Before After School Programs

A recently released policy report written by Columbia University psychologists Jodie Roth, PhD, and Jeanne Brooks-Gunn, PhD, concluded that good afterschool programs “are best characterized by their approach to youth as resources to be developed rather than as problems to be managed.”
According to the report, “What Do Adolescents Need for Healthy Development? Implications for Youth Policy,” good programs should:
Help young people develop strong, positive relationships with adults.

Build on the young person’s strengths rather than focus on his or her weaknesses.

Provide an environment that helps young people develop positive relationships with peers.

Give youth challenges they can rise to.

Provide enriching, creative activities they can participate in.

Give youth opportunities to develop leadership and decision-making skills.

Focus on the developmental needs of young people by nurturing teens’ autonomy at the same time the programs lend them guidance.

Provide all of these opportunities over the long term.