William Scott remembers days during his childhood when he’d head to the Christamore House to play basketball. He also recalls the anvil set he received there which inspired him to become an engineer.
Today, Scott serves as executive director of Christamore House. Though he’s in an administrative position, he says he can identify with youth he serves.
Christamore House has a wide variety of services, such as their Becky Schenck Early Childhood Education Center and senior programs, but one service Scott has worked to enhance is the after-school care program, which serves kids ages five to 13.
“If we didn’t provide this program, youth would be walking around in the streets,” said Scott. “We had a teen program about three years ago and some of the young ladies ended up pregnant. They get into the normal mischief kids do, so we provide a safe place.”
Yet Christamore House’s program does more than supervise children after school. Scott has transformed the after-school program from one that provided basketball and swimming into one that focuses on academic excellence.
Christamore offers a Science Technology Engineering and Math (STEM) program complete with its own STEM lab and also a post-secondary education readiness program.
“Instead of trying to make the next NBA player, we need to make sure kids have the skills to be successful,” said Scott. “It’s that after-school time where they learn about other things that are out there.”
Numbers show the need
Experts agree more programs like Christamore House are needed to provide quality after-school programs, especially programs for the African-American community.
According to Jodi Grant, executive director of Afterschool Alliance, every five years since 2004, her staff releases a report titled “America After 3 p.m.” that gives a comprehensive look at after-school programs across America. The current survey spans 30,000 U.S. households and includes in-depth responses from 13,709 families, including 1,499 African-American families.
Grant said although there is a decrease in the amount of unsupervised kids, the most recent report shows there is an unmet need for after-school programs for Black youth.
“It used to be a time where kids would hang out in their neighborhoods and be safe. But today there are more single parents that work or two working parents. A lot of parents don’t have a choice,” said Grant. “These programs keep kids safe and help working parents.”
Experts say the hours between 3-6 p.m. are the most dangerous for youth. The good news is Black kids are more likely than any race to be in an after-school program, however, the demand for programs is much greater in that community.
The report finds that while 24 percent of African-American students – some 2.4 million children and youth in the U.S. – participate in after-school programs (compared to 18 percent nationally), another 4.5 million students would participate, if a program were available.
Other findings show participation in after-school programs are in highest demand for kids who come from low-income households.
“For some kids, this is where they’d get a meal or medical care,” said Grant. “But for most kids, this is where you get enrichment activities wealthier kids would traditionally do outside of school.”
Four in 5 African-American parents agree that after-school programs provide working parents peace of mind about their children while at work. Also 79 percent of Black parents say they help working parents keep their jobs.
A large majority of Black parents also say after-school programs helps improve children’s behavior in school; helps improve children’s school day attendance; helps excite children about learning; and helps children gain workforce skills, such as teamwork, leadership and critical thinking.
“It’s clear African-American families value after-school programs,” said Grant. “But our public policy shortchanges millions of children, leaving them without programs they want and need. Federal funding for after-school programs has been stalled for years. We need to increase federal support for quality after-school programs.”
A priority in Indiana?
Though reports show the need for more after-school programs, Sara Beanblossom, director of communications and special events for the Indiana Afterschool Network said the findings are certainly true for Indiana. Only 11 percent of kids in Indiana are in after-school programs due to lack of access to programs.
She said another reason why supply and demand is so unbalanced is due to issues such as the inability for parents to pay for programs and/or lack of transportation from school to the program or from the program to their home.
Scott of Christamore House said though they provide transportation for students, the weekly fee for after-school programming is $35 and is oftentimes hard for parents to pay.
Another issue Hoosiers face is due to all of the other educational issues occurring in Indiana, after-school programming is low on the priority list.
“The fact that we don’t have fully funded pre-school and kindergarten for our state is an obstacle in itself. And to add after-school programs is another issue,” said Beanblossom. “We’re behind our early education peers. Their funding is critical, yet after-school programs further enhance children through 12th grade.”
With that said, Indiana does not provide state funding for after-school programs. There are states, such as California, that offer federal and state dollars. Indiana Afterschool Network is advocating at the state level for more investment in after-school programs.
“Indiana does have some really important federal funds such as 21st Century Community Learning Centers and Temporary Assistance for Needy Family (TANF) which awards grants,” said Beanblossom. “Some states match federal funding or have great financial partnerships with corporations or foundations. Indiana doesn’t have this to fill in the gaps.”
Scott agrees with that assessment, but adds that if parents make after-school programs a priority, others may notice the need.
“We have kick off meetings for our after-school programs yet we don’t get a lot of attendance from the parents. They fill out the paperwork and drop it off,” said Scott. “In my mind, they just don’t see the value of what we’re trying to do.”
The key is more programs overall and more high-quality programs. Grant said it’s all about equity, skill development and creating the workforce of the future. Support is needed, but she said passion is what is going to get results.
“We have examples everywhere and there are programs that are cost effective. You don’t need to reinvent the wheel,” added Grant. “Communities need to figure out how to leverage all resources to get more programs to more kids.”
For more information, visit christamorehouse.org; afterschoolalliance.org; or indianaafterschool.org.
