After-School Programs Go Academic

Once, after-school classes meant bead-stringing, dabbling with paints and other low-stress endeavors for students, but in this age of the federal No Child Left Behind Act and its high-stakes requirements for improvement in math and reading, that has changed, according to this story in this month’s Edutopia magazine. Also, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to find funding for these programs, the story says. If you think these after-school classes aren’t important, an estimated 14 million K-12 students take care of themselves after school with no adult supervision.