Getting Maximum Value from After-School Programs

Getting Maximum Value from After-School Programs

Written by: Evan Ippolito

May 3, 2018

http://www.bgcmetrowest.org/

In almost any neighborhood, after-school programs have become an integral part of many student’s days. If these programs are taking care of children after school hours, why don’t we try to fund and support them in a more equitable fashion?  According to a longitudinal study on children in low-income families by researchers Jill K. Posner and Deborah Lowe Vandell, “...tests indicated after-school programs were rated as having better work habits and peer relations than children who were informally supervised after school. They were also rated as exhibiting better emotional adjustment than children in either mother or informal [after-school] arrangements”. If these programs have been proven to improve low-income student’s work habits, why don’t we as a society try to support them as much as possible?

Organizations like Boys and Girls Club make this a feasible opportunity for low-income families for a brighter future. Without these types of programs in low-income areas, young children can be exposed to a number of things including poor decision making and unhealthy habits. Boys and Girls Club is a highly benefiting program to low-income communities around the nation but can benefit from improvement in some small areas. BGC, in theory, is a great program when they have the right resources including; financial support, training support, and community support. Yet in my experience at the BGC in the town of Guadalupe, some of these resources were lacking.

Who Helps this Issue?

Boys and Girls Club, BGC, is a non-profit youth organization that provides resources like mentoring, sports and recreation. All BGC are tax-exempt and are given partial federal funding. Majority of funding, for some locations, comes from grants and/or donations. This organization has over four-thousand clubs in the United States and serves nearly four million kids and teens each year. BGC believes in giving kids of the community a place to go after school that is a safe and supportive environment. BGC strives by their mission statement, “To enable all young people, especially those who need us most, to reach their full potential as productive, caring, responsible citizens”. To reach this goal, each BGC club offers a variety of different programs to help their kids succeed in and out of their schools. These programs include but are not limited to arts, sciences, and athletic activities to help kids strive to be well-rounded citizens of their communities. BGC has made all of these programs available to low-income families by creating an affordable price so no child is left behind.

https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/boys-and-girls-clubs-of-the-east-valley-guadalupe-branch-guadalupe?select=XOYooEHovyEOB6ZCU9syuw

The Guadalupe branch (Thunderbirds Branch) of BGC is located in Guadalupe, Arizona. According to the most recent U.S. Census Bureau numbers, Guadalupe is one of the poorest communities in Arizona. Not only most of the population lives in poverty but 59.1% of persons older than 25 have a high school graduate degree or higher and only 5% of persons older than 25 have a Bachelor’s degree. As you can tell by these startling numbers, education may not seem feasible in the eyes of the youth in this town. The BGC in Guadalupe has the chance to help change these statistics and encourage the students and youth to pursue in higher education with outside school resources.

There is little to no equity when it comes to the variation of funding each BGC receives depending on the area they are located in, economically. In an article published in 2017 by Steven Totten, “Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Scottsdale will soon be breaking ground on $3.5 million worth of new space”, Totten describes the amount of new funding the BGC of Greater Scottsdale received. The Greater Scottsdale Boys and Girls Club include clubs from North Scottsdale, Paradise Valley, North Phoenix, and Fountain Hills. For more insight on how these cities compare to the area I was in, Paradise Valley’s median household income is $173,487 and Guadalupe’s is $30,326. This article later goes on to describe the two new gyms that are going to be built, new multimedia labs, and more “state-of-the-art renovations”. It is wonderful that different clubs are receiving an abundance amount of funding to better their location, but what about the clubs that are struggling and lacking support? When I was speaking with Nicole W., the Guadalupe branch’s program manager, she had told me their club had just received thirty new computers and tablets for their kids which put them at a rough estimate of forty-five computers total, yet for a total of two hundred and thirty kids. With the Paradise Valley median income being over $170,000, it’s hard to imagine that technology, sports programs, and educational funding have not already been provided to the children by their families.

Guadalupe Branch in Action

            To broaden my knowledge about this BGC branch, I visited my local BGC in the town of Guadalupe. I met with their devoted program manager, Nicole, who has been working with BGC East Valley for five years. Nicole explained to me, “We [Boys and Girls Club] are one of the, not many, programs that are here for the kids of Guadalupe. There is mainly us and the library. We like to focus on healthy lifestyles, character, and leadership to make sure we are really developing the kids in a well-rounded way”. The Guadalupe branch has about two hundred and thirty kids walking in and out of their doors a day. Overall, she was very pleased with her, as she called it “busy”, branch and says she would not change a thing except adding more staff so they could serve more kids. Nicole was very knowledgeable about her branch and very eager to talk about all of the different programs they offer like emotional support animals and their new robotic program that is partnered with Intel. Nicole emphasized that the way she wants her employees to interact with the kids is by getting on their level. Nicole believes to get the best cooperation from a child is to talk to them and not at them. I later ask her what her expectations from her 14 employees every day and she replied, “Coming in every day and giving the kids a brand-new slate because we all know kids can be a little crazy. We try to be as positive as we can and use positive discipline”.

            After speaking with Nicole, my perception of this location was it was providing maximum value to the kids in attendance. While it is true the location still provides an area for kids of the town of Guadalupe to grow in a nourishing area, there were some details Nicole left out of our interview.

            The next room I had observed was the “Character room” which was designed for kids to express themselves through performing. The Character Room was led by Brittany and she had about ten kids in her room with her. The club room was fairly empty except chairs that were stacked up against the wall. This room was designed for the kids to engage in performing activities. What I did not realize was the lack of control some of the staff had over the kids.

