Michelle Lee

EDUC 160

History of Afterschool Programs

I. CH. 2: Social Upheaval, Industrialization, and Child Labor

A. The rise of industrialization led to the upsurge in the need for labor, both in the field as
factory workers, or from family members at home. This included all members, parents
and children.
B. The demand for children to be required to go to school, as a way to combat child labor,
increased greatly, which also created the want for after-school programs.
C. People wanted a way to supervise children that was ethical.
II. CH. 3: The Progressive Era and Public School
A. Public schools were already established and aimed to be the system that could help shape
the next generation of citizens, as well as meet the needs of working families and the
increasing diversity (influx of immigrants at the time), and also for the sake of keeping
children away from the reigns of capitalism/industrialization. By establishing and
requiring education, the rates of immigrant children working decreased by half.
B. Public schools abd settlement housing also helped immigrant families assimilate more
into American society/life.
C. John Dewey, a leading icon in after-school program pedagogy, believed that social,
emotional and physical development are all intertwined and must be connected to the
community. Thus, the want for more youth development orgs, institutions, etc should be
considered.
III. CH. 4: The Need for Child Supervision After School
A. Public schools had already been established and kept children away from work, but from
the hours between the end of school and when people’s parents come home, youth were
unsupervised which caused concern by the general public.
B. Children in da streets. Both by choice and not choice. Houses are crowded and not the
best conditions, so obviously they want to be out.
C. Negatives of the streets: safety lol, delinquency concerns, alc concerns, no real palace for
children to play
IV. CH. 5 The Playground Movement and the Beginning of Youth Programs
A. In the early 1900s, playgrounds started to pop up more, even earning government funding
to implement more. This allowed children to have a safe place to play and physical
activity to do under (usually) adult supervision.
B. Though more playgrounds were established, there was still a lot of social issues, such as
racism and discrimination, and thus playgrounds were still not the most accessible for all
kids. There were a lot of them unaccounted for during after-school hours (between end of
school and when parents come home).
C. Earliest forms of afterschool programs were about socialization and protection
V. Ch. 6: Afterschool Responds to Emerging Issues
A. After-school programs often were created to help the public deal with current or
emerging issues.
1. Examples: dealing with fear and loss during WWI, tackling nutrition and hunger
during the Great Depression
Michelle Lee
EDUC 160

B. Expansion of childcare as women went into the workforce more often

C. By the late 20th century, programs often had targeted the effects of poverty, delinquency,
teen pregnancy, gangs, school, etc
VI. CH. 7 Influences that Drove the Expansion of Afterschool
A. Many more after-school programs continued to emergy during the 1900s!
1. A lot of if was due to the wants of the public:
a) Prevention of crime/juvenile justice
b) Changes in family structure (more women returning to the workforce)
c) Educational domain and addressing the achievement gap
B. People started to recognize the untapped opportunity in non-school hours –it’s not just a
babysitting issue!
C. Many studies and reports made on a research basis revealed the value of community
involvement and after-school programs that are for youth development.
1. Many of them found/confirmed that programs need: Safety structure important
positive relationships, what adult characteristics we're looking for for these
programs
D. A key finding was that if you attend a program for multiple years, you do better.
Attendance, better responsibility, better in various school subjects.
E. Another key finding is that when children are in school, they’re doing what needs to be
done, but they’re not necessarily motivated. The value in after-school programs is that
children get to be genuinely motivated and interested in the tasks at hand.
VII. CH. 8: School as Place, Advocacy, and the Asset Model
A. Initiatives that really connect community with education(?)
B. Schools started more initiatives to connect the community with education.
1. Beacon Schools: They would open morning to evening to support families –
great community and lots of young people were participating in afterschool
experiences!
a) Plus it utilized unused educational spaces
2. Community centers were made in neighborhoods
C. Key point of this part of the movement: Shifted narrative from deficit model to
ASSET MODEL (law enforcement helped shift it i guess?)
1. Youth as problem about to happen → kinds of support and opportunities that kids
need to be successful in school and life
2. Not jUST about making sure kids aren’t doing bad things, but to help them thrive
D. Hands on experience helps ! something that they actually want to do.
E. It wasn’t about “fixing” kids, but provided what they deserved
VIII. CH. 9: School as Place, Advocacy, and the Asset Model (cont’d)
A. Community Learning Centers Initiative, Prop 49
B. Based on studies and data that showed them this is the most cost effective way to help
after school programs
C. Originally, the HOR conservatives didn’t like the idea of federally intruding in education.
But then they wanted some weird foundation thingy to do that so it can help them get the
ball rolling instead.
Michelle Lee
EDUC 160

