Facts, Afterschool

Facts & Figures

Students who attend afterschool programs regularly are likely to show improvements in academic achievement and are less likely to drop out of school.

Art, music, theatre and dance contribute to student learning and achievement. Increasingly, afterschool programs are one of the few places that offer these opportunities, due to dwindling resources and time in the traditional school day.

Afterschool programs can target students’ specific needs by offering them the assistance necessary to make improvements. For example, students involved in a literacy support program in the Central Valley showed substantial academic gains after their first year. At the beginning of the academic year, 15% were reading at grade level. By the end of the year, nearly 50% were reading at grade level and half had improved by at least one full grade level. Additionally, English learners who attended the program were three times as likely to be reclassified as fluent in English as other students in the region.

Project-based learning and learning that builds upon children’s personal experiences enhances classroom learning. High-quality afterschool programs often incorporate these learning strategies, increasing students’ mastery of skills and knowledge.

Students who attend afterschool programs regularly see significant increases in their standardized test scores and are less likely to repeat grades.

Afterschool programs that employ evidence-based strategies to improve students’ personal and social development offer many benefits for children, including increased self-esteem and improved social and academic skills.

Problem behavior (e.g., noncompliance, aggression and delinquency) and drug use are significantly reduced among children who attend afterschool programs.

Afterschool programs can offer a unique intervention to improve children’s health: they can encourage healthy behaviors by providing nutritious snacks and physical activities.

The hours between 3:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. are the peak time for juvenile crime to occur in California. Afterschool programs provide children adult supervision and keep them off the streets and away from negative peer influences.

81% of adolescents in high-quality afterschool programs report they do not participate in risky behaviors, compared to 66% of adolescents who do not participate in an afterschool program.

Students involved in Bayview Safe Haven, a San Francisco afterschool program for at-risk children, ages 10-17, are less likely to be suspended—even if they have a history of suspension. They also are less likely to be arrested in the period following their involvement than their peers who do not attend the program.

Students involved in LA’s BEST, a Los Angeles afterschool program, are 30% less likely to be involved in criminal activities than students who do not attend the program.

Afterschool programs serve an import role in California’s current and future economy. They provide jobs for afterschool workers, allow parents to work, cut costs associated with juvenile crime, train children in job skills, and provide children with community service and leadership opportunities.

Parents whose children are not in an afterschool program miss an average of eight days of work per year compared to three days for parents whose children are in an afterschool program. Decreased worker productivity related to parental concerns about afterschool care costs California businesses up to $300 billion a year.

Nearly 80% of families who are wait-listed for subsidized afterschool programs report needing care because of current or prospective employment.

California loses $46 billion each year due to high school dropouts, through increased crime, welfare and health expenditures, and decreased earnings and taxes associated with dropping out. Afterschool programs are linked to improved academic achievement and fewer dropouts. They also play a critical role in cutting costs associated with poor academic outcomes.

For every $1 spent on afterschool programs, between $5 and $7 is generated in public savings.

Over 7 million children in the U.S. lack adult supervision during after school hours. Throughout California, 53% of fifth- and seventhgraders are regularly supervised after school. However, this average varies across counties with children in Trinity County (35%) least likely to be regularly supervised and children in San Francisco and Fresno counties (58%) most likely to have regular supervision.

Approximately 328,752 elementary, 84,668 middle school and 60,790 high school students participate in state-funded afterschool programs. This is a 4% decrease from 2008 to 2009. More than half of state-funded afterschool programs have waiting lists.

36% of California’s children, who are not in an afterschool program, would likely participate if one were available in their community.

Approximately 1.8 million children (27%) in California participate in summer learning programs. Among parents whose children do not participate in such programs, 66% of them report that they are interested in enrolling their child in the future.

Parents consistently cite summer as the most difficult time to ensure their children have productive things to do. Lack of high-quality affordable programs, however, keep enrollment for summer programs low.

Summer is a crucial time in supporting children’s education, health and safety. Summer learning and enrichment programs offer structured, supervised time where children and adolescents are able to build on what they learned during the school year and develop new skills.

Students lose an average of one month of learning over summer recess. Children from low-income families are especially vulnerable to this learning loss, especially in reading and language arts. Summer learning loss accounts for roughly two-thirds of the achievement gap between income groups.

Summer learning opportunities can be particularly important to children who are at high risk of becoming obese, because they are more likely to gain weight during summer than during the school year.

Afterschool programs employ roughly 140,000 people in California. Nearly 80% of them work part-time.

Staff turnover is a critical threat to sustaining supportive relationships. Program operators struggle to retain staff at every level, which often results in poor continuity with respect to program goals and relationships with children and collaborating agencies.

While afterschool programs have a high rate of job satisfaction among teen workers (80%), low wages are a barrier to retention.