            Brittany is a fairly new staff at this location, she had been there are five months when I spoke with her. Although she enjoys her time working with the kids, she finds the same struggle frequently. “It's difficult when you are the only person in the room of forty kids,” Brittany says, “[if] a fight breaks out or a kid gets hit or sick and you need to tend to them then you have kids running behind you or flying across tables thinking that it's okay”. Brittany stressed to me about the high child to staff ratio at this location. Although Nicole had mentioned that there are fourteen staff hired to care for the children at this branch, Brittany seemed to elaborate on different numbers. Brittany explained to me, “We are non-profit so we don't need to follow any regulations. Some days I will be in a room with ten kids and some days it will be forty kids and just me”. In my research from other Boys and Girls Clubs, a club in Washington, Wisconsin makes an effort not to exceed a child/staff ratio of 15:1. According to the staff of the Guadalupe branch compared to their manager, they seem to have a different opinion of what occurs in the program on a day to day basis.

Brittany expressed her concerns with me about how the child to staff ratio is also affecting the club’s bullying issue. “If there is a kid being picked on by everyone in his grade, and he wants to run out crying and cannot be in the room with them, he will get in trouble for leaving and trying to find a safe space.” Another staff came in and joined the conversation about the structure of Boys and Girls Club. “There is no safe zone which is what I think we need, a corner for someone to feel safe. Maybe have [a manager] take time out of their day to sit with this child and talk to them and see what is really going on and then send them back to their area. Rather than making us deal with it because we have so many other kids to talk with and to teach”.

            I also visited the Club’s “Power Hour” room, which is a room designated for homework and reading. During my time here, I witnessed an incredibly dedicated employee, Shelby. She was involved with her kids and making sure that everyone was on task. While her efforts were great, the kids did not seem to respond well. The room was still noisy and there were kids running around and throwing things all while there are kids trying to do math homework or read a chapter book. What caught me off guard, was Shelby mentioned to me that this was a rather calm day in the homework room.

            I spoke with Shelby about her time at BGC. Shelby is a part-time employee at this BGC branch and has a master’s degree and works an accounting job from home. She explained to me, “I just really enjoy it and they are decent kids even when they are being loud. I enjoy working with this age group and the at-risk youth. As crazy as it gets, I really do enjoy my time here”.

        Success in Action

            The staff at this location were phenomenal in my opinion. With my research in mind, this branch has the potential to direct their children on the right path to success. The staff that were employed here had all of the right reasons; they wanted to impact kids’ lives. The staff were not just there for the money but to make connections with the kids and be mentors. This is extremely important when working with developing children. In a research article by Thomas Keller about observing how mentors and mentees interacted with each other, “Mentees seemed to derive greater benefits from relationships in which the mentors offered the hybrid combination of friendly companionship with adult wisdom and counsel”. During my time at BGC I saw their employees offering the same companionship as well as motivating them and helping them through issues, whether it be social issues with friends or academic issues.

http://www.standard.net/Local/2018/01/04/Boys-Girls-Clubs-director-hopes-to-expand-program-weber-davis-Kate-Bideaux

My favorite part of my volunteer experience was the kid’s eagerness to learn and talk to new people. Half of my time at BGC I was observing the way the staff and kids interacted with each other, but I always had a child at my hip asking who I was or if I could help them with their homework. For example, the first time I was at the Guadalupe branch I walked into the club room and I had kids coming up to me asking me a countless number of questions.

How You Can Help!

In summary, this Boys and Girls branch has the fundamental core values of a successful afterschool program to this community. The Guadalupe branch ultimately succeeds in their mission statement, “To enable all young people, especially those who need us most, to reach their full potential as productive, caring, responsible citizens”. Unfortunately, what they cannot control is their lack of resources which ultimately affects their staff and children they serve. What you can do it dedicate your time to your local Boys and Girls Club. You will not regret your time you spend to help these children on their path to success. Not only have I learned about the different lives these kids live but I also learned how easy and self-rewarding volunteering here it. What I’d like to leave you with is a quote from Jodi Grant from a nonprofit advocacy group, Afterschool Alliance, “When these kids are not in school, when they’re not at home, they’re going to be learning something,” says Grant. “You can either make it a really positive experience, a no-gain experience, or a negative experience” (qtd. in Fader).

http://bgcnems.org/get-involved/

Find your local Boys and Girls Club branch at https://www.bgca.org/get-involved/find-a-club?

References:

“BGCA.” Boys & Girls Clubs of America, www.bgca.org/.

“Boys and Girls Club of West Bend/Washington County.” FAQs, www.wcbgc.org/faqs.

Fader, Lainna. “After-School Programs That Make a Difference.” Newsweek, 28 Feb. 2016, www.newsweek.com/after-school-programs-make-difference-269102.

Keller, Thomas E., and Julia M. Pryce. "Different Roles and Different Results: How Activity Orientations Correspond to Relationship Quality and Student Outcomes in School-Based Mentoring." Journal of Primary Prevention, vol. 33, no. 1, 2012, pp. 47-64. ProQuest, https://search-proquest-com.contentproxy.phoenix.edu/docview/921584157?accountid=134061, doi:http://dx.doi.org.contentproxy.phoenix.edu/10.1007/s10935-012-0264-

Posner, Jill K., and Deborah Lowe Vandell. “Low-Income Children's After-School Care: Are There Beneficial Effects of After-School Programs?” Child Development, vol. 65, no. 2, 1994, pp. 440–456. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/1131395.

“U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: Paradise Valley Town, Arizona; Guadalupe Town, Arizona; UNITED STATES.” Census Bureau QuickFacts, www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/paradisevalleytownarizona,guadalupetownarizona,US/PST045217.