More than 28 million school-age children have parents who work outside the home. However, only 20% or six million children in grades K-8 participate in before- and after-school programs. Most of the other 80% of children do not have access to affordable, quality care during the hours before and after school. Meanwhile, the number of school age children with working parents continues to rise. In 69% of all married couple families with children ages 6-17, both parents work outside the home; in 71% of single mother families and in 85 percent of single father families with children ages 6-17, the custodial parent is working; and the gap between parents' work schedules and their children's school schedules amounts to 20 to 25 hours per week. To meet this growing demand, communities must create quality after-school enrichment programs.
Research conducted by the U.S. Department of Education, Partnership for Family Involvement in Educations (1999) found that school-age children and teens who are unsupervised during the hours after school are more likely to use alcohol, drugs, and tobacco; engage in criminal and other high-risk behaviors; perform poorly in school; display increased behavior problems; and drop out of school more often than those children who have the opportunity to benefit from constructive activities supervised by responsible adults. In a Harris poll, more than one-half of teachers singled out children who are left on their own after school as the primary explanation for students' difficulties in class.
Conversely, there is a chronic shortage of after-school programs available to serve children. Demand for school-based after-school programs outstrips supply at a rate of about two to one. Further, finding quality programs to meet the needs of children moving from elementary to middle school years is even more challenging in communities where after-school resources decline abruptly after elementary school. Middle school children are often "too old for child care" and "too young for self-care." The transition to middle school marks the time when children are in early stages of adolescence, asking for greater autonomy and are able to use it more successfully if they receive support, attention, and supervision from caring adults.
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 To address this societal need, the Houston A+ Challenge created the "Passport to Success" model for its funded schools. This model reinforces classroom teaching, while providing children with a safe, rich, and fun environment to continue their learning after school hours.
Funded by grants from the Annenberg Foundation in Pennsylvania and the United Way of the Texas Gulf Coast, "Passport to Success" is underway in two school districts: Houston ISD and North Forest ISD. Additional information on both initiatives can be reached at the following links:
The Houston A+ Challenge believes that an academically rich environment begins with teachers who are deeply knowledgeable about their subjects, about children's development, and a wide range of effective strategies for teaching in content areas. The teacher learning imperative for the "Passport to Success" After-School program is supported through shared learning resulting from both live and virtual discussions of child-centered learning.
The strengths of educators implementing this after-school program will serve as a building block for each campus' success. The Houston A+ Challenge provides financial and informational resources to coordinators of the "Passport to Success" After-School program. Both a list serve and chat room have been made available to program contacts and teachers to strengthen their knowledge of children and their subjects, of the children's cultures, and to restructuring the work setting to include more planning time, professional development, and teacher networking.
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The overall goal of this after-school program is to reinforce the student's academic learning. In addition, the "Passport to Success" program encompasses the following 17 student-centered goals:
Students will see a decrease in:
- Juvenile delinquency;
- School vandalism;
Activities that lead to risky behaviors, such as drug, alcohol, and tobacco use;
- Aggressive behavior associated with watching television;
- Drop-out rates; and
- Retention rates and placements in special education.
Students will see an increase in:
- Grade point averages and performance on academic achievement tests;
- Interest and ability to read;
- Development of new skills and interests;
- School attendance rate;
- Quality of their homework;
- Time they spend on task;
- Aspirations for the future, including intention to complete high school and go to college;
- Ability to handle conflict;
- Ability to work cooperatively with parents, adults and peers;
- Social skills; and
- Self-confidence through development of caring relationships with parents, adults and peers
Return to Houston A+ Home Page.
Click on the following links to attain additional information about:
Please contact Michele Pola, Ed.D., Executive Director, at the Houston A+ Challenge by e-mail or call 713-658-1881 if you have additional questions. |
