After-School No-Brainer

The afternoon school bell does more than signal the end of classes in Orange County. It also rings in the most dangerous hours of the day for the community and many of its children.

When school lets out, hundreds of thousands of children and teenagers disperse into the street. In the afternoon, many are unsupervised for hours until their parents get home. They are released with nothing constructive to do with their time. Violent juvenile crime soars, and so does teenage sex and drug use.

The prime time for juvenile crime is from 2 to 6 p.m., with more teen robberies, rapes, assaults and homicides committed from 3 to 4 p.m. than any other time on school days. Youngsters are most likely to become victims of those crimes. Also, 16-and 17-year-olds are most likely either to cause or be involved in serious auto accidents in those same hours.

Those grim and disturbing facts were gathered from police statistics and from officers’ daily after-school street experience in a survey by the statewide nonprofit organization Fight Crime: Invest in Kids California.

The findings should wake up parents, school officials and the entire community.

It’s not that there aren’t efforts underway to reverse the trend and provide activities that interest and attract youngsters into safer and more productive after-school pursuits. There are many federal, state, school and community-sponsored programs and clubs, along with some private ones for families that can afford them.

But there simply aren’t enough of them to help the many children who should be--and would like to be--in such programs.

According to the organization, there are about 440,000 students in government-funded after-school programs in California. But there are another 1.2 million youngsters ages 5 to 14 who need to be in them.

In Orange County, in an effort to bring more students into the programs, many school districts are joining forces with cities, UC Irvine and community organizations.

Recently, the Costa Mesa City Council and Newport Mesa Unified School District approved resolutions intended to increase their joint efforts to provide more after-school programming. Currently, about 15% of the city’s children are enrolled. Other collaborative programs, like those in Anaheim and Santa Ana, are also well underway.

The after-school activities cover many areas of student interest and need. In some, students do homework or sharpen reading, language and computer skills. Others offer music, arts and sports activities.

The idea is threefold, as described by UC Irvine education professor Joan Bissell, who studies after-school programs. It keeps children safe and out of trouble, provides them with a place where they will not have to spend hours alone, and improves their academic performance.

Does the approach work? Police, school officials--and statistics--attest to its value.

Fight Crime’s survey found that the rate of students having to repeat grades was cut in half for those in after-school programs. And they were three times more likely to move up from the lowest-performing groups as those not in a program.

A long-term study by UCLA of the after-school program in Los Angeles reported that its students did better on reading and math tests, had better school attendance and learned English more quickly. The other major result: Juvenile crime drops significantly.

The proven value of after-school programs cries out for more support from both government and the private sector. Yes, it will take many millions of dollars to open the programs to the many more youngsters who need them. But the costs of crime, drug use, dropouts and poor performance that will otherwise result are incalculable.