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What is Afterschool? Afterschool programs are safe spaces that support healthy social and emotional development, teach crucial 21 st century skills, and promote academic success. Every day in New York City, more than 500,000 young people in low-income communities are provided safe and enriching environments in afterschool programs run by community-based organizations. PASE recognizes the crucial role these programs play in fostering young people’s intellectual, emotional, physical and spiritual growth. PASE believes that academic skills should be integrated into all aspects of an afterschool program; that parents, youth and community members need to have input into program development; and that programs should make a commitment to be inclusive, foster cultural diversity, and build community. What does afterschool accomplish? PASE accomplishes its mission by building the capacity of individual afterschool staff, youth-serving organizations, and the field as a whole, all with the goal of increasing the availability of quality services to youth in out of school time.
Safety On school days, peak time for young people to either commit or be victims of crime is between 3 and 6 p.m. Teens who do not take part in afterschool activities are 3 times more likely to use drugs, and are also more likely to drink, smoke, and engage in sexual activity . (Fight Crime: Invest in Kids New York; YMCA of the USA, March 2001) 21st Century Skills Afterschool programs teach skills that are essential for success in the 21 st century workforce, including critical thinking, technology literacy, ability to collaborate and work in teams, creativity, communication, and more. (Partnership for 21 st Century Skills, 2007.) Academic Success Regular participation in quality afterschool programs is linked to significant gains in test scores and work habits, as well as reductions in behavior problems. (Vandell, Reisner, & Pierce, University of California, Irvine, University of Wisconsin – Madison, and Policy Studies Associates, Inc., 2007) Social and Emotional Development Afterschool programs nurture the development of such crucial social and emotional aspects as compassion, self-expression, interpersonal relations, motivation and voice, identification with home, community, and culture. (Dr. Robert Halpern, Erikson Institute, “The Need to Reframe Expectations of Afterschool Programs,” 2006.)
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