After-school @ Your Library

About the Program

Category: Libraries (Best in Category)

Year: 2011

There is currently a lack of free, supervised, fun, and productive after-school experiences for Broward County children, particularly in underserved neighborhoods, which puts a high demand on the services and resources of the local library. Broward County expanded its After-school @ Your Library program in 2009-2010 to provide access to children ages 6 to 12 to qualified homework help, cultural development opportunities, reading practice, and computer skills training. The program serves to enhance academic achievement, support social development, and strengthen the relationships that the children have with adults and peers in their families, schools, and communities. The program targets 12 neighborhoods that were determined, through internal and external data, to have several unmet needs including a lack of adequate after-school activities, a youth population that exhibits low reading/literacy scores, and a population that is underserved technologically. The program partners with Senior Volunteer Services-Foster Grandparents Program, which provides enthusiastic, qualified, and well-trained staff, the University of Florida Family Nutrition Program, which offers a nutrition education component, and Arts in Education, which offers on-site cultural performances. It has been reported that 79 percent of the children who participated improved their basic reading skills and 100 percent of the children maintain or improved their rate of homework completion.