“At Dallas Afterschool, we believe that quality education can change lives, and the world we live in, for the better. That’s a big statement when you really think about it. Quality education has the potential to trigger a series of events and opportunities that lead to individual growth and greater community safety and success.
“But how do we really define education, and what do we expect from it, when students spend only 35 hours per week in a traditional school environment, leaving the other 133 hours left up to interpretation? Here are a few facts that begin to paint the bigger picture:
- “By the time students reach the 6th grade, middle class kids have likely spent 6,000 more hours learning than kids born into poverty.
- “From 3-6pm, there are over 100,000 students in Dallas County between the ages of 5-14 left home alone without adult supervision or support. This is more than enough children to fill the AT&T stadium beyond capacity. So….
- “While middle class students learn to read, create, persist and problem-solve at home and through afterschool and summer experiences, low-income children are more likely to be exposed to crime, unsafe behaviors and miss out on additional learning.
“As a result, substantial opportunity gaps exist that can’t be closed through traditional schooling alone. These gaps reinforce the cycle of poverty; the further behind our students become today, the more restricted they, and our community, will be in the future. We need quality out of school time programs to bridge these gaps.
“Our vision at Dallas Afterschool is for every family to have access to the quality afterschool and summer programs they want for their children. We were formed in 2007 in response to the study ‘Today’s Children: Tomorrow’s Communities, 2006 After-School Program Assessment,’ which found that there was no unifying agency to facilitate communication, learning or information exchange between afterschool care agencies in Dallas County. Dallas Afterschool promotes, expands, and improves the quality of afterschool and summer programs in low-income neighborhoods in our community. We provide professional development, coaching and training for program staff based on national best practice standards for quality. Partner sites are given access to a library of innovative hands-on program resources designed to engage students in social, emotional and academic development, helping to bridge the opportunity gap of approximately 9,500 K-12th grade students at our 130 free or low-cost partner sites. In addition to these services, we also conduct research on the impact of quality out of school time programs on student academic success and social/emotional development.
“We hope that this North Texas Giving Day, you will consider supporting the work we are doing to position our students, and our city, for success today and always. As we celebrate our 10th Anniversary this year, we are more committed than ever to improving quality of existing programs and increasing access to afterschool opportunities for the over 100,000 students left home alone between the hours of 3-6 p.m. On behalf of the Dallas Afterschool family and the over 9,500 students we currently serve, we thank you for your support!”
-By Christina Hanger, Dallas Afterschool CEO
* Graphic and photos provided by Dallas Afterschool
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In seven years, North Texas Giving Day has pumped more than $119 million into the North Texas community. In 2015, $33 million was raised through more than 118,000 gifts benefiting over 2,000 nonprofits.
On Thursday, September 22, support Dallas Afterschool by linking here and spreading the word. #NTxGivingDay