After School Programs

After-School kits are coming!

PTA Afterschool Week will be October 16-22, 2005. You can take part in the celebration and support for after school programs during this week and all year long. A kit for your PTA unit will be sent out to you in late September. The purpose of this kit is to help your local units run programs supporting after school care in your community. Included in the kit will be a leader’s guide for the week containing sample agendas, a sample presentation to use in a kickoff meeting, activity ideas, and handouts to help parents seek out the best after school programs for their children. You will also receive a poster to hang and magnets to distribute to help your unit celebrate after school programs in conjunction with the Afterschool Alliance’s Lights On Afterschool! day on October 20, 2005. The PTA Afterschool Week kit was made possible with the help of a grant from the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation. Look for yours to arrive soon.

In 2006, PTA maintains its support for nationwide celebration of after school programs. In conjunction with Lights on Afterschool! a project of the Afterschool Alliance, we will distribute information via direct mail postcard to our audience of 25,000 PTA leaders. The postcard will be mailed by September 14 and will help direct recipients to information online about the importance of access to after school programs for families and communities, and provide ideas for celebrating and advocating after school programs in your area. There is artwork to download as well as press kit materials, a sample proclamation, and case studies to support this issue.

Key Partners and Organizations

Who Else Is Involved in After-School Programs?

Education Groups

Council of Chief State School Officers
(CCSSO) is a nationwide organization composed of public officials who lead the departments responsible for elementary and secondary education in every state. The council supports after-school programs, and is especially committed to ensuring that low-performing and high-poverty schools and their students receive the benefits provided though after-school programs.

Phone: (202) 336-7000

National Association of Elementary School Principals
(NAESP) has been involved and advocating for after-school programs since 1988. Their website offers Resources, Promising Practices, the latest News, and results of their recent survey. Your elementary school principal could be a big supporter of your efforts to establish after-school programs at the school.

Phone: (800)386-2377

National School Boards Association
(NSBA) is an active supporter of after-school activities, and shares the belief that the best location for an after-school program is the school. Their site offers many tips, including Working with School Boards and state-by-state resources.

Phone: (703) 838-6722

The Afterschool Alliance is an excellent resource for anyone interested in after-school programs. Their website offers materials on everything from starting a program to funding to state and national policies on after-school programs. The Afterschool Alliance hosts an annual Lights On Afterschool! campaign on October  20, 2005.

Phone: (202) 347-1002

Fight Crime: Invest in Kids is an advocacy organization with research and statistics on the importance of after-school programs. They have members in every state who can contribute to your voice on behalf of after-school.

Phone: (202) 776-0027

U.S. Conference of Mayors recently passed a resolution in support of after-school programs. Your mayor can become a strong voice on behalf of after-school. If he or she is unaware of the resolution, you may want to share the information.

Phone: (202) 293-7330

What PTA Members Think About After-School Programs

National PTA commissioned Ipsos Public Affairs to survey 800 PTA members in February 2003 regarding attitudes and perceptions surrounding after-school programs. For the purposes of this survey, an after-school program was defined as an adult-supervised program, outside of regular school hours, such as child care, academics, music instruction, or a recreational program held in places like schools, community centers, or religious facilities, not a sports or hobby club.

The telephone survey was 24 questions long, excluding demographic information. The sample size has a margin of error of approximately 3.5 percent plus or minus. Listed below are some key findings.

PTA members believe after-school programs' primary benefit is safety and supervision, followed closely by development, consisting of learning new things, social interaction, and academic achievement.

When asked how important after-school programs are for children in their area, 95 percent of respondents said "important" or "very important" for elementary school and middle school children, and 82 percent said "important" or "very important" for high school students. Hispanic members were more likely than other members to rate after-school programs as very "important."

Members cited financial reasons as the explanation for why their school does not offer an after-school program, and a significant proportion of PTA members expressed some level of concern regarding the affordability of after-school programs.

When asked if their child participates in after-school programs, responses were generally consistent among levels of school, with 50 percent of parents of elementary school students, 48 percent of middle school parents, and 47 percent of parents of high school students indicating participation.

Almost nine in 10 (89 percent) PTA members would prefer that their children attend after-school programs at their own school.

Asked if an after-school program was available at their child's school, the percentage answering yes decreases from 82 percent in elementary school to only 57 percent in high school, indicating a need for high school-based programs. Middle school programs were available at 66 percent of the schools.

Members seemed marginally satisfied with the programs available, with 60 percent indicating that the programs available in their area were "good" or "very good." This figure is lower than members' satisfaction with the school in general, indicating that increased involvement can lead to increased satisfaction with the after-school program.

Many members indicated a willingness to advocate for after-school programs if asked.

The survey was the first step in a two-year grant project from the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation.