Annual Report(Fiscal Year 2008-2009)

Following five years as the predecessor organization, the Greater Atlanta Inner-City Games (founded in 1994), After-School All-Stars Atlanta is now ten years old and has increased the number of schools from one in 1999 to nine in 2009 (most located in the inner city of Atlanta). The After-School All-Stars Atlanta program was a great success by many measures as this report will reveal. Recent large grants received from the Marcus Foundation and from the Georgia Department of Human Resources (now Department of Human Services) allowed After-School All-Stars in Atlanta to exponentially increase the number of middle schools served. Soon after the Marcus Foundation grant was awarded (funding two schools – Carson Middle School and Harper-Archer Middle School), Atlanta Public Schools announced the development of two single-gender academies, both of which would eventually be grades 6 through 12 and the consequential closing of Carson Middle School. These programs would be phased in over a 3-year period of time starting in the Fall, 2007. A strategic decision was made – After-School All-Stars would stretch the Marcus Foundation dollars and with other sources to fund FOUR middle school programs with a strategic eye toward impacting hundreds of students long-term attending the single gender academies. This strategy seems to have worked as 240 students enrolled at those two schools this past year with an average daily attendance of 73% at the B.E.S.T. Academy for Boys and 66% at the Coretta Scott King Young Women’s Leadership Academy (the national average is 30% enrollment and less than 60% average daily attendance). Another 241 students enrolled at the After-School All-Stars programs at Carson Middle School (8th grade only this year) and Harper-Archer Middle School for a total enrollment of 481 students in all four schools. Other After-School All-Stars programs not funded by the Marcus Foundation include King Middle School, Parks Middle School, Brown Middle School, Turner Middle School, and Long Middle School. Turner Middle School and Long Middle School were added as a result of the state grant. The total number of students enrolled at all nine sites was 1,686 for the five days a week, 2 ½ hours per day after school program.

Outcomes from the program have been developed around student achievement and success. These outcomes were determined to reflect the work done by the staff of After-School All-Stars and to guide them to develop programs that were academically challenging and would also enrich the lives of the students living in the city of Atlanta. Several of the anticipated outcomes included comparing results from the Georgia Criterion-Referenced Competency Test (CRCT) which was given in April 2009. Other outcomes measures required a comparison between students participating in the program and those that do not with measures taken at the end of the school year (final grade point average and attendance).

We are particularly pleased that at the end of the Spring semester, eight of the nine schools met federal standards under the ―No Child Left Behind‖ legislation for making ―Annual Yearly Progress‖ (AYP). Last year, only four schools met AYP. We were disappointed that Harper-Archer Middle School did not make AYP at the end of the school year. Harper-Archer Middle School met 8 of 9 AYP indicators (the only indicator Harper-Archer failed to meet was English/Language Arts for students with disabilities). We are hoping that students who went to summer school and were allowed to take the G-CRCT over the summer will hasten a change in AYP status for this school. Those data are not yet available.

Summary of 2008-2009 Outcomes
Outcome #1: participants will have CRCT scores higher than non-participants in Reading, English/Language Arts and Mathematics For every grade level, students participating in the After-School All-Stars program performed better on each of the CRCT measures of Reading, English/Language Arts and Mathematics when compared to the students who did not participate.
Outcome #2: participants will have a higher GPA at the end of the year than non-participants For every grade level except the 6th grade, participating students had a higher grade point average at the end of the year when compared to non-participating students.
Outcome #3: participants will be absent from school less than non-participants For every grade level, the average number of days absent for participating students was lower when compared to non-participating students.
Outcome #4: 60% of those students participating will attend the program 60% of the time Average daily attendance was 66%. Six of the nine schools met the target attendance rate of 60%; the remaining three schools ranged from an average daily attendance of 52%, 57%, and 58%.
Expanded Explanation of 2008-2009 Outcomes
For the evaluation of Outcome #1, the following scores on the Georgia Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests (CRCT) were analyzed:
1. Reading
2. English/Language Arts
3. Mathematics
For Outcome #2 and #3, grade point average (GPA) and the number of days absent from school were the variables assessed. An average score was determined for each outcome variable. Coretta Scott King Young Women’s Leadership Academy and the B.E.S.T. Academy for Boys were 6th and 7th grade only during the school year 2008-2009. Carson Middle School was 8th grade only. All other schools (King, Brown, Parks, Turner, Long, and Harper-Archer Middle School) were 6th, 7th, and 8th grade. Outcome #4 was based upon the number of students registering for the program and average daily attendance.
Table A is a summary for each outcome variable (CRCT scores in Reading, English/Language Arts, and Mathematics, Final GPA, and the number of days absent from school). From these data, the following can be determined:

Outcome Measurement #1: participants will have CRCT scores higher than non-participants in Reading, English/Language Arts and Mathematics
For every grade level, students participating in the After-School All-Stars program performed better on each of the CRCT measures of Reading, English/Language Arts and Mathematics when compared to the students who did not participate. Students in the 6th grade scored an average of 7 points higher in Reading, 6 points higher in English/Language Arts, and 8 points higher in Mathematics. Participating 7th grade students had higher scores of 9 points, 12 points, and 9 points in Reading, English/Language Arts, and Mathematics, respectively. Eighth grade participating students had higher CRCT scores than non-participating students of 3 points in Reading, 2 points in English/Language Arts, and 5 points in Mathematics.

Outcome #2: participants will have a higher GPA at the end of the year than non-participants
For every grade level except for the 6th grade, participating students had a higher grade point average at the end of the year when compared to non-participating students. The 6th grade participating and non-participating students had an average GPA of 80. The 7th grade participating students had an average final GPA of 81 compared to non-participating students who had an average final GPA of 78. The 8th grade participating students had an average GPA of 80 and the average GPA for non-participating students was 79.

Table A. Outcome Measures #1, #2, #3 All Schools (2008/2009 School Year) Comparison of those students participating and all those not participating

Outcome #3: participants will be absent from school less than non-participants
Participating students in the 6th grade averaged 2 days absence from school compared to the non-participating 6th grade students who were absent from school an average of 4 days (two days difference). The 7th grade participating students had an average absence from school of one day compared to the non-participating 7th grade students who were absent an average of four days (three days difference). Participating 8th grade students had an average of 2 days absence compared to 5 days for the non-participating students (three days difference). For each grade level, the average number of days absent was greater for students not attending the After-School All-Stars program.

Outcome #4: 60% of those participating will attend the program 60% of the time
Nearly 1700 middle school students enrolled in After-School All-Stars Atlanta. A daily average of 1098 middle school students participated in the After-School All-Stars program in the 2008-2009 school year. Average daily attendance (Table B) for the year was 66%. Carson Middle School, Brown Middle School, and King Middle School were below expected attendance. Monitoring of student enrollment (registration) within the program was not well controlled. Once students registered, they typically stayed on the roster until the end of the semester. Purging of rolls was completed in December and May only. In the future, purging of rolls will take place more often with special attention to those students who move away from the affected school.

Table B. Students Registered for the Program, Average Daily Attendance, and Average Daily Attendance Rate

Individual School Data

Table C. Coretta Scott King Young Women’s Leadership Academy (2008/2009 School Year) Comparison of those students participating and those not participating

 Table D. B.E.S.T. Academy for Boys (2008/2009 School Year) Comparison of those students participating and those not participating

Table E. Harper-Archer Middle School (2008/2009 School Year) Comparison of those students participating and those not participating

Table F. Carson Middle School (2008/2009 School Year) Comparison of those students participating and those not participating

Table G. Brown Middle School (2008/2009 School Year) Comparison of those students participating and those not participating

Table H. Parks Middle School (2008/2009 School Year) Comparison of those students participating and those not participating

Table I. King Middle School (2008/2009 School Year) Comparison of those students participating and those not participating

Table J. Long Middle School (2008/2009 School Year) Comparison of those students participating and those not participating

Table K. Turner Middle School (2008/2009 School Year) Comparison of those students participating and those not participating

Programmatic Features
After-School All-Stars provides enrichment activities that are age-appropriate and meet the needs and interests of participants. Such activities include, but are not limited to homework assistance, tutoring, standardized test preparation, field trips, physical activity, health education, educational support activities, and any other programs that meet the needs and interests of participants. Prior to the start of the after school and summer camp programs, prospective participants are provided a Student Interest Survey. This survey is designed to both prompt students to participate in programs known to be of interest to middle school students and more important to solicit new and exciting ideas for additional programming. Once these interests are known, programs are built around them. Often, one of the State certified teachers has an interest in teaching the enrichment program. At times, enrichment instructors are recruited (subject to references and a background check) from the community. In all cases, those enrichment activities that are of interest to the students are provided which greatly enhances program attendance and adherence.
After-School All-Stars Atlanta is moving toward providing project-based learning experiences in each of the programs. Activities in the project-based learning experiences are designed to help traditionally marginalized metro Atlanta middle school students experience interdisciplinary content like Science, Technology, Mathematics, Reading, and Media/Communications in more relevant, hands on, realistic ways. We are interested in helping change some of their stereotypical aversions to these disciplines and encourage the students to stay interested in school. We hope that by reaching these children in middle school, we can help them early enough to prevent their dropping out. A key component to this project’s success will be the concept of technology enhanced, project-based learning. When discussing the engaging effect that immersive technology can have on children, we are interested in employing a number of state of the art technologies including video games, robotics, and iPods among others in order to create engaging, realistic, and relevant project-based activities for after school and summer programs. These activities are designed to also make the children more interested in school and school subject matter.

Key Elements of Project-Based Learning
1. Begin with the End in Mind- what will students create or produce? What will it look like? Will they prepare for a competition or performance? Will they publish their work or produce music? Will they hold an exhibition?
2. Projects have a Driving Question- all projects attempt to answer an important question relevant to the greater world in general. Through the work and completion of the project, students will gain greater insight into answers or solutions to the driving question. Examples: How can we stop global warming? Do we have too much freedom? How does culture influence our life? What is Community? What is necessary to run a successful business?
3. Projects are Inter-connected and Inter-disciplinary- work crosses many elements of subjects, interests and skills. There is a connection to the academics be it math, humanities, science and
there are a variety of skill applications such as technology, music, art, and construction. Typically, individuals find a particular passion or key talent that they can contribute to the project.
4. Real World Learning- projects are linked to a significant real world application opening the eyes of students to see how adults function in their careers and world. Real world application allows students to feel connected to the world outside of school and be a part of something meaningful and purposeful. Moreover, students can make connections with professionals in the particular disciplines in which they are interested.
5. Constructivist in Design- projects allow students to construct or learn through experiencing as they work on the project. The work is done from a macro as opposed to micro perspective. They start with the big idea in mind working through the individual skills to build and construct their learning. The project work is largely experiential in nature and students are asked to see the learning as they progress through the work.
The activities described here have been carefully designed to motivate and to stimulate both girls and boys in traditionally underserved populations like students participating in After-School All-Stars programs. Our team hopes to help these children find interest and relevance in showing up for school and to help them excel in subject matters like science, technology, mathematics, and reading that overlap, complement and enhance their school day experience.

The following figure is an illustration of the inter-relationship between a ―wind-chime project‖ and the integration of academic, cooperation, community, connections, discovery, and results. Within each domain is the description of the intended result and the project-based learning idea that will aid in the attainment of the goal. This is an illustration only of one project that children can be exposed to during the after school program.
RoboSapiens: The Robot Olympics. In this activity, students will design, build, and program a fully functioning robot. Using the Lego Mindstorms robot kit and the Logo programming language, small teams of students will be given a list of challenges that their creations will undertake in the robot Olympics. Students will have to determine what abilities the robots will need to have for each challenge and then design, build, and program the robot to complete the challenges. In the robot pentathlon students will have to create a general-purpose robot that completes five activities. In the robot decathlon students will be able to modify the robot specifically for each event. Once the robots have been created and programmed, we will let the games begin! The teams will compete to see whose robot does the best in each event, and whose robot does the best overall. The Lego Mindstorms robotics kit was built to take advantage of the logo programming language invented by Seymour Papert, a student of Piaget. It is specifically geared toward giving students an understanding of engineering, technology, programming, geometry, and even some calculus. Using the principles of problem based learning and constructionism, students will develop critical thinking, problem solving, and teamwork skills that are an essential part of 21st century literacy.

New School Hip-Hop Studio. In this activity, students will become hip hop recording artists and produce an album of original music. But the original musical will have a twist; all the songs will have a positive message and be designed to teach relevant content in the humanities and sciences. Students will research the content for the song, write the song, perform the song, record it, edit it, and burn a CD of their work. The hip-hop education movement is robust throughout the country and has been used to teach everything from Civil Rights to Shakespeare and from Multiplication to Oral Hygiene. It seeks to bring a high cultural and social relevance to students. Cool school records will engage students in the wide variety of activities required for producing music. They will develop skills in problem solving, teamwork, digital media, audio engineering, music, creative writing, poetry, and performing arts. But most importantly, they will develop a sense of pride in their work, and an understanding of the relevance of education to their daily lives.

Cool Student Investigators: Atlanta (CSI Atlanta). This activity will introduce middle school students to the exciting world of forensic science through hands on-scenario based activities that bridge formal science and real world application. The CSI Atlanta activity will be both hands-on and creative means to engage students in learning through interdisciplinary project-based approaches. Science, mathematics, technology, literacy, communication, and career exploration will be explored. Students in the CSI Atlanta activity will ―solve crimes‖ through the application of various forensic techniques. The CSI Atlanta activity will incorporate material developed by the Forensics in the Classroom (FIC) Program. The FIC Program was developed by truTV in partnership with the American Academy of Forensic Sciences and the National Science Teachers Association. Locally developed material will also be used within the CSI Atlanta activity to supplement FIC. These will include activities to support students reaching base-level understanding of concepts and backgrounds to successfully participate in the various scenarios presented to them. Activities will also be included to further extend on the various scenarios presented. These could include: visiting forensics laboratories in Atlanta (crime forensics); visiting university science laboratories (research forensics); visiting postsecondary institutions offering forensics programs in Atlanta; and sharing skills on forensics and crime prevention to community groups including other after-school/summer students.

How would you change history? This activity involves a group of students working in pairs to create history within the virtual world building game ―Civilization 3.‖ Squire (2003) studied middle school kids who played Civ3 in Boston. He focused on how to help minority and low-income students, often those who were performing well below grade level expectations. He noticed that these kids largely disliked social studies and resisted some standardized school curricula they saw as propaganda. Several of them were totally uninterested in playing the game until they realized that it was possible to win the game by playing as an African or Native American civilization. He found that some students who were able to spend the hours needed to learn the game began to identify ―rules‖ by which history progressed; rules that apply to such issues as resource allocation, the tradeoff between aggressive military expansion and diplomacy, and technological exchange among societies. It is expected that participants in the ―history‖ activity would begin to be able to think about such complex and globally relevant topics as well.

Runnin’ My Zoo (RMZ). This activity incorporates a video game called Zoo Tycoon® 2 that immerses students in constructing and managing zoos to learn science, mathematics, geography, language literacy, and communication. Within the Zoo Tycoon® 2 game, students begin with a specified amount of money to create their zoo. They will have to spend the money to build and keep up the zoo so that both animals and visitors to the zoo are happy. Students can also generate virtual income through various ventures within their zoo. In creating their zoo, students have to ensure that their choices for animals, their habitats, structures, zoo staff, zoo visitors and other zoo needs are met to an optimum level to have a viable zoo. In order to do this, students must learn about land and sea animals, prehistoric animals such as the dinosaurs, animal habitats, the needs and wants of animals, different terrains, the best ways to run a zoo, economic concepts such as supply and demand and its effect on pricing, and the value of research and development, and marketing. As students participate in the RMZ activity, they will also participate in diverse activities that support and enhance their Zoo Tycoon® 2 learning experience. These diverse activities can include visits to the Atlanta Zoo, the Georgia Aquarium, and nature centers. Students could also explore various careers within a zoo and other related environments, discuss scientific, mathematical, geographical, business, and other principles incorporated within the Zoo Tycoon® 2 student experience, and apply their newly learned entrepreneurial and other skills to real world ventures.
Kool Kids (2K) News. This activity involves students creating a series of news reporting segments using digital video and iPod technologies. Groups of participants would either create or select from a list of news shows provided by their instructor. In either case, students would be encouraged to produce segments about community and/or school events. They would then record their segments using portable video recorders, edit them, and upload them to a podcasting server (like iTunes) for their friends to enjoy – and learn from. Skills acquired through this activity may include media production, research/inquiry skills, and literacy/communication skills. Depending on the nature of their news stories, science content could also be added. This activity would span over after school and summer sessions.

Digital Debate Team. This activity will be a set of project based activities that help students use computer technologies to practice online communication and debating. The instructor will first introduce the basics of using computers and peripherals for word processing, Internet research, and other types of digital communication like blogging. The students will then learn how to design and produce a group webpage to establish an online presence. The remainder of the sessions will be devoted to composing and publishing arguments for persuasive online essays. The instructor will moderate online discussions between the group participants. Students will respond to other messages and add supplementary links/evidence as necessary. Once completed, students can participate in oral debates that will be recorded and ―televised‖ by the 2K News team. Major skills that would be taught include technology literacy, reading and comprehension, spelling and grammar, and public speaking. Possible field trips could include The Georgia State University Debate Center, local middle school debate tournaments (held on Saturdays), the CNN Center—Ticker/Blogging/iReport Departments, the AJC—Blog Journalism & Editorial Departments, the University of Georgia New Media Institute.

