Safe and Smart: Making After-School Hours Work for Kids - June 1998

A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

Communities Meeting the Need for
After-School Activities


The Lighted Schools Project
Communities in Schools, McLennan Youth Collaboration, Inc.
Waco, Texas
Contact: Joyce Reynolds, 254-753-6002

The Lighted Schools Project provides over 650 middle school youth with a safe, supervised environment during after-school hours four days a week from 3:45 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Children are transported home at the end of the program each night. Communities in Schools case management and social work staff oversee operations at each site. Thirteen community agencies provide all after-school services and programs for students and families at the sites.

While the program targets at-risk youth, all middle school youth can participate in free activities, including sports, crafts, special events, and art instruction. Students have access to primary health care if it is needed, and may also participate in small group activities addressing issues such as building self-confidence, making positive choices, violence prevention, dangers of drug and alcohol abuse, and conflict resolution. Some of the schools provide children with tutoring and homework assistance. Some sites participate in community volunteer projects. Additionally, a number of students each year are matched with a Baylor University mentor, who commits to mentoring a student for the entire year while participating in a college course on mentoring skills. Other community partners include local school districts, a hospital, the city recreation department, the community arts center, and a local council on alcohol and drug abuse prevention.

Children who participate in Lighted Schools say they appreciate having a safe place to go after school, that it keeps them off the streets, and that it is more fun than sitting at home in front of the television. Several say that if the program did not exist, they would probably be in trouble. In a 1997 evaluation, 57 percent of students at four of the sites improved their school attendance. Two sites experienced a 38 percent decrease in the number of participants failing two or more classes.[117]
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