This program helped me deal with stress, anxiety, and overall helped me better myself and it was so much fun meeting new people.
After School Matters provides a supportive, structured environment to help prepare teens for their future and thrive. Research suggests that participating in these programs can positively impact teens’ socio-emotional, cognitive, behavioral, and educational outcomes, especially the more frequently youth attend programs.
After School Matters offers project-based programs led by industry experts that allow teens to gain technical and critical skills for life and work while earning a stipend. Youth also dive into planning for success, personal mindset, social awareness, collaboration, and problem-solving.
After School Matters instructors and staff are trained to create a safe, supportive, interactive, and engaging environment for youth to explore their interests, develop skills, and build strong relationships. Many of these best practices are rooted in the evidence-based Youth Program Quality framework, a highly esteemed quality improvement system to advance youth development.
After School Matters programs are designed to build teens’ technical skills in a particular content area (the arts, communications, STEM, or sports) and their critical skills that prepare teens for work, college, and beyond.
Our research consistently shows that After School Matters’ high-quality, relationship-based programs inspire teens, support skills development, and contribute to teens’ sense of belonging, hopefulness, and preparation for the future.
Safe Space + Teen-Centered, Project-Based Programming + Incentives to Participate =
9 in 10 teens report having fun, feeling challenged, and satisfied with their program experience.
More than 8 in 10 teens report feeling connected to their instructors and peers and that they belong in their program.
9 in 10 teens report strengthening and gaining confidence in their skills and abilities.
More than 8 in 10 teens report feeling safe and that their program provides a place for them to be their true selves.
Data suggests that ²ÝÝ®ÊÓƵ teens are 2x more likely than their peers to graduate high school and 1.5x more likely to enroll in college. 96% of teens report having plans after graduation.
Nearly 8 in 10 teens report feeling more hopeful about their future after participating in an ²ÝÝ®ÊÓƵ program.
After School Matters is dedicated to providing a supportive environment for our instructors to learn new skills, build deeper connections with teens and their peers, and have a joyful and satisfying experience sharing their expertise with Chicago youth.
Each year, After School Matters offers thousands of hours of training in positive youth development best practices to hundreds of instructors. 8 in 10 report that the training improves their professional skills.
After School Matters strives to impact the teens, instructors, families, and communities we serve by providing other key supports and resources outside of programming.
Each year, After School Matters partners with 160+ community-based organizations across the city to help fund and provide the administrative support needed to run successful youth programming.
After School Matters began a partnership with Adler Community Health Services (ACHS) in 2020. Since it began, nearly 1,000 youth and 200 instructors have accessed free services like telehealth counseling, workshops, trainings, and more.
Stipends help provide financial support to teens and their families. Nearly 1 in 3 teens use their stipend to contribute to their family needs (e.g., rent, groceries), and nearly 1 in 2 teens use their stipend to cover necessary personal expenses (e.g., school fees, work clothes).
Since the pandemic, After School Matters has provided 200,000+ meals to teens and surrounding communities to help combat increased rates of food insecurity. ²ÝÝ®ÊÓƵ continues to partner with local organizations to provide meals to teens and their families.
For more than 30 years, After School Matters has served as a national model for creating high-quality, innovative programming and systems that support positive youth development.
In December of 2022, the U.S. Surgeon General visited ²ÝÝ®ÊÓƵ to hear from Chicago teens about the state of youth mental health locally and learn more about the ways ²ÝÝ®ÊÓƵ is supporting teen mental health through our programming and innovative partnership with Adler University.
This program helped me deal with stress, anxiety, and overall helped me better myself and it was so much fun meeting new people.