Whyville: Exploring a Virtu-real World. This activity engages students in exploring the virtual world of Whyville. Along the way students will have the opportunity to learn about science, mathematics, civics, economics, journalism, art, history, and more. The middle school years are a time when children, particularly girls, tend to lose their interest in mathematics and science. Whyville was created in 1999 specifically to counter this trend. Like in the better-known virtual world, Second Life players create virtual characters called avatars that they use to represent themselves in this environment. Unlike Second Life however, Whyville is purposely designed to engage students in fun, challenging, and relevant learning activities, and is carefully monitored to ensure students engage in positive behaviors and learn civic responsibility. Students in Whyville earn virtual money called "clams" by solving problems in a particular content area. For example, periodically the dreaded "whypox" might break out in the online community and students will have to work as epidemiologists to discover its source and end the outbreak. Students may also have to purchase and eat virtual food. If they make bad nutritional choices, their avatars begin to sicken and their appearance reflects the illness. As a part of this project the instructors will guide the students in a set of Whyville activities and help them explore their real-world equivalents.

Nutrition and Health Promotion. The Children's Lifestyle and School-Performance Study reinforces that a broader implementation and investment in valuable school nutrition programs that have the ability to improve student access to healthy food choices, diet quality, academic performance, and, over the long term maintaining good health. The nutrition project-based learning experience supports the academic and learning goals of the After-School All-Stars:
students will be able to communicate effectively using verbal and non-verbal methods,
students will continue to pursue knowledge and use this knowledge toward enriching their lives, and students will apply analytical and organizational skills.
The nutrition project-based classes will be held twice a week at each school participating in After-School All-Stars after school and summer programs supported by funding from this grant. The project-based learning will include learning opportunities regarding safety and sanitation, MyPyramid, water and hydration, breakfast, and ethnic foods. The program will allow children to have a hands-on approach to learning about nutrition. Additionally, activities will be interdisciplinary consisting of nutrition skills building on school subjects such as mathematics, science, and physical education. For example, After-School All-Stars will incorporate science skills when practicing to emulsify oil and vinegar and learning about germs. Moreover, the student will have project-based activities that will provide opportunities to experience how nutrition relates to science. These activities would include gaining knowledge about enriched foods, organic versus inorganic, antioxidants, and the denaturization of protein when learning about a meat group. Other science based activities would include learning the reasons which foods are genetically engineered by having the students try to identify which food item (for example a tomato) has been genetically engineered. Also, children will learn about the chemical structure of fats and the difference between trans fats and omega 3 fatty acids. In addition to learning about chemical structure, the students will have an opportunity to discover the role of enzymes, for example with milk and why it is important to identify those individuals who lack the lactase enzyme. Also, the importance of maintaining hydration during physical activity will be stressed. Furthermore, mathematics skills with be utilized when students need to multiply amounts in a recipe to increase and/or decrease ingredient amounts.

The first week of the 12-week session will include instruction on food sanitation and safety. Then the next 11 weeks will consist of 2 one-hour lessons each week about each food group in MyPyramid, and additional topics. A similar schedule will be used for the 6-week summer program. One topic will be discussed each week. The sequence of topics will vary for each school in order to maximize equipment use and minimize expenses. All plates, bowls, and eating utensils will be disposable and entirely biodegradable. Food and equipment utilized for activities will be culturally sensitive and within the financial and availability realms of what the students have available to them within their homes and communities. Also, the students will be able to prepare the foods at home with minimal or no supervision.
The first session of each week’s project-based activities will include the health benefits of that food or topic, what foods are in a food group, the servings and amount for middle school age children, health benefits and nutrients. There will be an activity incorporated in the instruction with the particular food group and/or topic in which the students will be working (e.g., brown rice absorbing water). Additional project-based activities will include learning measuring and cooking techniques such as kneading. During the second session of the week, the children will participate in preparing a food item that is in that particular topic category for that week. The children will prepare the food in teams of three students with each student functioning as the team leader for at least four sessions.
Each topic will build on the previous week’s topics. The last week of the program the children will be involved in a cook-off that will allow them to apply their knowledge and skills. The children will compete in teams for the cook off. Parents and children will be participating separately in focus groups to help plan the project-based learning activities and to receive feedback on the success of the program. Additionally, the program will be evaluated at the end of each 12-week session. The evaluation method used will be separate focus groups with parents and their children. The results of these focus groups will be documented and used to enhance the next 12-week sessions. Furthermore, the program will promote self efficacy of the students by teaching the skills and knowledge they need to provide value to their work. The program will allow the children the motivation to initiate stages of change.