D. Schwarzenager put on ballot initiative

IX. CH. 10: Youth Outcomes, Accountability, Quality, and Older Youth
A. Asked to justify their funding, with success rates/progress checks
1. Needs of youth and not just the institutions
B. Used measures related to healthy development
1. Improving program quality
2. Not JUST academic outcomes
C. At first, the margins were narrow
D. What difference does it make?
1. But you can’t get good outcomes unless you HAVE quality already.
2. Participation alone isn’t really anything unless it’s something that’s doing
something efficiently
3. Assessment tools - self and evaluation, national standards, etc
E. Therefore, there’s more of a chance of quality and success
F. Needs of younger children usually
G. Highschoolers not a big focus until later, 2002 legislation
1. Fighting crime in kids in Cali
X. CH. 11: Historical Themes and Important New Trends
A. Some concerns with after-school over the course of history have been if its benefits were
real.
1. However, it has been proven time and time again through research that yes, it is
beneficial! It is just a matter of what programs are given and make do; you can’t
judge it immediately.
a) Part time, low paid, volunteer workface. Question of outcomes - what are
they responsible for?
B. People might have thought that people were overpromising the effects of afterschool
programs, and that it was not worth ALL of that government money.
C. What can they /should address
1. Many different kinds of programs:
2. STEAM ! they continue to expand and evolve overtime
a) Young people aren’t as motivated —-----STEAM girly to motivate them
hehe
(1) Ignite the spark by showing them they CAN
(2) Trying it out! Even if you don’t like it. FOR kids, NOT JUST
FACTS
3. Summer learning
a) Mitigate summer learning loss
b) Additional time for learning can help them!
c) Be prepared for being productive nctzens
4. Socioemotional Learning
a) Beyond academic confidence —actualization for themselves and what
not. Important set of skills for young people to develop :)
Michelle Lee
EDUC 160

b) The wheel - self awareness, self management, responsible decision

making, social aware,ess, relationship skills
5. Importance of Context
a) Intersectionality <3
(1) All diff communities have diff experiences, diff identities.
Important to actualize urself and ur own things hehe.
(2) Pay attention to race and ethnicity are integrated into programs
and activities!
(3) Urban youth need an engaged learning experience that is relevant
to them in their communities
b) Gender based programs
(1) Giving them the space to be
(2) A lot are targeted in stem which is great, but what about just how
to live! How to deal with emotions! Slaying !
(3) Preparing them for life, having the courage and skills to
overcome challenges, let them be FREE. from the REIGNS OF
PATRIARCHHY
(4) GROWTH MINDSET HEHE
c) Equity and Afterschool
(1) Not one size fits all! Maximize public investment and public

🙂
trust, equity is what needs to be addressed in afterschool
programs
(2) The gap is fucking huge. Accessibility ! we want programs for
EVERYONE not just rich kids or “poor kid” targeted.
XI. CH. 12: The Future of Afterschool
A. The need for afterschool care is always going to be there! It is important to scale
after-school programs by what they are given; it is not fair to measure their performance
only on success when they are not given the means to be successful. After School
programs go beyond what public schools offer and safety; they are pivotal to youths’
development, as they often foster creativity, innovation, critical thinking, and more.