‘I Feel Like Somebody’ : The Success of L.A.’s BEST, an After-School Program That Helps 3,800 Children in the City’s High-Risk Areas, Can Be Measured in Their Growing Self-Esteem and Social Development

For over 25 years, I have been involved with education and children’s programs, first as an elementary school teacher and later as a supervisor and director of after-school programs.

In 1988, I was appointed by then-Mayor Tom Bradley to the Education Council that developed L.A.’s BEST.

As with so many councils, I sat there fat and dumb and happy, until I was asked to visit some of the school sites. When I did, I was overcome with disappointment. I saw things like children in line, with no talking allowed.

I thought of my two sons, and how miserable they would be in that environment. I thought, “All this wonderful effort isn’t going to last very long if kids don’t like it.”

My experience is that children vote with feet--if they like a program, they come, if not, no matter how great the program, they’re not going to stay. So I’ve been here since 1988, still trying to get this program better and better.

What we provide is a safe, supervised environment of recreation, education and enrichment, not an extension of the school day. We are in schools that have the lowest test scores and are clearly the most vulnerable to gangs, crime and drugs. One-third of our staff are credentialed teachers, the rest come from recreation departments, youth services, and other programs.

We have a highly successful supervised homework program, which involves incentives and rewards to make it fun. There’s also “reading for recreation,” where kids read for pleasure. Some of these kids are starving when they come in after school, so we have snacks at each site. There’s always outdoor team sports--kick ball, football, basketball, softball. We have everyone come together and compete in citywide competitions. Everyone who participates wins something. The kids just love it.

We also have computer skills labs, and math and science clubs. Performing arts are a big part of the program because they are a constructive outlet for children’s emotions. We also offer 15 yearly scholarships in music, dance and sports.

We’ve recently been evaluated by UCLA, and some of their findings are quite significant. Over 75% of the kids like school better since they’ve been involved with L.A.’s BEST. They come to school every single day. They don’t just pop in here and there; they come. That’s incredible!

UCLA also found that parents and teachers are seeing both emotional and behavioral changes.

At a school in Watts, a teacher commented that there is less in-fighting because the program helps in social development. One parent said, “Before my son came to L.A.’s BEST, he had a chip on his shoulder. I don’t see that chip anymore.” Self-esteem has risen. They have direct quotes from kids saying, ‘I feel like somebody,’ ‘I can do anything,’ ‘People like me.’ Kids have also shown increased maturity.

These successes, even though they are amazing, aren’t enough. The 3,800 children we help are a drop in the bucket of the 100,000 children we know are unsupervised in this city after school. In the next five years, we would like to expand to 50 schools. In the short term, we would like to expand to two more schools.

At L.A.’s BEST, we value each child as he or she is, not as how we think they should be. We find some way to have that child experience a success every day, at least one success, whatever it may be. Many of these children haven’t had any successes before they come to us at 2:30. Not in the classroom, not anywhere.

Our purpose is to make each child leave feeling good about something that’s happened in the program. And it makes us feel good that we can do this.