What Now America

Background Information

It is no secret that youth in America spend their afternoons in a patchwork quilt of supervised and unsupervised environments - a matter of vast and justifiable concern to parents, educators, law enforcement leaders, lawmakers and communities. For years, scant data have forced experts and activists to rely on a broad range of five to 15 million children who are unsupervised after school.

Primary objectives would be as follows:

•Provide positive impacts on participating students' achievement as measured by (a) SAT-9 Reading and Math test scores

•Encourage above standard improvements in achievement among the most high-risk students, including those initially in the lowest quartile on standardized test scores and English language learners

•Improved student regular day attendance in school

•Encourage positive attitudes among participating students toward school, enhanced confidence about learning, and increased educational aspirations.

•Improve social skills and behavior traits among participating students

•Improved feelings of safety among participating children and youth and increased confidence among parents concerning their children's safety on a daily basis.

Conclusion

Families of 22 million children want afterschool and only 6.5 million of them are currently participating in afterschool programs. Need is especially high for middle school children. Just six percent of middle schoolers are in afterschool programs; another 34 percent of America's middle schoolers are unsupervised in the afternoons. Families with children in afterschool programs are overwhelmingly satisfied with the programs their children attend.

It is clear that the supply of afterschool programs continues to fall short of the demand. Parents recognize the benefits of afterschool and look to their communities to help them keep their kids safe and healthy and provide enriching activities. The afterschool community and What Now America has a tremend