Nutrition Project-Based Learning Experiences for After-School All-Stars:
Top Chef. Students learn the art of cooking and the science of food by creating culinary delicacies based on culture, recipes, and personal creativity. Students will showcase their food in an evening taste testing and dining for parents and friends. Lessons on food design, marketing, and business are inherent in this project.
Eating Out. Students identify their favorite restaurants. The students measure, using teaspoons and measuring cups, the amount of fat and sodium in selected menu items. The students plan a healthy meal using the restaurant menu. Field trips are planned to these restaurants.
Genetically Engineered Food. Students identify genetically engineered foods commonly consumed and available in local grocery stores. The students identify why each of those foods may have benefited from being genetically altered (taste, size, appearance, longer shelf life, less susceptible to pests). Students taste a variety of genetically altered foods and rate them for taste and appeal.
Global Food Supply. The students discuss world-hunger and identify solutions. The students calculate how much land is needed to provide meat for one million people versus the amount of land needed to supply one million people with grain products.
Germ Eradication. Students will apply hand-washing techniques to eradicate the bacteria present on their hands. The students’ will rub their hands with Glow Germ™ and then wash their hands normally. They will put their hands under an ultraviolet light to expose what Glow Germ™ is still present on their hands. The Glow Germ™ represents the germs normally on their hands. The students will then wash their hands using the recommended method. The germs will be eradicated and not visible when they shine the ultraviolet light on their hands again.
Other Enrichment Activities Being Developed
Tag It: Using art as a means to express community issues at large. Students create messages and mosaics on paper canvas to communicate important messages and values on culture, history, community, and personal values.
OUTRAGEus Project: Students create a campaign designed to inform and educate the public on a specific issue or cause in order to create outrage or stir people to action (e.g., media relations, public relations, marketing, etc.).
Inventions 101: Students create and design their own inventions to improve upon a problem or meet a need. Students learn about the patent process, application, and formulas/secrets of successful inventions throughout history.
The Spirit of Flight: Students create, design, and build their own balsa glider plane in order to learn the science of flight, lift, and aerodynamics.
Balloon Cars: Students build and create a car that is powered by a balloon while learning the science of motion, rates, and physics of force. As a corollary, students conduct research on alternative fuels and engineering designs for transportation.
GAME-Palooza: Students create and build their own board game for the purpose of marketing and promotion to a toy company. Students will research and play a variety of games in order to better inform and understand the ingredients of an exciting game.

Examples of Enrichment Experiences at each School During 2008-2009
B.E.S.T. Academy (Boys)
Mathemakitchen - A cooking class that incorporates reading, problem solving and math. Reading is required to read the recipe which is what they have to do first to see if it is a recipe that they can handle. Problem solving takes place when the steps of the recipe and the mixing of the ingredients have to be executed to make a successful dish. Math is in the measuring of the ingredients. These skills will assist them with upcoming CRCT exams in the spring. The students first learn safety both at the facility as well as at home. During the course of the Mathemakitchen session the students will learn how to read a recipe, how to measure dry and liquid ingredients, and how to follow the directions on a recipe.
Photography - Introduction to Photography is a class where the students learn about the history of photography. discuss the life and accomplishments of Mr. Gordon Parks. Through his life we discuss his love of photography, and his transition from photographer to composer, painter, and movie director. The students get box cameras after the first week of instruction.
Board/Video Game Enrichment - During this 45 minute period, students play various board games such as Life, Monopoly, and Scrabble, which encourage critical thinking and strategizing skills. Amazingly, such games also ignite conversations about life skills, goals, career decisions, and future aspirations.
Arts and Crafts - Arts and Craft is a class design whereas students can show their creativity. The students Have an opportunity to draw, design and build various projects. Some of projects we plan to do are make pottery, make kites and make model plane and cars.
Boys Scouts - All of the boys in the After-School All-Stars program have also entered the Boy Scouts program meeting once a week at the school.

