Afterschool Research: Health & Wellness
Keeping kids active, encouraging a healthy lifestyle
Afterschool programs are helping young people get enough physical activity and providing nutritious snacks.
Afterschool Research: Health & Wellness
Keeping kids active, encouraging a healthy lifestyle
Afterschool programs are helping young people get enough physical activity and providing nutritious snacks.
Close to 16 percent of U.S. children ages 6-19 are overweight, and another 15 percent are at risk of becoming overweight. Additionally, in 2012 more than 1 in 5 children under the age of 18 lived in poverty and were exposed to hunger. This section covers the variety of ways afterschool programs can—and do—play an important role in promoting healthy lifestyles for youth.
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Access to Afterschool Programs Remains a Challenge for Many Families (August 2022) A survey of approximately 1,500 parents or guardians of school-age children, conducted May 22-June 28, 2022, provides a snapshot of the current afterschool program landscape during the pandemic, documenting that while children and families who are able to access afterschool programs report high levels of satisfaction, for every child in an afterschool program, there are four more who are waiting to get in. COVID-19 |
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Afterschool in the Time of COVID-19 Surveys As the coronavirus continues to impact families and communities, the Afterschool Alliance has commissioned a series of surveys of parents and afterschool and summer program providers to monitor the state of the afterschool field and parents' needs as the country adapts to the challenging circumstances and stressors created by the pandemic. Find survey results, interactive dashboards, toplines, and more on this page. Surveys COVID-19 |
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What Summer Programming Looks Like for 2021 in the Time of COVID-19 - Wave 5 (Aug 2021) This summer, as most states lift COVID-19 restrictions and families ease back into public life, summer programs also report moving toward a return to normal, with a nearly 70 percent increase in programs opening their doors and serving students in-person in some capacity compared to the summer of 2020 and 8 in 10 providers reporting optimism about the future of their program. However, issues remain, with more than half of providers serving students in-person reporting a waitlist and operating at reduced capacity due to COVID-19 health and safety protocols. The Wave 5 provider survey of 937 program providers was conducted June 2-28, 2021, and represents more than 6,400 program sites. Surveys COVID-19 |
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An Ongoing Look at Afterschool in the Time of COVID-19 – Wave 4 (March 2021) Roughly one year after the COVID-19 pandemic began, afterschool programs are continuing to help children, families, and their communities push through these difficult times. This dashboard includes findings from Wave 4 of the Afterschool in the Time of COVID-19 survey series, conducted Feb. 19-March 15, 2021, as well as comparisons to previous survey waves. Surveys COVID-19 |
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Back to School in the Time of COVID-19 – Wave 3 (November 2020) Eight months into COVID-19, three key trends are shaping the landscape of afterschool programs across the nation. First, many more afterschool programs are operating now than were in the spring and summer. Second, programs are able to serve only about half as many students as they supported before the pandemic. Third, the children being left behind are disproportionately those from low-income families. These findings are documented in the brief, Back to School in the Time of COVID-19, based on the third in a series of surveys of afterschool program providers to monitor the state of the afterschool field. The Wave 3 provider survey of 1,445 program providers, was conducted between September 28 and October 27, and represents more than 7,300 program sites.
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