Dear fellow educators,
About six years ago I took a job working with Sudanese immigrant and refugee students and was surprised and amazed at the impact afterschool and summer programming had on the quality of their lives. I used to think that the value in afterschool programs lay in keeping students out of trouble during the afterschool hours and that participation was the main objective. And while it is true that studies have shown that regular participation in afterschool programs significantly lowers a student’s chance at engaging in high risk behaviors, I begun to understand the potential afterschool programs have for enhancing and enlarging a student’s education as well.
Not long after beginning to work with the Southern Sudanese community I remember asking several students how they enjoyed their vacation. I think they had been away from school for a week over a holiday break. The response from several of the kids was, “I am so happy to be back in school it was so boring at my house”. I was surprised. I remember being a kid and being eager to see my friends after a week apart, but don’t remember wanting to come to school to escape the mundane life I had at home. I realized then that I had not considered what life was like at home for my students and began to think about all the opportunities I had to learn, explore, and grow outside of school when I was a kid.
A Sudanese friend of mine, a single mother with seven children, put it in even clearer perspective for me. She said “Cara, I would love to take my children to church, but I don’t have a car that is big enough for us all to fit.” She explored taking the bus, but the time it took to get there and back just didn’t seem worth the effort. So many of the students whose families are low income or immigrant and refugees face obstacles just like this, for these families a lack of time and resources limits the amount of things they do together outside of the home. Afterschool programs, especially those which are offered to families free of charge, can have a profound effect on helping students to become knowledgeable and well rounded. We speak often of the widening knowledge gap that exists between students and of how to bridge it. Afterschool programming can be an important tool to leveling the playing field. Students whose parents can’t afford to take them on trips to the zoo and museums have access to these activities through afterschool programs. Students who are unable to get assistance with homework at home can work with knowledgeable adults after school. And students who are unable to attend summer camps can participate in enrichment classes that broaden their horizons and expose them to ideas and practices that challenge them to be better learners, artists, and citizens.
My challenge to you as teachers and administrators is to get to know the afterschool programs in or near your school. What are the social skills, base knowledge, and attitudes you wish for your students to have when they step into your class? Spend a moment speaking to the afterschool providers who work with your students, do they have the same goals? I bet they do. Identify the students in your classes who are taking advantage of afterschool programs. Are there others who could really benefit? I challenge you to become a champion for afterschool education. Your support could really make a difference to students for whom learning stops at the end of the school day.
