These have provided a great service to young people and communities, but not all of them have been coordinated with direct academic assistance. Now, many of those groups are partnering with their neighborhood schools to assure a connected academic strand in their services. Many schools have offered after-school activities for years, especially for older students, but new programs with new academic ties are increasing each year. In some schools, expanded-day programs have become answers to what can be done for latchkey kids. With both parents working outside the home and many single-parent homes, the need to serve children with quality programs is increasing rapidly.
Many students go home to an empty house day after day.
There is particular concern about middle-level students. Surveys show that 35 percent of eighth grade students are alone three or more hours at least three days a week. Some of these unsupervised youth don't stay at home. Studies show that the highest rate of crime by juveniles occurs between the hours of 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. This is a dual concern for students-concern about the perpetrators of crime and concern for those students who might become victims of crime.