Out-of-School Time Policy Commentary #4: After-School for All? Exploring Access and Equity in After-School Programs

Children and Youth, Education and Literacy

Out-of-School Time Policy Commentary #4: After-School for All? Exploring Access and Equity in After-School Programs

While significant progress has occurred over the past several years in terms of expanding both the quantity and quality of after-school opportunities, the ambitious idea of "after-school for all" remains a distant goal. In this commentary we push beyond some of the basic numbers to take a close look at questions related to access and equity, in order to both surface tensions and share concrete recommendations for addressing concerns at the policy and program levels. To do so we draw heavily new data from California Tomorrow and a handful of other reports and studies. We also talked with Delia Pompa, executive director of the National Association for Bilingual Education; Amy Scharf and Laurie Olsen of California Tomorrow; and Jennifer Peck from the Bay Area Partnership. Is there equal access to after-school programs? Is there equity in after-school programs? How can program planners and policymakers address access and equity challenges?

December 1969

Geographic Focus: