Things to Keep in Mind while Opting for After School Program

Introduction

What do you understand by an after school program? Well, a after school program is an organized activity program which enables the schools kids to participate outside a normal school day. Some after school science programs and science parties for kids are organized by schools whereas some are funded externally and run by non-profit organizations. Merely attending school and doing regular studies is not enough in today’s competitive environment. Students need to horn their skills in various fields like science, sports and safety. Even the working parents now a day’s prefer to send their kids to after school program rather than making them sit at home and indulging themselves into various bad habits.

Too many courses at a time? Not a good idea

Now that the concept of learning extra skills have been much talked about, this doesn’t mean that you as a parent will over burden your kid with many programs at a same time. Have a detailed conversation with your kid. Ask about his likes and dislikes and then choose a program for him. One more thing! Please acknowledge that your kids also need some time to relax, do their studies and home works and of course how can we forget the family time? Give them their own alone time so that they can enjoy whatever they are doing.

Things to be considered while choosing a After School Program

In this section we will discuss a few pointers you need to check you need to check while you will choose a program for your kids.

1. Regarding Preparation – What are the objectives of the program? Is there transparency in defining objectives for the kids? Were the kids involved in setting in the objectives? Does the program have clearly segregated lessons and activities? What is the learning rate per activity or lesson taken for the kids?
2. Regarding Organization – What are the procedures followed in organizing an activity? Are the activities hands – on? Are kids involved to work collaboratively in organizing activities so that they can learn the importance of team work? The activities fun packed which the kids will enjoy?
3. Regarding Supervision – Are the teachers and mentors handling the activities experts in their domain? Are they practicing positive behavior in front of the kids? Are the teachers self motivated and motivating kids in correct manner? What is the interaction rate between the mentors and the kids? It is very important that kids not left alone during their after school program. They need continuous supervision of adults. This is not only for disciplinary purpose but also important for confidence building among the kids.

Ways to develop public awareness about After School Programs

We have jotted down five ways to increase public awareness about the functioning of After School Programs.

• Building Strong Partnerships – There are three parties to any after school program namely Family of the student, the School and the community. Open communication should be encouraged within these three parties. The parents should be equally involved and informed about the activities and programs undertaken.
• Reduce Paperwork – Make sure that the teachers and mentors spend maximum time of a program with the students and not doing some other irrelevant paper works and other duties. Downloading software which will take care of billings and other paper work is a great idea.
• Maximum Participation – Teachers need to ensure that the students are enough engaged with the after school programs and attend the classes regularly. Attendance monitoring and reporting should be practiced in order to track individual engagement and progress rate with the program.
• Measure – Regular individual progress reports are necessary to measure the progress a student has recorded during the program. The progress can be measured in terms of participation in activities, habits, social behavior, etc.
• Active Long Term Participation – The programs should be designed in such a way that the students learn to combat real life difficulties by promoting growth, learning and safety of the students

Conclusion

So friends this is it! We now hope that by reading the above article you can understand the important points that you need to keep in mind while selecting the right after school program for your kids. Higher level of communication and efficiency in programs will definitely help to build a strong future for your kids. All the best!