Leadership magazine Sept/Oct 2016 V46 No 1 | Page 20

peace of mind about their children while
at work; (afterschool program satisfaction)
is extremely high among working mothers (80 percent), African American parents
(80 percent) and Hispanic parents (76 percent).”
Expanded learning programs, as the
name implies, are meant to expand the horizons of K-12 students, particularly underrepresented students, by providing access to
learning environments, opportunities and
experiences, outside of the instructional
day, which they may not otherwise have the
means or resources to access.
However, ELPs provide more than
academic support. ELPs can provide the
social-emotional infrastructure that may
be lacking in the lives of many students.
Priscilla M. Little (2012), a pioneer in the
field of afterschool research, explained the
evolution of the field in an article for the
Harvard Family Research Project: “Afterschool now passes the litmus test of being a
‘field,’ with a sound evidence base, accepted
standards of practice (and) leadership. …
What used to be a disjointed, fragmented

service sector has become a more cohesive
and unified movement to provide muchneeded learning and developmental support for children and youth, particularly
those in underserved communities.”
As Little confirms, the past decade has
seen a robust body of evidence develop in
support of ELPs for both cognitive and
non-cognitive learning and skill development. ELPs may prove