Community Resource Guide:

After School Community

Christine Posadas

Dr. Terry Stone

HD 364 – Community as Context for Development

2018 February 14

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Christine Posadas

Dr. Terry Stone

HD 364

2018 February 4

Community Resource Guide:

The after-school community provides children in low income neighborhoods with

opportunities of educational, recreational and enriching activities. After school is a critical time

for families with the highest needs and least amount of resources. The needs amongst this

community is keeping children engaged and families involved. Most families are not as actively

involved with their children’s activities because they do not have the time, tools or skills to

support their children’s development. Within the city of Los Angeles many organizations have

taken it upon themselves to create engaging programming that builds a successful learning

environment for children to thrive and develop into their true selves. Aside from opening up this

successful learning environment, they are spaces where children can feel safe and supported.

1. LA’s BEST After School Enrichment Program serves 198 schools throughout LAUSD

from the time the bell rings until 6 o’clock, at no cost to parents. Student’s parents need

to fill out a registration form through the local school’s LA’s BEST office and commit to

daily attendance. LA’s BEST provides a full schedule of enriching activities, a hot supper

and homework tutoring.

www.lasbest.org

2. The Boys & Girls Club has many centers throughout the cities. Many with after school

programs that will pick students up from their local school and take them to the center.

They service students from 2:30 to 7:00 PM on school days, for a minimal fee depending

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 on household income. At the center they provide homework assistance, learning centers

and different types of hands on activities.

https://www.labgc.org/after-school-programs/

3. The YMCA has 12 centers throughout LA Count that offer after school care with a 14 to

1, student to staff ratio. The after-school care provides homework assistance, enrichment

activities and several partnerships with other organizations for more collaborative

opportunities. There is a fee to participate, but the YMCA offers financial assistance to

families who qualify.

https://www.ymcala.org/metro/classes/school-age-child-care

4. 826LA has 2 locations in Los Angeles, that provide homework tutoring with volunteers

and after homework students focus on reading and writing activities to enhance their

skills. The program is free to students who qualify based on socio-economic status.

http://826la.org/programs/tutoring/

5. LA Conservation Corps After School Program serves 13 middle schools and 3

elementary schools through L.A. They offer homework assistance and various academic

and enrichment activities students can participate in from school dismissal to 6:00 PM,

with occasional field trips. Students can apply at the local schools the programs are held.

https://lacorps.org/programs/after-school-program/

6. LAPL – Los Angeles Public Library has various local libraries through many

neighborhoods. Each library offers free programs for students after school. They have

computer labs, study zones, weekly tutors available and other interactive activities for all

school ages. All libraries have on-site and online resources available to students.

http://www.lapl.org/kids/homework-help

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7. Department of Recreation & Parks: LA Kids services over 100 parks throughout the city

of Los Angeles. Their free program offers sports clinics, sports camps, cultural classes,

art classes and many more activities. They offer more activities through summer time. To

participate in the programs parents must visit the local part and register students.

https://www.laparks.org/lakids

8. STAR Education serves over 500 schools in 60 school districts. They offer the STAR

Galaxy program free to parents to several elementary schools during the after-school

hours. Students go through a rotation of activities for homework assistance, academic and

enrichment on a daily basis. Each program is implemented by educators with rich

background studies. STAR Education also has a Nova program, that is designed for

specific subjects and programs that are offered twice a week to students.

http://www.starinc.org/

9. Woodcraft Rangers NVISION after school programs have 60 sites throughout Los

Angeles County. Most programs are free to students. Parents must speak directly to the

school’s site coordinator to enroll students. The program offers support enrichment club

development.

http://woodcraftrangers.org/nvision-programs

10. College Track has 6 programs through California, 2 of them in Los Angeles. This

program is geared for high school students to support their journey to college. They focus

of 4 components, academic affairs, college affairs, student life and college success.

Through each component, workshops, tutoring, assistance and mentoring is offered. To

participate, students must apply with an application, letters of recommendation and an

interview.

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https://collegetrack.org/who-we-are

11. Innercity Struggle is an organization that serves the East side of Los Angeles to promote

a safe, healthy and nonviolent community by empowering the families within the

community. There are several programs for parents, students and children. All programs

are at no cost to families, all that is required is their participation.

http://innercitystruggle.org/

All the resources listed play a critical role in the communities they serve.

They provide for the needs families have. Unlike upscale and middle to high class

communities where families can enroll and pay for their children to be a part of

extracurricular activities, pay for personal tutoring, hire nannies or have a spacious play

area to spend time in, these families are in need of such resources. All the organizations

provide a different level of opportunity for families, especially in the critical time of after

school. With such rich opportunities they can identify with, it can help them gain a great

sense of empowerment. In “We Are Americans” we hear the story of many students who

are struggling to gain higher education because of their socio-economic and immigration

status. In our communities we encounter many similar situations, and all of the programs

listed are open and mostly free to students in similar situations. Programs like Innercity

Struggle even offer support and resources for families dealing with immigration issues

and help them by educating them of their rights and encouraging them to not take the

injustices served to them. In “We Are Americans” Julia shares the experience of having

parents who didn’t know what she needed for college, counselors were not supportive of

her but eventually found her way and graduated college. Students like Julia could use

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programs like College Track and Innercity Struggle, because they offer the guidance and

support they are not getting from school or family. Many of the after-school programs

like LA’s BEST also expose young children to various careers and expands their horizons

to see there is a whole world of opportunities beyond what they only see in their

mesosystem.

Families and children alike have many challenges, especially living in a low-

income community that everyday and every turn can be a potential danger to

development and even physical safety. Money is tight, time is limited, and opportunities

are limited. Having a supportive after school community in the neighborhood won’t solve

all the problems, but it can be a resource for families to provide wider opportunities in

their academics, development, engagement, safety and guidance to a progressive future.

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 Citations

Before & After School Programs. (2018). Retrieved February 13, 2018, from
http://btb.lausd.net/Programs/Before-After-School-Programs

Condes, Y., & Aureswald, S. (2016). After School Classes Guide. Retrieved February 14, 2018,
from https://momsla.com/school-classes-guide/

Pérez, W., & Solorzano, D. (2009). We are Americans: undocumented students pursuing the
American dream. Sterling, VA: Stylus.