Inner-city Elementary After School Programs Essay examples -- Essay Pa

Inner-city Elementary After School Programs Inner-city elementary age kids face many challenges in and out of the classroom. These challenges range from education day in and day out, as well as, sometimes growing up in an impoverished family and community. Factors also include peers which these kids come into contact with at school, in the streets and at home. Kids today need more than ever an extra push of positive motivation from mentors. I believe that this constructive mentoring begins with after school programs. After school programs give kids the opportunity to work one on one with an adult to reinforce encouragement and teach more than just text education. Because I have participated as a volunteer at an after school program, I have seen first hand the positive impact such programs can generate among elementary aged kids involved. These after school programs are very important for the future of thousands of elementary aged kids. For those less fortunate kids that do not have supportive parents or appropriate supervision at home, after school programs give those children a chance to receive constructive attention from a mentor. Because I feel these programs are so beneficial, I am very interested in the further spread of after school programs among public schools nationwide. However, the progress of the elementary mentoring must begin one school district at a time. After school programs can potentially decide the direction of many elementary age students? futures, as well as the communities in which they live. After school programs serve a great advantage to inner city elementary age kids by allowing them the opportunity to interact in a supervised location with mentors, because these mentors do no not only te... ...EBSCO. DU Penrose Library, Denver. 21 Jan. 2005 . Reyes, Damaso. ?Urban Dove raises kids hopes.? The New York Amsterdam News 17 July 2003: 6. Roffman, Jennifer G, Maria E. Pagano, and Barton J. Hirsch. ?Youth Functioning and Experiences in Inner-City After-School Programs Among Age, Gender, and Race Groups.? Journal Of Child and Family Studies 10 (2001): 85-100. United States. Dept. of Education. Working for Children and Families: Safe and Smart After-School Programs. Washington GPO: 2000. (_ _.) Dept. of Education. What Works: Components of Exemplary After-School Programs. Washington: GPO, 2000. 13 Feb 2005 . (_ _.) Dept. of Education. 21st Century Community Learning Centers. Jessup, MD: GPO, 2000. 21 Feb 2005 .