Program succeeds in helping kids stay away from trouble after school
Alcohol, suspension and fights.
Tajah Johnson, 14, experienced it all. The Bridger Middle School student, who used to be in and out of foster care, was only 11 years old when she drank alcohol for the first time.
“I would go to my friend’s house, and we would be drinking and on the phone,” she said. “We would talk to boyfriends.”
Johnson also got into numerous fights that led her to being pepper-sprayed by police at least twice. She also got kicked out of school several times.
But the teenager decided to leave that lifestyle behind, partly because of her involvement in After-School All-Stars Las Vegas. The nonprofit, in partnership with the Clark County School District and the 21st Century Community Learning Centers, offers after-school programs in about 14 low-income or at-risk elementary and middle schools in the area, said Ranna Daud, interim executive director of the local program.
“I’m doing a lot better,” Johnson said.
Johnson is among the more than 6,000 children and youth taking part in the after-school programs. A juvenile delinquency study from the national office of After-School All-Stars highlights a connection between juvenile delinquency and the hours after school.
According to the study, After-School All-Stars Orlando had zero arrests among students participating in the nonprofit’s after-school programs during the 2010-11 and 2011-12 school years.
Las Vegas police Capt. Brett Zimmerman, with the Division of Crimes Against Youth and Families, said the hours after school are when teenagers have the most free time. If they don’t have something positive to do, they could end up hanging out with the wrong crowd. The Metropolitan Police Department partners with Clark County School District police to increase patrols after 2 p.m. near school properties.
The after-school programs have an impact on the teens involved because they give them something to do and they provide them with positive role models, Zimmerman said.
“They actually enjoy going to them … and they are not being forced to go,” he said. “It’s definitely a good thing to keep kids out of the streets.”
After-School All-Stars Las Vegas conducted a five-year analysis that shows 94 percent of parents surveyed reported their child did better with schoolwork while participating in the programs. Ninety-one percent of the parents reported their child’s behavior had improved in school.
Some 86 percent of participants report feeling safe after school.
The program provides its disadvantaged participants with the same opportunities their more affluent peers have, Daud said.
The program offers academic tutoring, dance, music and drama classes. Many of those involved would otherwise go home to an empty house.
“We help (students) to increase academic achievement and we help them stay away from crime,” she said.
Contact Yesenia Amaro at yamaro@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0440.
