Basketballs bouncing.  Kids yelling with excitement. Kids on the basketball court falling for loose balls. Kids love going to after school programs because they have a place to go for fun.

“Usually if it’s about something I’m interested in, if the people are nice and if it’s fun I think are the main reasons why I would want to go to after school programs,” said Erinn Arbelaez, who works for Husky Sport, an afterschool program based in Hartford, Connecticut.

Maria Karas, an eighth grader at Greater Hartford Classical Magnet School, said she thinks that afterschool programs are “a good place for people to hang out.” 

Emma Kate, a volunteer at the Catholic Worker in Hartford agreed with Karas. “After school programs are a great way to meet new people and to spend time with friends, said Kate. “I realized that there is so much more to people than just their appearance and that it is important to not judge people by their looks.”

According to the National Dropout Prevention Center/Network, participating students demonstrate increased achievement, regular attendance, good behavior, and a reduction in grade retention. Each weekday afternoon, at least eight million children are left alone and unsupervised according to the U.S. Department of Education.

Jackie Allen-Doucot, founder of the Catholic Worker , a Hartford program that helps kids with tutoring and also provides kids with a warm place to hang out, stated that many students come because of the positive attention they receive from staff and volunteers.

“While this is going on we discover that The Holy Spirit is at work in and around all of us.  We see poverty, apartheid, violence, abuse, sexism, and all the ugly things that come from lack of love and community begin to shrink and we see love and it's power to heal growing constantly,” she said.

University of Connecticut student Abby Searfoss stated that programs like the ones offered through the Catholic Worker House are “so good and so much fun for kids because they “make a huge difference for kids anywhere and especially in the inner city.”

According to all-star.org, kids who lack adult supervision have been linked to: increased likelihood of accidents, injuries, lower social competence, lower GPA’s, lower achievement test scores and a high participating rate in delinquent behavior such as experimenting with alcohol, tobacco, drugs and sex. The website also noted that teens that are unsupervised during after school hours are 37% more likely to become teen parents.

So parents please if you are worrying about your teens and elementary kids you should bring them to a program. Make those percentages go down and sign your children up now. Its only two simple steps drive your children or child up to the program and sign that paper then you’re all set. Go to work the next day worry free.

“At The Green House we try to build up the good we see in each other and gently tear away at the things that keep us separated from each other,” said Allen-Doucot proudly.