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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.

Afterschool Essentials

Find valuable information that will help you make a strong case for afterschool.

America After 3PM

Spans a decade of data chronicling how children spend the hours between 3 and 6 p.m.

Fact Sheets

Fact sheets offer to-the-point information on a variety of key afterschool topics.

Issue Briefs

Issue briefs balance exploring topics in greater detail and delivering information in a succinct package.

Reports

Reports are the Afterschool Alliance’s longer, more in-depth research work.

Polling and Survey Data

Public views on afterschool, program provider surveys, and more.

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Audio Conference Questions	Read Resource
Afterschool and the Environment: A Natural Fit (January 2009) Children have a wonderful curiosity about nature and the environment, which, if encouraged through afterschool activities can have a profound impact on their health and well-being. Children also take readily to concepts of conservation which will make them excellent stewards of the future of our environment. This issue brief explores the relationship between children's health, academic enrichment and community awareness through developing a relationship with the wonders of their natural environment. STEM	Download
Year in Review 2007 Despite facing many challenges the past year, 2007 marked a year of growth for the afterschool community. Along with a significant increase in 21st CCLC funding, for the first time since 2002, this year provided new research underscoring the benefits of afterschool, increased funding at the state and local level, increased support from policy makers and community leaders, and other new resources to support high quality afterschool opportunities.	Download
Spotlight on Maine Spotlight on Maine, released in June 2008, examined the views of Maine's principals and found the vast majority agree that afterschool and summer programs are a necessity, but that funding is inadequate to meet the need for programs across the state.	Download
Spotlight on Maine A summary of findings from New England After 3 PM: Spotlight on Maine.	Read Resource
Afterschool and Workforce Development: Helping Kids Compete (2009) The Afterschool Alliance, in partnership with MetLife Foundation, is proud to present the first of four issue briefs in this series examining critical issues facing older youth and the vital role afterschool programs play in addressing these issues. This brief addresses the need for 21st century skills in our increasingly competitive labor market and examines how afterschool provides older youth with the opportunity to develop these skills.	Download
Recruiting and Retaining Older Youth in Afterschool (2009) The Afterschool Alliance, in partnership with MetLife Foundation, is proud to present the second of four issue briefs in this series examining critical issues facing older youth and the vital role afterschool programs play in addressing these issues. This brief highlights the importance of afterschool for older youth, the challenges providers face in recruiting and retaining older youth and the innovative strategies that programs have used to better serve older youth in afterschool.	Download
Afterschool: A High School Dropout Prevention Tool (2009) The Afterschool Alliance, in partnership with MetLife Foundation, is proud to present the third of four issue briefs in this series examining critical issues facing older youth and the vital role afterschool programs play in addressing these issues. This brief discusses the current dropout problem, the broader impacts of high school dropout rates, and how afterschool programs are proven to support graduation by addressing the issues and risk factors that lead to dropout.	Download
Surveys and Polls Show Strong Support for Afterschool A Summary of Findings Highlighting the Need and Demand for More Afterschool Programs for Children and Older Youth.	Download
Afterschool: Providing a Successful Route to Credit Attainment and Recovery (2009) Academic credit attainment and recovery are predictors of future success in secondary school and college. Unfortunately, once students fall behind, it is difficult for them to get back on track within the regular school day, making them more likely to drop out of high school and not pursue college. This brief discusses how afterschool engages youth to address barriers to attaining and recovering credits, and highlights programs who are successful in this area.	Download