AFTER-SCHOOL PROGRAMS FILL GAPS

"After-school programs have become a central part of many school communities and programs throughout the country. They provide working parents with a safe place for their children to stay in those critical after-school hours, and they provide low-income students with access to programs and services their families may not otherwise be able to afford. Increasingly, however, after-school programs are being stretched in two directions -- providing students with enrichment activities (music, dance, or art, for example) while expanding their academic support in an effort to close the achievement gap...Parents appreciate the added academic assistance, especially with homework, but many worry that these programs lack the resources and the trained staff to adequately address the academic needs of students. Read more in the Christian Science Monitor article "Big Expectations for After School Hours." (Free registration may be required.) (http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0628/p12s01-legn.html?s=hns)"

"For an up-close look at how one school has created an after-school program designed to meet the needs of the whole student, click over to "The Power of Partnerships," an article and video documentary about IS 218, located in the Washington Heights area of New York City. (www.edutopia.org/1005)"