Afterschool Alliance Research
Informing providers, advocates, and policymakers for 20 years
Delve into our vast collection of research resources that show afterschool programs are keeping kids safe, inspiring learning, and helping working families across the country.
An integral component of Afterschool Alliance’s mission to ensure that all children have access to affordable, quality afterschool programs is research that assesses and examines the ways children spend their time during the afterschool hours, the opportunities afterschool programs provide the children and families in their communities, and the public support for these programs.
This section contains research materials the Afterschool Alliance has produced over the past 15 years. Find the resource that best fits your needs by searching by document type or by issue area. If you are interested in learning more about afterschool programs, explore Afterschool Essentials, or find out how many children are in afterschool programs by visiting the America After 3PM page. You can also search by issue topic and learn more about afterschool programs supporting young people in variety of areas and subjects, ranging from the arts to health and wellness to STEM.
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Expanding Learning Opportunities: It Takes More than Time (2007) Recent pressure to increase academic achievement has led new educational reform strategies to include ideas on extending the school day. However, increased classroom time alone may not be enough to improve academic outcomes. This brief examines the high-quality afterschool program model and the goals of the extended school day movement, seeking to identify the role the afterschool program model can play in informing the implementation of a quality extended day initiative. |
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FIGHT CRIME: INVEST IN KIDS two pager |
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From Prevention to Diversion: The Role of Afterschool in the Juvenile Justice System (May 2020) Involvement with the juvenile justice system can have devastating impacts for youth, their families, and their communities. Through a broad spectrum of services and supports, the afterschool field has leveraged the out of school hours to help keep young people out of the juvenile justice system. From building protective factors that promote resiliency to serving as diversion programs that function as alternatives to detention, afterschool programs can be an essential part of the work to support the young people at risk of becoming involved or currently involved with the juvenile justice system and help reframe and redirect their futures. In addition, in-depth afterschool program profiles that demonstrate these range of supportive roles that programs can play complement this issue brief:
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Full STEM Ahead: Afterschool Programs Step Up as Key Partners in STEM Education (Sept 2015) This report provides the first national look at access to afterschool STEM programs and parental attitudes towards such programs by outlining survey findings, identifying current challenges, and providing recommendations to improve afterschool STEM programming in the future. Full STEM Ahead is presented as part of the third edition of America After 3PM, which spans a decade of household survey data chronicling how children spend the hours between 3 and 6 p.m. STEM |
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High School Reform and High School Afterschool: A Common Purpose (2005) With the information economy of the 21st century upon us, a “skilled” workforce is necessary. Students must leave high school with more than basic proficiency in core subjects to continue on to higher education, career success and productive adulthood. This brief examines the potential role high school afterschool could play in decreasing dropout rates, tackling the achievement gap, and keeping kids on track towards successful futures. |
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How Afterschool is Supporting Learning and Recovery During COVID-19 (July 2020) Individuals have found their lives upended by the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and are facing unprecedented challenges in all corners of life. In response, communities have banded together to meet the immediate health, economic, and basic day-to-day needs of families. Joining local efforts, afterschool programs continue to be a source of support to the children and families in their community as they adapt to the challenging circumstances and stressors created by the pandemic. This issue brief, complemented by in-depth afterschool program profiles, explores the range of ways in which programs have responded to the needs of their community and placed the well-being and safety of children and families at the forefront of program efforts.
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How Afterschool Programs are Building School-Day Engagement and Improving Attendance (January 2025) Chronic absenteeism is a widespread challenge impacting nearly every school district nationwide. However, it is not an issue that schools should tackle alone. This issue brief highlights the unique roles afterschool programs play in improving school-day attendance and strengthening students’ connection to school. By engaging students in hands-on learning experiences that can ignite new interests, connecting students with caring adults and mentors, and creating a space where student agency, voice, and choice are valued and encouraged, afterschool programs are a proven source of support in helping to solve the complex problem that is chronic absenteeism.
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How COVID Relief Funding is a Lifeline for Afterschool and Summer Programs During the Pandemic (July 2022) Funds from the American Rescue Plan present a tremendous opportunity to help afterschool and summer programs support the children and families in their communities. Although results from the seventh wave of Afterschool Alliance’s survey series, conducted March 21 through April 12, 2022, show that a large share of providers have not accessed COVID relief funding, for those who have, the funding has allowed them to hire more staff, serve more students, and expand their programming. COVID-19 |
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Impossible Choices: How States are Addressing the Federal Failure to Fully Fund Afterschool Programs (2005) Despite authorization to increase federal funding for 21st CCLC by a total of $1.5 billion from 2002 to 2007, appropriations remained stagnant at roughly $1 billion through 2005. With most funding promised to existing programs, this has reduced many states’ ability to create new afterschool programs and stunted the growth of afterschool. This report evaluates the impacts of budgetary restrictions on 21st CCLC in each state and calls for increased federal funding moving forward. |
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Investments in Student Recovery: 5 Facts about High-Poverty School Districts’ Pandemic Relief Spending on Afterschool and Summer Programs (May 2024) Following up on the report “Investments in Student Recovery: A Review of School Districts’ Use of American Rescue Plan Funding to Support Afterschool and Summer Opportunities,” this fact sheet examines high-poverty school districts’ spending of American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ARP ESSER) funds on afterschool and summer programming. Federal Funding Federal Policy COVID-19 |
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The Afterschool Alliance is working to ensure that all children have access to affordable, quality afterschool programs. Afterschool programs are critical to children and families today, yet the need for programs is far from being met. Learn more
