Gonzalez 1

Zayra Gonzalez
Professor Bieber
English 113 B
16 April 2015
After the Bell
When crime and poverty runs a city there is little hope for people to attempt to make a
change. However, after school programs are making efforts to create a safe environment where
student will be able to stay out of criminal activity during after school hours, where they will
have fun activities and homework assistance. On the book, The Other Wes Moore Wes Moore,
associates the story of his trouble days, with the life of someone that has the same name and
similar background as him. Both the author and Wes, lived in a poor community, lived without
their dad, and had trouble at school. The author had support from his family and join military
school where he learned discipline and better skill, while the other Wes turned to drugs and was
sent to jail. It is easy to go on a bad path when parents work for long hours, and the streets are
full of bad influences. After school programs are a great way to get young people on a better
bath, and help them for the long term. The other Wes Moore had a single mother that work late
and no real positive influence, the after-school program would have provided him with the skills
he needed and would have had a positive impact on him. There should be more research done to
help improve after school programs, as well as funding to help students from K to 12 grade get a
better education, positive influences, and benefit working parent.
On the L.A County site under School Programs it is explain that after-school programs
targets student in kindergarten and 12th grade, and their purpose. For example, the LAs Bester
Education Student for Tomorrow (LAs BEST) program, offers student from 5 to 12 years old
homework assistance and fun activities. This helps student get support at an early age. This
program could have helped the other Moore because as a child he had the influence of his
brother, Tony [who] desperately [tried] to give [Wes] information he thought he needed, the

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kind of information that Tony never got (Moore 27). Moore felt that his brother had not right to
give him advice, when he did not follow them himself. If Moore would have had attended the
after-school program he would have receive the advice from professionals that would know how
to treat a situation like his. A different after-school program is the 21st Century Community
Learning Center (21st CCLC), it provides help before school hours start and after they end for
student in kindergarten through 12th grade. This programs and many others have become
important for underprivileged communities, because they provide the support many parent
cannot contribute. They are beneficial in more ways than one, and they are helping students
create a better future.
According to, Alexandra Pannoni in After- School Programs Can Help Teens at Risk of
Dropping Out teens that are a risk of dropping out can get assists from after school programs to
keeps them in school. Many teens drop out of school for many reason, for instance, family
problems, disabilities, and issues that prevent them from performing well in school. After- school
programs provide these student with the support they need to continue in school. 2 million high
school student [participating] in after-school programs (Pannoni) get the additional help they
need, because many students, have a difficult time understanding the material taught in class.
Additionally, Ponnoni mentions that besides giving students something to look forward to
when coming to school, students in after-school have less opportunity to be involved in
illegal activities, such as drug use and gang involvement. The program involves student in
activities that can be engaging and interesting for them, giving them something to do after
school, instead of endangering them self in criminal activities. The programs are in a safe
environment where they will stay away of the bad influences in their neighborhoods.
In the CRESS report, Exploring the Relationship between LAs Best Program
Attendance and Cognitive Gains of LAs BEST Student Denise Huang, Seth Leon, and Deborah

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La Torre Matrundola examined the affects LAs BET after-school program has on student and
their achievement in school. The study reveals that in order for students to benefit from the
program they need to attend the program for 100 days or more (Huang et. al 50). In order to get
the best out of the program student need to show dedication to the program. The program needs
to work to keep the program interesting for them. This is why they create activities, where they
keep the student engage without overwhelming them with homework, such as art, music, and
sports. Furthermore, the study also shows that after school programs specially LAs BEST can
help improve students in the math and English arts. The research demonstrated that LAs BEST
program is signicantly associated with small but positive gains in CST math achievement when
compared to students with low or no participation in the program (Huang et. al 49). The
programs try to improve their methods to improve students education, however, there still need
to be more research done to help programs improve their performance therefore helping students
attending the program. As we can see from the study so far the programs have improved and
keeps improving student life by helping them improve their test score.
In conclusion, there are many positive outcome of after school programs that encourage
student to continue school. With the extra support they are getting from these programs student
get better grads and gain skills that they would have not learn on the streets. Parents and student
should be aware of the benefit of these programs, because they provide the help many parents
cannot provide.
Works Cited
Huang, Denise, Seth Leon, and Deborah La Torre Matrundola. Exploring the Relationships
Between LAs BEST Program and Cognitive Gains of LAs BEST Students/
Untersuchung Der Beziehung Zwischen Der Teilnahme Am LAs BEST- Programm Und
Dem Kognitiven Gewinn Von LAs BEST- Schulern. Journal for Education Research
Online, 6.3 (2014):34.
Moore, Wes. The other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates. New York: Spiegel &

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Grau, 2010. Print.
Pannoni, Alexandra. After- School Programs Can Help Teens at Risk of Dropping Out. US
News. U.S News and World Report, 3 Nov. 2014. Web. 7 Apr. 2015.
School Program. L.A County Online. County of Los Angeles, California. n.d. Web. 7 April
2015.