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Supporting Parents
Unsupervised Children at Greatest Risk During Afterschool Hours
(ARA) - More than 14.3 million children in the U.S. are unsupervised between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. each day - a time in which there is a greater risk for involvement in gangs, crime, drug abuse and other destructive behaviors, according to research conducted by the Afterschool Alliance and the JCPenney Afterschool Fund.
Afterschool programs have been proven not only to decrease involvement in crime and reduce dropout rates, but also to benefit children by raising math and reading performance and improving school attendance.
JCPenney has been working for the past seven years to broaden afterschool opportunities in local communities across the country, and their experts say choosing the right afterschool program means taking the child's interests and various aspects of the program into consideration, including its convenience to the child's home or school, its staff-to-child ratio and the quality of activities offered. Children should look forward to going to the program each afternoon, and programs should provide children with the chance to have fun and feel safe, as well as be challenging and inspiring.
According to the U.S. Department of Education, the best afterschool programs share the following common elements:
- Goal-setting, strong management and sustainability
- Quality afterschool staffing
- Attention to safety, health and nutrition issues
- Effective partnerships with community-based organizations, juvenile justice agencies, law enforcement and youth groups
- Strong involvement of families
- Enriching learning opportunities
- Linkages between school day and afterschool personnel
This year, JCPenney and the National Football League (NFL) are once again teaming up for the annual "Take a Player to School" sweepstakes to help increase awareness of the importance of afterschool programming.
"The 'Take a Player to School' sweepstakes gives me and my fellow players an opportunity to encourage kids to participate in extracurricular activities, such as football, and afterschool programs because it's proven that these programs provide kids with lasting benefits," said Philadelphia Eagles quarterback and program spokesman Donovan McNabb.
Since 1999, JCPenney and the JCPenney Afterschool Fund have contributed more than $50 million to support programs that promote the academic, physical and social development of children in afterschool centers nationwide. The NFL has contributed more than $15 million towards the building and maintaining of afterschool facilities nationwide.
Courtesy of ARA Content
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