By keeping school doors open during nontraditional school hours, the schools provide students, parents, and the community with access to valuable educational resources. In addition, community learning centers can be safe havens for children, where learning takes place in buildings removed from the violence, drugs, and lack of supervision that permeate some communities in the United States. Many children lack adult supervision between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. on school days. The demand for school-based afterschool programs outstrips the supply at a rate of about 2 to 1. Seventy-four percent of elementary and middle school parents said that they would be willing to pay for such a program, yet only about 31 percent of elementary school parents and 39 percent of middle school parents reported that their children actually attended an afterschool program at school.
Public schools are often low-cost, accessible locations in which to extend learning.
Community learning centers are well positioned to help younger children meet the America Reads Challenge that all children will read independently and well by the end of the third grade. Community learning centers can provide the extra encouragement and support that many children need to take and pass algebra and geometry in middle and junior high school and to succeed in Advanced Placement classes and the other challenging courses in high school that are necessary to prepare them for college. Community learning centers can offer children and youth long-term mentoring opportunities to help them master basic skills while offering them enrichment activities that often encourage the development of lifelong interests. U.S. Department of Education. Extending Learning in a Safe, Drug-Free Environment Before and After School.