Welcome to our workshop on Afterschool Programs -- From Vision to Reality. In this workshop we will look at the benefits that a quality afterschool program can provide to students, their families, and their community, and discuss ways to create and sustain such programs. You should begin here in the "Explanation" section, which describes the CONCEPT. Then move along to the other sections, where we go from CONCEPT TO CLASSROOM.

	Introduction to our experts: An-Me Chung, Ellen Gannett, and Adriana de Kanter La Perla
	Afterschool programs -- setting the stage.
	What specifically is meant by the term "afterschool program"?
	Are there differing visions of what an afterschool program should be?
	Why are afterschool programs good for school-age children and youth?
	What benefits do afterschool programs offer to the schools, the communities, and the families who participate in them?
	Are kids being "over-scheduled"?
	Why has demand for afterschool programs increased so significantly?
	Where is the support and the funding for the development of these programs coming from?

Introduction to our experts:

In this workshop, we have worked closely with three leaders in the afterschool field. An-Me Chung is a program officer at the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation. Ellen Gannett is Associate Director of the National Institute on Out-of-School Time at the Center for Research on Women at Wellesley College. Adriana de Kanter La Perla worked on afterschool issues as the U.S. Department of Education's liaison to the C.S. Mott Foundation. To find out more about our experts, see our Expert Bios.

The field of afterschool programs contains many different players and a variety of viewpoints. In this workshop, we have provided you with as well-balanced a representation as possible, and encourage you to use the extensive resources we offer for further exploration.

Afterschool programs -- setting the stage.

Since 1990 there has been an explosion of interest in afterschool programs. The American public has become aware of enormous benefits such programs can offer and policy makers see in these programs the chance to address numerous social and educational problems. Funding for afterschool programs has grown substantially as a result of this heightened interest. Many cities across the country are developing major new initiatives focused on afterschool time, and a growing number of organizations across the country are researching and providing support for these programs. In a relatively short period of time, the afterschool field has grown and changed immensely. Why is this so and why is it happening now? In this first section of our workshop, we will take a look at the answers to these questions.