Importance of After-School Programs Essay

Every year in the United States, hundreds of children and adolescents are taken from their parents and primary caregivers and placed in out-of-home care situations due to issues in their homes and family lives which contribute to unsafe living conditions. These children and adolescents often face many health, behavioral, developmental, and psychological issues.

Zetlin, Weinberg, and Shea (2010), conducted a study that looked at the roles of the Child Welfare system, schools, and the caregivers in helping foster children succeed in the education system. Although all groups agreed work needs to be done to enhance the learning outcome for foster children, everyone had their own opinions as to how to accomplish this. In order for foster children to be given a fair shot in the public school system everyone involved in the child’s life must work together. This means that the caregivers, foster parents,

After school programs such as Afterschool Centers on Education (ACE) help mold the young minds of the communities’ youth with the developing process of fun and interesting activities. Additionally, this stimulation is also supported by local college students who are fulfilling their community service hours at the center.

The New Jersey State Department of Education received government, state, and local funding for youths ages 5-17, as part of the 21st Century Community Learning Centers Program. The question is; how can the states revise and disperse the amount of funding allocated for after-school programs for the current number of children enrolled? How can we raise awareness about the higher enrollment after-school programs offered for children of all ages? The current data shows the ratio of children enrolled versus the number of children not enrolled, offset the amount of dispersed funds, and varies state to state. The New Jersey Department of education allocates the funded money towards after-school programs housed at public schools with a high enrollment rate while other states do not. This leaves a huge gap in society with not enough funds creatively used towards youth programs. Children of all ages should have access to an after- school educational program and support from within their community. Common motivational goals set forth in the evaluation for this program are, for children to receive the enhancement of moral values, equality, and diversity through after-school educational programs within their local school districts. This evaluation is based on the logic model format and designed to meet the needs and demands assessment criteria. Weighing the outcome of an economical developed society in which graduation rates will increase. While, in past the government started

In the journal article, “Caregivers, School Liaisons, and Agency Advocates Speak Out about the Educational Needs of Children and Youths in Foster Care”, they discussed the educational need of children in foster care. 40% of children entering foster care for the first time reunify with their parents less than 12 months. As for the others, they are trapped in the foster system until they age out at 18 years old. One in four of the youth who age out are

Children play a key component in lives today. Unfortunately many children do not have the ability of having a stable home or school to call their own, while parents are not in the picture as well. This is an issue that is ignored by society and most importantly the government; in some cases. Without the foster system, children would be left abandon and forgotten by all. The foster system provides thousands of homes for foster children each year, with parents that can give them what they need. The American foster systems are failing; however, they can be improved through mentoring programs and finding more stable homes for foster children.

All children need a safe place to be after school with caring, responsible adults and engaging activities that connect each child to his/her school, family and community. One method to provide this is through an after-school program. After school programs are any organized program, which invites children to participate in the traditional school day. In Lynda Barry´s essay, “The Sanctuary of School”, the author describes how the school helped her feel in a better environment since his parents had many problems and did not pay enough attention to her. Yes, Barry´s assessment of after-school programs is accurate. They are very important to children because from a social aspect it helps the children develop relationships, get them out of their comfort zones to try new things, meet new people, and overall improve on their general outlook on situations they may not have engaged on their own.

What is an after school program? A after-school activity is any organized program which invites youth to participate outside of the traditional school day. Some programs

Countless children in the United States are subjected to caregiver abuse or neglect causing “over 400,000 children to be placed in the foster care system” (Foulk and Esposito 30). Foster care placement not only creates a change to the home environment but it also creates a disruption to the child’s learning experience. Likewise, foster care placement often presents additional stress to the child’s social and mental well-being; causing detachment syndrome and other developmental issues. Care must be taken to ensure that children placed in foster care have access to a consistent learning environment in order to achieve academic success. Every child deserves the opportunity to succeed academically and to graduate from high school. Unfortunately, children in foster care graduate at a rate of up to 20% lesser than their peers in the general population (Barnow, et al 160). Many foster care children become detached from adult relationships and even more disconnected from education and learning. Children placed in foster care experience poor school functioning because of inconsistent and unstable educational environments, and to prevent this negative outcome, the child welfare system (CWS) must hold child welfare workers accountable for each child’s educational continuity and academic achievement and should implement structured programs that target the enrichment of foster children’s social capital, should mandate that child welfare workers validate collaboration between parents

The presentation on Nashville After Zone Alliance (NAZA) was given by Ms. Candy Markman, the organization’s coordinator, and Ms. Rachel Roseberry, the literacy coach. They were each knowledgeable about the program and were dynamic because Rachel was relatively new to the field and Ms. Markman has worked in it for years and is increasingly aware of the struggles of working for children’s rights. I enjoyed hearing about each of their journeys that led to their interest in after-school programming. Ms. Markman described how she worked for a not-for-profit, in funding, and finally was led to working in the public sector. Her experience working in these various positions informed her that after-school programming needed attention and gave her

After School projects can bolster regions' endeavors to actualize and assess nearby wellbeing approaches in two critical ways. One route is to offer extra open doors for a composed physical movement and nourishment and physical instruction. Another is to execute program arrangements and practices that strengthen the region's nearby health strategy and bolster its objectives for wellbeing, accordingly guaranteeing consistency from the school day to the after school hours. The Afterschool Alliance has built up this toolbox to feature opportunities for after school pioneers and supporters to end up engaged with and help shape the procedure along at all times.The Afterschool Alliance is the main association devoted to bringing issues to light of the significance of afterschool programs and pushing for more afterschool ventures to guarantee that all youngsters approach moderate, quality afterschool programs.The Afterschool Alliance has made and recognized assets to control you through the way toward distinguishing, drawing in and keeping up associations with

Schools that have implemented after-school programs have shown to be a very favorable decision for children and have displayed results of having greater scoring on tests and exams rather than schools that have not implemented these programs. After-school programs have improved scores for individuals and it has reflected on the school, making the entire school’s average look better as a whole. According to Barnett, a school that he personally researched himself, went from an F average for two years to a B average in one year. This shows that they did not have a good grade reflection before they made the decision of making the addition of after-school activities. (Barnett 8). Since this specific school has gone from an F to a B average, it makes the school look a lot better. This does not mean visually appealing, it means that the school looks as if they are a better place for learning and they can

They stated, “Quality preschool provides not only significant benefits for children in both school and life, but tremendous benefits for society” (Cooper, Dukakis). This article also reveals that there are impressive educational, social, and emotional benefits for children who attend quality preschools. This substantial research allows teachers and school administrators to understand that children who have built a strong learning foundation in preschool have a better chance of success in school. Business leaders also realize that preschool helps meet their needs for a well-educated workforce. Law enforcement officials also notice that the implementation of a quality early education which leads to success in school is a vital tool to keep crime low and improve public safety (Cooper, Dukakis).

The South Carolina Afterschool Alliance program strives to reach the community and explain the importance of after-school programs. They provide information and guidelines to organizations and groups on how to have effective after-school programs. The program

After school programs would be an immense way to help students with their homework and have fun activities. Teachers from the school volunteer to stay after school and host the after school program. This would be a signifiant way to insure that students are getting their homework done and learning from their homework. Studies have shown that after school programs are a great way to enrich learning from homework and keep students supervised after school hours.