Boys and Girls Clubs of America Afterschool Programs: Associations With Students' Literacy and Executive Functioning

• In Event: Creating Equitable Learning Environments to Support Students of Diverse Backgrounds and Needs

Abstract

Using a quasi-experimental difference-in-differences approach, we examined the effects of participation in two afterschool programs on second and third graders’ reading and executive functioning skills. Participants were students enrolled in two predominantly low-income school districts in the San Francisco Bay Area in fall 2019. One year of participation in an intensive afterschool literacy program (N = 109) was associated with better scores on a standardized reading assessment relative to students who did not enroll in afterschool programs (N = 1,953) and better executive functioning relative to students enrolled in a general academic and social enrichment afterschool program (N = 164).

Authors

• Michael Sulik, Stanford University

• Jelena Obradovic, Stanford University