Too often these days, Rhode Island seems awash in disheartening news about the academic performance of students in our public schools, particularly those in the core cities. But not all the news is gloomy. Julia Steiny’s “An After-School Haven for Middle Schoolers,” appearing in the April 27 edition of The Providence Journal, highlights some positive developments in after-school education in Providence. The Providence After School Alliance and a network of over 100 community partners are creating an approach to after-school programming that is being studied and replicated across the nation.

In 2004, Providence Mayor David N. Cicilline had a vision for challenging conventional wisdom about how, where and when young people in Providence could learn. He saw an opportunity to capitalize on a growing network of after-school providers, community-based organizations, recreation centers and libraries committed to creating high quality learning opportunities for the young people of Providence. With help from RI Kids Count, and a $5-million, five-year investment from the Wallace Foundation, the mayor launched the Providence After School Alliance. His vision was premised on better utilizing existing talent and resources in a financially starved environment to create a system that could be sustained through good and bad economic times. The model, which has initially focused on middle school, was informed by other successful citywide efforts, particularly those in New York City, Chicago, Washington, D.C., Baltimore and Boston.

Why middle school? Research tells us that students nationally experience a marked decrease in school engagement beginning in middle school. During these critical years, grades begin to drop, self-esteem and self-confidence in academic abilities wanes and truancy increases for many students. These trends have implications for their future success. In fact, a Johns Hopkins University study found that middle school students with poor behavior who regularly miss school, and or who are failing a class, have only a 29-percent chance of graduating from high school. Many cities, including New York, where The After-School Corporation is located, have recognized that it is difficult to create after-school programs that keep middle school youth interested and involved on a regular basis. Few have taken on the challenge.

[The Providence alliance] is attempting to address the needs of these students as they make the difficult transition from childhood to adolescence. Each year, [it] and its network of 60 program providers serve 2,000 middle school youth (35 percent of the total middle school population of 5,600) in five neighborhood campuses of after-school activity, known as AfterZones. Each session, youths can choose from a variety of programs including activities like ceramics with Providence City Arts for Youth, sailing with Community Boating, golf with Button Hole and scientific exploration of the bay with Save the Bay.

The program is working. Consider Maria (names have been changed). She is special needs eighth grader with ADHD. Every teacher in the school knows her for her behavior problems and inability to sit still. Yet in the AfterZone, she is one of the most active and involved students. She coordinates snack distribution at the beginning of the day, takes attendance and then gets extra math help from her teacher for an hour before participating in a variety of enrichment programming four afternoons a week.

Then there’s Jose, an autistic eighth grader who receives intensive small group support during the school day. In partnership with his mother, AfterZone staff have helped him to identify program opportunities (chess, karate and sports) where he can begin to gain new skills and develop a comfort with less intensive supervision. His mother is thrilled with his progress. There are dozens of stories like this about students who have grown because of their participation in the AfterZones.

[The alliance] is not creating this model in a vacuum. Rather, it is part of a coalition of seven cities from across the country contributing to a national conversation about best practices in the after-school field. This group, known as The Collaborative for Building After-School Systems, is working to change policy, integrate after-school into broader education reform efforts and to increase the resources devoted to after-school programs.

Being part of a national conversation has generated a great deal of interest in Providence. A dozen cities, including New Orleans, are considering replicating the model in their own communities. They like the model because it builds on the strengths of existing community agencies. Rather than each of these groups working in isolation to serve 20, 30 or even 100 youths, the model creates efficiencies by coordinating transportation and a menu of programs that align rather than compete with one another. Collectively, [the alliance] and its partners are now serving thousands rather than hundreds of youths and other cities want to know how Providence is doing it. As after-school becomes an essential part of the system for educating young people, cities are interested in learning from each other’s successes. Providence has something important to share.

Friedman is president of The After-School Corporation in New York City, a member of the board of the Afterschool Alliance and lead partner in Collaborative for Building After-School Systems.

Salmons is executive director of the Providence After School Alliance and lead partner in the Collaborative for Building After-School Systems.

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