in the January 1999 session of the Connecticut General Assembly that involves collaboration among community agencies to create additional after-school programs for children and improve upon existing ones. Presents details of one Association for Library Services to Children (ALSC) member's testimony and her account of…

Provides suggestions for after-school care providers to help their programs survive and to create a program attentive to children's needs. Focuses on classroom behaviors, space arrangement, change implementation, and plans of action. Provides suggestions for learning centers and materials; includes a list of further resources. (SD)

The effectiveness of 21st Century Community Learning Centers, an after school program in St. Louis, Missouri, public schools, compared 61 participants (not randomly selected) with 217 nonparticipants. Program participants performed better in math. (JOW)

KLICK! (Kids Learning In Computer Clubhouses!), a federally funded, after school, computer clubhouse operating in Michigan, is investigated as a means for supporting positive, engaging, and innovative after school activities for teens. A quasi-experimental, pre-test/post-test survey suggests that participating in KLICK! is differentially effective…

This paper outlines the establishment and running of an after-school Computer Clubhouse, describing aspects of the leadership, mentoring and learning activities undertaken there. Research data has been collected from examination of documents associated with the Clubhouse, interviews with its founders, Director, session leaders and mentors, and…

We examined the association of adolescent obesity with participation in sports among 5489 low-income, inner city public high school students. Among inner city youth 28.5% of males and 33.7% of females were overweight and 15.9% of boys and 16.4% of girls were obese. For both males and females, participation in an increasing number of athletic…

The research and evaluation evidence is mounting: out-of-school-time (OST) programs can keep young people safe, support working families, and improve academic achievement and the civic and social development of young people. Indeed, according to recent polling data, 6.5 million children are enrolled in after-school programs nationwide and…

This article presents an up-to-date synthesis and review of recent research in the field of school absenteeism and truancy. Topics covered include: definitional issues; the Ofsted position; the LEA perspective; the causes of non-attendance and truancy; the role of parents; the link between truancy and crime; out-of-school provision; current…

This article describes Fifth Dimension, an after-school program which mixes play and computer games to improve the education and social skills of mostly poor, disadvantaged kids. Although Fifth Dimension seems tailor-made for a poor, rural community, its roots are urban. The after-school program was founded by a group of researchers in San Diego…

This report covers the third year of Chapin Hall's process evaluation of the Prime Time Initiative of Palm Beach County, Florida, a system-building effort to strengthen the quality of after-school programs in the county. During the past two decades, the after-school field has expanded enormously, partly in response to increasing concern about…

Leaders of programs serving rural America need to act strategically to ensure the long-term success of their initiatives. This strategy brief describes the funding landscape of rural programs and highlights the unique challenges confronting rural program leaders. It describes the different public and private resources that can support…

This report draws on demographic data to examine and project trends in the size and composition of the child population in all seventy-seven Chicago communities up to the year 2010. The report highlights the changing age mix of Chicago children and provides some context in which to consider these demographic trends. It describes population changes…

This report summarizes findings from the Academy for Educational Development's (AED's) evaluation of After-School Math PLUS (ASM+). This program was designed to help students find the math in everyday experiences and create awareness about the importance of math skills for future career options. The evaluation was conducted by AED's Center for…

This brief identifies the features of high-quality after-school settings that have emerged from the research and are reflected in program quality tools. It also examines key research linking program quality to positive developmental outcomes; it reviews current practice in program quality assessment; and it offers considerations for policymakers…

In regions of intractable conflicts, daily circumstances and overall reality allow very narrow opportunities to bring members of conflict groups together in order to modify their social relationships. Internet-based communications were the backbone of a three-month program designed to address the Jewish-Arab conflict between Israeli Jewish youth…