Afterschool Alliance Research

Afterschool Supports Service Opportunities from Youth to Young Adulthood (April 2019)

All individuals, regardless of age, can benefit from service opportunities. For youth, service-learning projects promote strong community ties and positive development outcomes, while experiential service programs promote similar personal and professional gains for young adults. This issue brief details the way in which afterschool and summer learning programs are expanding access and availability of service opportunities for youth and young adults alike. Accompanying this brief are six in-depth afterschool program profiles that highlight the different roles programs play in the healthy development of both the next generation and our democracy:

• Einstein Enrichment Program and Breakthrough Cincinnati: Connecting underrepresented youth and young adults to service
• Civic Nebraska and OregonASK: Enhancing future prospects through foundational skills and competencies
• Youth Health Service Corps and City Year: Creating an avenue for career exploration

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Featured Summary

Promoting Civic Engagement Through Afterschool Programs (Nov 2018)

Civic engagement, which has been linked to positive short-term and long-term outcomes including a stronger connection to the community and improved wellbeing, starts with young people. This issue brief, created in partnership with the Center for Global Education at Asia Society, details the way in which afterschool and summer learning programs are promoting students’ civic dispositions, bringing lessons of democracy to life, and empowering youth to enact change. Accompanying this brief are five in-depth afterschool program profiles that highlight the different roles programs play to inspire youth to be knowledgeable, engaged, and civically minded individuals:

• Alternatives, Inc. and Equity Alliance MN’s Youth Executive Board: Helping students know their rights and responsibilities
• After-School All-Stars Hawaii Life Service Action Offering opportunities for students to take action
• YWCA New Britain House of Teens Program and YMCA of Port Angeles’ Youth and Government program: Providing authentic opportunities for students to lead and govern

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Summary

America for Afterschool (Oct 2018)

This 2018 national poll finds that there is strong public support for afterschool and summer learning programs. In this poll, designed by the bipartisan team of Lake Research Partners and the Tarrance Group and administered by Ipsos through an online omnibus survey, nearly 9 in 10 adults agree that afterschool programs are important to their community and 2 in 3 adults say that they want their federal, state, and local leaders to provide funding for afterschool and summer learning programs.

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Toplines

A Big-Picture Approach to Wellness: Afterschool Supporting Strong Bodies and Minds (September 2018)

A comprehensive approach to wellness—which includes healthy eating and physical activity and extends to additional aspects of health, such as social and emotional skills and competencies—can provide the necessary supports for healthy children grow into healthy adults. This issue brief details the national public health issues children are facing today and discusses the afterschool field’s ability to provide a place where children feel safe, are surrounded by supportive mentors, have access to nutritious foods, are able to be active, can form relationships with their peers, learn how to set positive goals for themselves, and feel empowered to take charge of their lives. Accompanying this brief are five in-depth afterschool program profiles that highlight the different roles programs play to support their students’ physical and social and emotional health:

• Zhang Sah Afterschool Program: Focusing on activities that intrinsically embrace HEPA and SEL
• Coaching Corps: Using HEPA as a vehicle to build students’ social and emotional skills and competencies
• DC SCORES and A World Fit for Kids!: Training staff to model healthy behaviors
• Camp Fire Lone Star: Empowering students to take charge of their health

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Summary

21st CCLC Facts and Figures (2018)

The 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) initiative is the only federal funding source dedicated exclusively to before-school, afterschool, and summer learning programs. This fact sheet provides an updated overview of the 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) program, highlights its outcomes and benefits, and addresses the current state of funding.

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An Ideal Opportunity: The Role of Afterschool in Social and Emotional Learning (May 2018)

Ensuring all children and youth thrive as they move through school and into their adult lives requires that they have the opportunity to develop the skills and competencies that will help them land their first job, navigate and overcome the challenges they will face, keep positive relationships, and make good decisions. Learn more in this issue brief about afterschool and summer learning programs, which have long been a place for positive youth development, helping in students' social and emotional development. In addition, in-depth afterschool program profiles that highlight the different roles programs play to support social and emotional learning complement this issue brief:

• WINGS for Kids: Taking an intentional and integrated approach to build students' social and emotional skills and competencies
• Girls on the Run: Prioritizing staff training and development
• Boys & Girls Club of Souhegan Valley and McKinley Afterschool Program: Providing relevant and engaging project-based opportunities
• The Possibility Project: Promoting youth agency and voice

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Summary

Students learn more with afterschool STEM (April 2018)

A one-pager that makes the case for afterschool STEM using the latest research.

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This is Afterschool Fact Sheet (2018)

Decades of research show that afterschool programs help kids learn, grow, and make smart choices. Programs spark interest in learning so students attend school more often, get better grades, and improve their behavior in class. This fact sheet summarizes research demonstrating the multitude of benefits programs have on kids and their families. 

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What Does the Research Say About 21st Century Community Learning Centers? (Nov 2017)

21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) are afterschool and summer learning programs that are locally-designed school and community solutions that help kids learn and grow, keep children and teenagers safe, and support families to balance work with home. This fact sheet provides a small sampling of findings from evaluations of the federally-funded Community Learning Centers programs that demonstrate the positive impact programs across the country are having on students' academics, school-day attendance, engagement in learning, and behavior. 

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What Does the Research Say About Afterschool? (Nov 2017)

Afterschool and summer learning programs inspire students to learn, keep children and teenagers safe, and give parents peace of mind. This fact sheet provides a small sampling of findings—from meta-analyses to program-level evaluations—that show that there is demonstrable evidence of the positive impact programs have on students' academics, school-day attendance, engagement in learning, and behavior. 

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