Success Stories

After-School All-Stars, Los Angeles Makes an Immense Impact in the Lives of Its Students through Music

John T. Jones — Fri, 16 May 2008 14:54:09 -0400

Yvonne, an eighth grader at East Los Angeles’ Griffith Middle School strums the cords of her guitar and belts out lyrics with an aptitude of most adults much older than her 14 years. Yvonne hones her skills each day with the All-Stars of Rock, a comprehensive music program offered by After-School All-Stars, Los Angeles; a leading after-school program provider. Founded by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2002, After-School All-Stars, Los Angeles serves over 3,000 students at 16 middle schools located in at-risk areas throughout LA County.

After-School Success Growing in the Barry Elementary School Garden

John T. Jones — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 11:34:29 -0400

For 10 years the school garden at Barry Elementary in Yuba City, California has offered students enriching hands-on experiences supplementing classroom curriculum. Through parent and community collaboration, and a very small budget, the garden has continued to offer valuable educational experiences to the students in the Hive After-school Program since its inception in 2000.

Anaheim Achieves Success!

John T. Jones — Sun, 15 Jul 2007 16:19:11 -0400

Now in its 8th year, the Anaheim Achieves after-school program has grown from 16 original school sites to 44 current sites, serving more than 4,700 students daily in both elementary and junior high schools. The program has received state and national recognition for its commitment to community collaboration and dedication to educational excellence, and was chosen by the California Department of Education to become one of 14 Regional Learning Centers intended to be a model for developing programs throughout the state of California. For all of these reasons and more, the Anaheim Achieves program has made a marked impact on the children, families, and communities in and surrounding Anaheim, California.

Girls on the Run is So Much Fun

John T. Jones — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 16:23:33 -0400

Twice a week all over the Napa Valley you will find 3rd - 8th grade girls on the run. These girls are participating in an after-school non-profit character development and physical fitness program. The girls come together for ten weeks with the goal of participating in a local 5K run. However the program is not just about running. It is about learning and developing confidence about ones self, ones character, ones own individual pace, and respecting the same in others. This Napa Valley group is volunteer run, and is one council of the international group Girls On the Run.

Sonoma Serves

John T. Jones — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 16:24:21 -0400

In creating a school-based academic and social enrichment program model for after school, would you like to see a connection between the program, students, and teachers throughout the regular and after school day? Would you serve underrepresented youth in need of academic assistance? Would you use field-tested and teacher approved curriculum? Would you engage in partnerships with the community and volunteer service organizations? Would you incorporate field trips for after school youth? Would you facilitate parent involvement and opportunities for parent enrichment?

Fresno - Teaching Fellows

John T. Jones — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 16:24:49 -0400

On any given day after school hours in Fresno County you might find laughing students flying balloon-powered contraptions across a cafeteria. Upon their contraptions landing, you would find them measuring how far their objects traveled, and charting this information on graphs as part of a lesson in propulsion. On another part of campus after-school you may find students break dancing until they are tired, and then sitting down to a lesson on nutrition and physical activity. These students are engaged in standards-based experiential education by the Teaching Fellows program.