Keeping schools open during non-school hours
Abstract
This excerpt from the book 150 Tested Strategies to Prevent Crime from Small Cities, Counties, and Rural Communities, highlights the practice of keeping schools open before and after school hours, and during the summer.Issue
In 2000 it was estimated that 3.5 million children under the age of 13 in the United States were left unsupervised for a period of time each week. These children may be more vulnerable to delinquency and academic problems. Providing before and after school services may prevent these situations.Action
- Encourage schools to permit children to arrive early and stay after school to take advantage of supervised tutoring, athletics and playtime.
- Encourage community parks and recreational facilities to provide supervised activities during non-school hours.
- Build partnerships between parks and recreation departments and schools.
- Build partnerships with the police department to develop opportunities for youth to learn crime prevention, and allow the police department to increase their community presence and gain community trust.
Context
The Kitsap Community Resources program (KCR) in Bremerton, Washington, utilizes six full-time AmeriCorps volunteers who coordinate special events and programs in the after-school program. Funding for KCR comes from the city's public housing authority. The police department lends its community policing officers to teach bicycle safety and other programs. The parks and recreation department and the school district provide space for programs, including school auditoriums, playgrounds and parks, as well as materials for activities. The school system also participates in the Federal Child Nutrition Program from the Department of Education, which provides lunches for children during the summer months.
An after-school program in the primary school of Nutter Fort, West Virginia, serves kindergarteners to second graders in all subjects, particularly reading. The program has grown from serving five children to serving 65–70 children a day, tutored by four teachers. Grants from the state's Safe and Drug Free Schools program pay the salaries of the teachers.
Citation
National Crime Prevention Council.150 tested strategies to prevent crime from small cities, counties, and rural communities: a resource for municipal agencies and community groups. Washington, DC: National Crime Prevention Council, 2000. pp. 186-187.Outcome
Providing supervised activities for latch-key children appears to reduce delinquency and improve academic performance.Evidence
During the school year, KCR operates three after-school and late night activity centers in three different areas of the community. The calls for police services to each of these areas dropped an average of 21 percent during the first year of operations, and juvenile crime dropped six percent citywide from 1997 to 1998. During the summers of 1997 and 1998, incidences of graffiti dropped 45 percent.
For the Nutter Fort school, 99 percent of the parents have a positive view of the program and wish it to continue; 75 percent of the students in the program have shown a dramatic improvement in their reading abilities within months of joining the program. The school system is looking to expand this program to the other schools in the town.
Posted On
July 12, 2000For More Information
Resources
From The Resource Center library:
Item number: R1463
Related Practices
Related sites
Promising Practices in Afterschool