Kids’ Carpentry is a year-round after school program designed especially for boys and girls, kindergarten through the sixth grade. Since 1982 we have been teaching kids the safe use of woodworking hand tools. Children work together and independently on boats, trucks, bird feeders, clocks, doll furniture, airplanes, games and many other projects. In addition to the fun these kids have, they also gain quality experiences in measuring, applied mathematics such as fractions, and hands-on experience with a variety of carpentry tools. By visualizing, planning and building projects, children develop valuable abstract reasoning capabilities and fine motor skills. Children can select from a wide range of project choices supplied by the teacher and are also encouraged to design and build based on their own needs and imaginations. Our Socratic style of teaching empowers the children to become good problem-solvers and independent thinkers!

This Child Trends brief distills lessons from roundtable discussions for improving the reach and effectiveness of New Mexico's school-based services like after-school programs and health services.

Funders and program planners want to know: What does it cost to operate a high-quality after-school or summer program? This study answers that question, discovering that there is no "right" number. Cost varies substantially, depending on the characteristics of the participants, the goals of the program, who operates it and where it is located. Based on detailed cost data collected from 111 out-of-school-time programs in six cities, this report, along with an online calculator, provides cost averages and ranges for many common types of programs.

Engaging young teens in quality out-of-school time programs is no easy feat. Cypress Hills-East New York, a Beacon Center located in Brooklyn, has developed a strategy for recruiting and enrolling youth ages 9 to 14 for its school-year program. What works best? The Youth Development Institute shares some of the secrets of success.

To commemorate the 10th anniversary of the federal 21st Century Community Learning
Centers, the Afterschool Alliance is creating a storybook featuring people whose lives
have been improved through out-of-school time programs. Share your stories and program
nominations and check out sample stories online.

A once-a-week adult-student mentoring meeting does not an after-school program make, according to this brief from the Forum for Youth Investment. But perhaps, with a little help, it could. The question is not which makes more sense, mentoring or after-school, but how can we utilize both strategies to increase the likelihood that young people have the supports they need to thrive. The 8-page brief offers some ideas.

Kids who have no place to go end up going nowhere. Kids with some place to go end up going places.

Every day in the United States as many as 15 million children leave school with no place to go. And every day many of these children are involved in crimes, join gangs, or experiment with drugs, alcohol or sex.

After-School All-Stars offers a proven alternative for middle school children. We engage them in activities and on-going relationships that increase confidence and encourage success in all areas of their lives - at home, in school and in the community.

By employing systematic and adequately funded public education campaigns, the Every Child Matters Education Fund provide opportunities for focusing public attention on important children's issues including the prevention of child abuse and neglect, improving the health of low-income children, and finding solutions in child care, early childhood education, after-school programs, and responsible decisions on federal budget and tax issues.

The Project's mission is to expand the availability of high quality after school programs in Pennsylvania through the provision of professional development activities for staff and technical assistance for programs, based on best practices and research in the field.

The Project's mission is to expand the availability of high quality after school programs in Pennsylvania through the provision of professional development activities for staff and technical assistance for programs, based on best practices and research in the feild.