Mt. Olivet After-School Program

Abstract

This article reports the results of peer-mediated instruction and Interventions on the academic performances of urban at-risk students in an after-school program. The students in this project were African-American males who attended an urban elementary school. The after-school program was a partnership between a large predominately African-American church, a public school, and The Ohio State University's (OSU's) College of Education. Students from the OSU's elementary education and special education programs worked along with the men of Mt. Olivet Church to provide educational opportunities for urban at-risk students. The improvement in academic performance of urban atrisk students in this study is consistent with the findings of other researchers (Poser & Vandell, 1994).

The longitudinal effects of after-school program experiences, quantity, and regulatable features on children's social–emotional development

“…Similarly, children from urban neighborhoods are often found to benefit from after-school programs through decreases in behavioral and social-emotional problems and increases in reading and math grades (e.g., Beck, 1999;Mahoney, Lord, & Carryl, 2005;Mason & Chuang, 2001;Roffman, Pagano & Hirsch, 2001). Finally, research suggests that children from low-income families benefit from after-school programs through decreases in externalizing and internalizing behavior problems and increases in academic grades, selfesteem, leadership competencies, attention and social skills (Gardner et al, 2001;Mason & Chuang, 2001;Pettit, Laird, Bates & Dodge, 1997;Zosky & Crawford, 2003). Thus, it is crucial to include such risk variables in the study of after-school programs, as they clearly have a central role as to which children are affected and how those effects play out.…”

“…Although a large body of research suggests that children from low-income families benefit from after-school programs through decreases in externalizing and internalizing behavior problems and increases in academic grades, self-esteem, leadership competencies, attention and social skills (e.g., Gardner et al, 2001;Mason & Chuang, 2001;Pettit, Laird, Bates & Dodge, 1997;Zosky & Crawford, 2003), there are some possible explanations for this null finding. For instance, although children from low-income families may benefit more in general from after-school program participation, it may be that the mechanism is not children's positive relationships.…”

The effect of a visual arts and exercise program on communication and social skills of students with autism spectrum disorders

“…After-school programs also appear to be particularly beneficial for students with developmental disabilities, as they allow children to make more creative use of their time, protect them from too much screen time (Gardner et al , 2001) and help them develop skills necessary to become productive citizens as adults (Mollenkopf, 2002). In settings where out-of-school programs are conducted for children and adults with ASD, participants can attend a variety of programs involving both visual arts and adapted exercise.…”

The imperative to support Black youths in resisting low and limiting expectations

“…Some programs already center Black youth strengths. In a peer tutoring program, Black youths help each other by leveraging and developing their skills (Gardner et al, 2001). Many practitioners have used strengths that have a cultural relevance (see Woodland, 2016).…”