WinnBrook Extended Learning program recently celebrated Afterschool Professionals Week – an opportunity to recognize the teachers who care for, instruct, and ultimately make a lasting impact on students. You may be asking yourself, “How much of an impact can an afterschool program really have on a child?”
Quite a lot, according to research by the National Afterschool Association (NAA).
High quality early learning and afterschool programs can help close the achievement gap and show significant promise for improving long-term outcomes such as high school graduation and post-secondary enrollment rates, as well as college and career readiness (NAA 3).
So, what determines whether an afterschool program is considered “high quality”?
A decade and a half of research and review of program evaluations have identified quality afterschool programs as those that:
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Foster positive relationships between program participants and staff,
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Build positive relationships among program participants,
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Offer a blend of academic and developmental skill-building activities,
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Promote high levels of student engagement,
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Maintain an orientation toward mastery of knowledge and skills and,
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Provide appropriate levels of structure as well as opportunities for autonomy and choice.” (NAA 3)
Additionally, in our experience, another important characteristic includes an emphasis on growth-mindset versus fixed-mindset, where students build confidence with the understanding that mastery comes from persistence as they continue to learn.
SFC’s Winn Brook Extended Learning Program (WBExL) in Belmont encompasses all of the attributes of a high quality afterschool program. Here are some recent, specific examples of how the program strives to do so:
This year, WBExL started a leadership-based pilot with the non-profit organization, Playworks, where third graders are invited to lead games and develop conflict resolution skills on the playground. The program, which enrolls 12 students, teaches leadership strategies such as “attention getters” – methods for capturing everyone’s attention to begin an activity, games that are easy to replicate on the playground, and “cool downs,” which are breathing techniques to get everyone settled. Each one-hour activity includes a welcome activity, a roleplay workshop with teachers, and a game. The program is helping empower students to navigate social settings and mindfully engage with their peers.
WBExL partnered with the outside program, Wicked Cool, to bring weekly science and STEM-related activities to its students, including LegoBricQ Motion, which explores forces and motion using LEGOS; Frozen Science, where students concoct things such as frozen slime and crystals; and Swiftie Science, where students can transform their love for Taylor Swift Music into a thrilling science journey.
Over the winter, WBExL’s phenomenal staff member Sandra Chacon led the students in two memorable fiber arts projects: creating mittens out of yarn and sewing teddy bears out of fabric with a real needle. For the teddy bear, students selected fabric, traced the template, cut out the fabric, sewed the panels together, and filled the bear with stuffing. Sandra emphasized safe practices for using a real sewing needle and provided instructions for its proper use.
Afterschool programs play a crucial role in reducing risk factors and positively influence youth outcomes. Programs led by skilled professionals contribute to improved social-emotional skills, better school attendance, and enhanced academic performance.
Work Cited:
National Afterschool Association. The State of Afterschool Quality: Why Afterschool Quality Matters. National Afterschool Association, https://cdn.ymaws.com/naaweb.org/resource/collection/041F50FE-F35A-4CB3-87DA-897FA88AD968/Focus_Brief_Quality_Matters.pdf. Accessed 7 May 2026.
