Afterschool Alliance Research

Evaluations Backgrounder: A Summary of Formal Evaluations of Afterschool Programs' Impact on Academics, Behavior, Safety and Family Life (2013)

Afterschool programs have been operating across the country for decades, and federal investment in afterschool has increased dramatically since the mid-1990s. Still, more investment is needed to meet growing demand.  As public demand and need for afterschool have grown, so too has the demand for accountability. This backgrounder contains research demonstrating the impact of afterschool programs on participant's academic achievement, behavior, safety, and overall wellness.

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Afterschool: A Key to Successful Parent Engagement (2012)

The Afterschool Alliance, in partnership with MetLife Foundation, is proud to present the third of four issue briefs in our fifth series examining critical issues facing middle school youth and the vital role afterschool programs play in addressing these issues. This brief demonstrates the ties between parent engagement and student success, why afterschool programs are an ideal partner to help schools break down the barriers often present between parents and schools, and how they create unique opportunities that also encourage parent engagement.

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Arts Enrichment in Afterschool (2012)

The Afterschool Alliance, in partnership with MetLife Foundation, is proud to present the second of four issue briefs in our fifth series examining critical issues facing middle school youth and the vital role afterschool programs play in addressing these issues. This brief addresses the positive influences art has on a child's development, the challenges schools face in providing comprehensive arts education and the role afterschool programs can play to support arts enrichment.

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Uncertain Times 2012: Afterschool Programs Still Struggling in Today's Economy

This is the third installment of the Uncertain Times series, which assesses the impacts of economic conditions on afterschool programs. Based on 1,012 survey responses, this report finds that afterschool programs are struggling to meet the needs of children and families in their communities as they face shrinking resources and dismal prospects for new support. Hardest hit are programs serving disadvantaged communities—the very population that has the most to gain from afterschool and summer programs.

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Afterschool: An Ally in Promoting Middle School Improvement (2012)

The Afterschool Alliance, in partnership with MetLife Foundation, is proud to present the first of four issue briefs in our fifth series examining critical issues facing middle school youth and the vital role afterschool programs play in addressing these issues. Currently, roughly 5 percent of all U.S. schools are chronically underperforming. This brief explains the Department of Education's School Improvement Grants (SIG) aimed at turning around America's lowest performing schools, and discusses the role afterschool programs can play in supporting this effort.

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Afterschool in Action: How Innovative Afterschool Programs Address Critical Issues Facing Middle School Youth (2012)

With support from MetLife Foundation, the Afterschool Alliance is proud to present this compendium containing a series of four issue briefs examining critical issues facing middle school youth, schools and communities, and the vital role afterschool programs play in addressing these issues. The four briefs address: aligning afterschool with the regular school day; bullying prevention; service learning; and promoting literacy. The compendium also includes profiles of successful programs and a discussion of the MetLife Foundation Afterschool Innovator Awards

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Student-Centered Learning in Afterschool: Putting Students' Needs and Interests First (2011)

Now more than ever, creativity and imagination are an important part of helping children learn to think critically, solve problems and express themselves - all necessary to compete in today's global community. Wherever children are - in school or out - [student-centered learning opportunities] work to surround them with opportunities to develop skills and nurture talents that lead to success.

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Literacy in Afterschool: A Building Block for Learning and Development (2011)

The Afterschool Alliance, in partnership with MetLife Foundation, is proud to present the last of four issue briefs in our fourth series examining critical issues facing middle school youth and the vital role afterschool programs play in addressing these issues. This brief emphasizes the dramatic literacy gap between low- and high-income students, and explores how afterschool programs are uniquely positioned to fill those opportunity gaps and support the acquisition of reading and writing skills among underserved youth to help them develop a brighter future.

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

The Afterschool Alliance, in partnership with MetLife Foundation, is proud to present the third of four issue briefs in our fourth series examining critical issues facing middle school youth and the vital role afterschool programs play in addressing these issues. This brief addresses the difference between community service and service-learning, discusses the benefits of service learning and outlines how afterschool programs are already promoting service learning.

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Afterschool: A Strategy for Addressing and Preventing Middle School Bullying (2011)

The Afterschool Alliance, in partnership with MetLife Foundation, is proud to present the second of four issue briefs in our fourth series examining critical issues facing middle school youth and the vital role afterschool programs play in addressing these issues. This brief emphasizes how afterschool programs, in partnership with schools, parents and the wider community, can help produce more emboldened students that know how to stand up to bullies, thereby promoting a bully-free environment in which all students can learn and grow.

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