High-performing after-school projects in this sample drawn from the evaluation of The After-School Corporation (TASC) shared certain characteristics that were associated with improvements in students’ academic achievement. Interestingly, a primary focus on academics was not one of these features, according to a reanalysis of student data collected during the multiyear evaluation of projects supported by TASC in New York City.

The study identified five characteristics common in these successful programs:

• An array of enrichment activities, such as dance, music, art, and sports, that were intended to spark students’ interests and expand their goals for their own schooling, careers, and hobbies
  
  
• Opportunities to build literacy skills through reading, writing, and story-telling, and to practice these and other skills to the point of mastery
  
  
• Intentional relationship-building not only with the host school, but also with staff, and between staff and student participants
  
  
• Site coordinators who had experience in youth development, strong connections to the community they served, and a commitment to effective programming that they communicated to staff
  
  
• A sponsoring organization that granted day-to-day autonomy and flexibility while providing administrative, fiscal, and professional development support
  
  

These findings can guide new and struggling after-school projects or reinforce the viability of existing after-school models that emphasize a variety of youth activities and goals.

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