Service-Learning in Afterschool: Helping Students Grow and Communities Prosper (2011)

More than 1 in 4 eighth grade students in the U.S. volunteer each year, and the benefits of these altruistic acts stretch far beyond their immediate impacts on students' communities. Studies have shown that adolescents who volunteer are less likely to use drugs and more likely to succeed academically, while also developing a strong work ethic for the future. With these benefits in mind, it seems imperative that youth become involved in volunteering at an early age in order to develop an understanding of its importance for the future. Creating a corps of compassionate leaders for the future will ensure that the disadvantaged and downtrodden will continue to have a voice and a helping hand when they are in need.

Aligning Afterschool with the Regular School Day: The Perfect Complement (2011)

Afterschool programs that are aligned with the school day curriculum can support student learning and attack the achievement gap by offering additional supports to struggling students that complement and reinforce learning that takes place in the classroom in new and exciting ways. This MetLife Foundation issue brief offers strategies and best practices in aligning afterschool with the regular school day to support student learning and help those children most in need.

Afterschool and Workforce Development: Helping Kids Compete (2009)

Equipping today's youth with the skills necessary to compete in the 21st Century workforce is a top priority of our nation's schools, communities, policy makers and businesses. This issue brief examines how afterschool provides kids with the opportunity to develop skills to help them succeed in an increasingly competitive labor market.

Afterschool: Supporting Family Involvement in Schools (2008)

This brief explores the various ways afterschool programs create linkages between school and home for students and parents. It is one in a series of Issue Briefs sponsored by the MetLife Foundation that addresses the benefits afterschool programs provide to children, families and communities.

Afterschool: The Bridge Connecting Schools and Communities (2007)

This brief addresses the vital role afterschool programs play in connecting school and community resources. It is one in a series of Issue Briefs sponsored by the MetLife Foundation that addresses the benefits afterschool programs provide to children, families and communities.

Afterschool Partnerships with Higher Education (2007)

This brief describes the role higher education institutions can play when they partner with afterschool programs. College students can offer their services as mentors, tutors, or youth workers, and faculty can provide evaluation assistance or curriculum development assistance - all of which can be beneficial to college students and higher education institutions in return.

Afterschool Programs: Helping Kids Compete in Tomorrow's Workforce (2007)

This brief discusses the unique opportunities afterschool programs can offer students to prepare them for the workforce, including developing interpersonal, thinking, and leadership skills. It also cites several examples of successful programs focusing on such skills.

Afterschool: A Natural Platform for Career Development (2004)

This brief explores how afterschool programs can help youth prepare for the workforce by offering exposure to various career fields and academic areas, which may be missed in the regular school day curriculum.

Afterschool Programs Strengthen Communities (2004)

This brief explores how, by offering a safe and stable environment for youth and opportunities for school and community partnerships, afterschool programs can be a valuable resource that helps strengthen our communities.

Afterschool, Community Service and Volunteerism (2004)

This issue brief explores how afterschool programs can give youth the opportunity to volunteer, and in doing so, participants can learn applicable life skills, form a bond with community organizations, and discover the value of community service.

Afterschool and Service-Learning (2004)

Through youth-designed and youth-implemented service projects, youth not only are able to apply their academic skills to the real world, but also donate their services to their neighborhoods. This brief explains how afterschool programs offering service-learning projects can benefit both youth and their communities.

Afterschool Programs Help Working Families (2003)

This brief examines the ways in which working parents, their children, and employers can all benefit from quality afterschool programs.

Afterschool and School Improvement (2002)

This issue brief highlights how afterschool can be a strategic part of a successful school improvement plan, as recognized by principals and education organizations throughout the country.