| It is estimated that over 8 million children and youth do | | | | 3. Collaborate with schools to reinforce instructional |
| not participate in after-school programs and are left | | | | learning. Have a time when students can work on |
| home unsupervised. Research has found that those | | | | homework and get questions answered. |
| students who participate in extracurricular activities are | | | | 4. Provide nearby schools with information on your |
| at least risk of dropping out of school, gang | | | | after-school programs for their introductory packets |
| involvement, drug use, and teenage pregnancy. | | | | which are sent out to parents during the first few |
| After-school programs are increasingly serving | | | | weeks of school. |
| students with disabilities due to the emphasis on | | | | 5. Provide explanations of things that parents may not |
| inclusion. Some of these after-school programs | | | | understand, especially the acronyms, technical |
| provide structured settings that utilize behavior | | | | language, or procedures that may be unfamiliar. |
| modification techniques, computer technology, and | | | | 6. Send notices to participating schools regarding Open |
| specialized reading programs to address these | | | | House dates for localafter-school programs. |
| students' academic, learning, and behavioral problems. | | | | 7. Provide brief, one-page information sheets for |
| One system cannot adequately meet all of the needs | | | | parents with information about various disabilities and |
| of students with disabilities and therefore an increased | | | | resources available locally and on the Internet. |
| effort towards creating collaborative partnerships must | | | | 8. Provide tips for parents on socialization and behavior |
| become a priority. After-school programs along with | | | | modification. Share the discipline strategies used in |
| parents and schools are all charged with moving | | | | after-school programs. |
| forward in this necessary collaborative effort. | | | | 9. Collaborate with schools to conduct nutritional |
| Tips for After-School Programs | | | | education workshops for parents. |
| 1. Minimize language barriers for parents and students | | | | 10. Advocate for children participating in your |
| by providing translators and translating necessary | | | | after-school program; as possible, attend IEP meetings |
| paperwork. | | | | with parents as a child advocate and to provide |
| 2. Reinforce school information: dates of state tests, | | | | additional information about the child. |
| early release days, holidays, and other important school | | | | 11. Encourage parents to involve children, especially |
| dates. For example, encourage parents to have | | | | adolescents, in the selection of their after-school |
| children go to bed early on the night before state tests, | | | | program. |
| and eat a good breakfast of protein before the test. | | | | |