After School Programs Show Major Impacts

Research shows that after school programs can make a tremendous difference in the lives of children in Mississippi. MPB’s Phoebe Judge reports.

It’s just before the end of the school day and Jurnishia Edwards program instructor at the East Biloxi Boys and Girls Club is getting ready for the arrival of 200 students, who will spend the next four hours completing homework assignments, getting tutoring help, and playing games,

“This is our art room, in here they do fine art activities and performing art activities. They love to do skits.”

The Biloxi facility will be one centers to benefit from the a 21st Century Community Learning Center grant awarded to the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Gulf Coast that will allow program fees to be waived for more than 400 children. Sam Burke, executive director of the Boys and Girls Clubs Gulf Coast says along with giving children something productive to do the programs can have a tremendous academic benefit.

“Well clearly the emphasis that has been put on school districts throughout the state and throughout the nation on increasing the aptitude of young people in our school districts and our school systems has grown to a point where school districts simply cannot do it by themselves.”

And research shows after school programs do help, and can be especially effective is states like Mississippi says Dawn Hall with the Public Policy Center of Mississippi,

“Because our test scores are unfortunately so low in comparison to the rest of the county, that our children need the after school time for one on one tutoring to receive the one on one time that they possibly did not get in a classroom of 25- 30 children.”

Hall says another benefit is giving kids something productive to do between the hours of 3-6, which are the peak crime hours for adolescent offense.