After-School All-Stars North Texas

Needs

In Dallas County alone, 100,000 children are left without the after-school enrichment their parents say they need. Further, a study by the Afterschool Alliance found that 30% of middle schoolers are unsupervised when the bell rings due to their schools’ limited resources for continual engagement and because many parents/caregivers are still working. To compare, only 4% of elementary students are unsupervised after-school. This lack of engagement and supervision is directly related to the fact that it is during the hours of 3pm to 6pm when youth violence, drug use, and other dangerous behaviors are most likely to occur.

Those hours are even more critical when we know that by age 12, a child from a poor background has spent an estimated 6,000 fewer hours learning through enrichment than a peer from an affluent household (ExpandED Schools). ASAS fills this 3-hour window by providing a safe-haven with engaging curriculum and meaningful mentorship.

Mentoring, at its core, gives young people the belief that there is someone who cares where they are, who helps them deal with challenges, and who assures them that they matter. Even though a positive connection with a youth development worker is associated with a 67% reduction in high school dropout rates (America’s Promise Alliance, 2014), one in three young people will grow up without this critical asset (National Mentoring Partnership, 2016).

We step in to change this inequitable narrative for the students who need it most by providing a safe, engaging environment tailored to each school site and community at no cost to them. Further, we structure our focus areas (Academic Readiness, Career Exploration, Health and Wellness, STEM, Visual and Performing Arts, Social Emotional Learning) to be rooted in mentorship. Our impact to date illuminates the reality that our students become empowered with the tools to grow into radiant leaders and agents of positive change in their communities and beyond.