Coretta Scott King Young Women’s Leadership Academy
YWCA/Technology - Teaches life-long skills and empowering female minds by showing them that women can have any career.
Dance -Teaches many different forms of dance
LEGO – 2 teams -Teaches the young ladies how to embrace the programming and building side of technology
Creative Writing -Teaches young ladies how to become better writers
Cool Girl’s Club - Teaches young ladies how to create esteem and empowerment through the choices they make
Drama - Teaches the young ladies to interpret the writers thoughts
Spelling Bee - Preparing the young ladies for the Atlanta, Georgia, and National Spelling Bee
Handbells -Teaches the young ladies how to play HANDBELLS
Fitness -Teaches the young ladies the correct way to exercise
Basketball - Teaches the young ladies the fundamentals of the sport
Softball - Teaches the young ladies the fundamental of the sport
Golf - Teaches the young ladies the fundamentals of the sport
Lacrosse - Teaches the young ladies the sport
The Blanket Project /Sewing - our service-learning club A Service-learning club that will make blankets for sick babies and small children
Crocheting - Teaches the young ladies how to crochet
Obama for President - Students are learning about the political system
Circle of Sisters - Service learning project that focuses on participation on raising money so they can walk and run in races.
Culinary Arts 101 - Students learn the basic terminology in recipes, how to measure; how to use mathematical concepts to increase or decrease portions
Girl Scouts - Many of the girls in the After-School All-Stars program have also entered the Girl Scouts program meeting once a week at the school.

Harper/Archer Middle School
Photography - Students learn how to capture pictures and develop pictures.
Technology - Students learn how to utilize different technology; such as digital camera, ipod, promethian boards, printers, etc. also, students utilized data based applications to develop
technology into print and web.
Culinary Arts - Students skillfully prepare dishes utilizing equipment such as electric skillet, blender, crock pots
Nutrition - Students skillfully prepare meals and learn the importance of diet and nutrition of the selection of foods
Indoor/ Outdoor Sports - Students engage in activities where their physical ability is challenged such as Mat ball, Basketball, Tag ball. Also, students engage in mind sports such as board games such as Scrabble, Monopoly, Chess, Checkers, etc.
Music Appreciation - Students learn to listen to and develop an appreciation for all music. Students learn history of music and also develop their own music on compact disc.
Book Club - Students meet together and collectively decide on books to read, then students meet together to discuss over the book.
African Dance/Drums - Students learn the African traditions and history. Students utilized African instruments such as the djembe; percussion instruments used to beat with hands; Students also learn to dance to the beats of the drum.
Girls/Boys Etiquette - Students learn the expectations of social behavior and social class, phone etiquette, email etiquette, and more.

Carson Middle School
Culinary Arts: Not just any cooking class these students learned all about the culinary art of cooking. The students combined cooking skills with math skills along with language arts. Measuring, dicing, chopping and creating recipes were just a few of the goals for the course.
Etiquette 101: Students learn the art of social etiquette. This class included a dinner outing to The Golden Corral restaurant.
Arts and Crafts: Students get creative using their hands, needle point, string, paints, clay etc. Though all of our schools participated in Earth Day, Carson students took home 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place ribbons along with a Grand prize thanks to Bloomingdale’s.
Enhanced Learning Experiences: The Lion King, The Wiz at North Atlanta High School, Ice Skating at Centennial Park, The Golden Corral Restaurant, The Georgia Aquarium, CNN Center, The World of Coca-Cola

Budget: the investment to seize the opportunity
The After-School All-Stars budget for 2008-2009 was approximately $1.6 million. Revenue from the State of Georgia (through the Georgia Department of Human Resources) represented 44% of revenue, a grant from the Marcus Foundation was 22% of revenue, annual fundraiser was 16% of revenue and all other sources including private foundations, grants and gifts was 18% of revenue. Carry-over from 2008-2009 into the next fiscal year is approximately $100,000. Table L summarizes actual revenue received during the 2008-2009 fiscal year

Summary
For each of the 2008-2009 anticipated outcomes, all were met. We are particularly pleased that at the end of the Spring semester, eight of the nine schools met federal standards under the ―No Child Left Behind‖ legislation for making ―Annual Yearly Progress‖ (AYP). Last year, only four schools met AYP. We were disappointed that Harper-Archer Middle School did not make AYP at the end of the school year. Harper-Archer Middle School met 8 of 9 AYP indicators (the only indicator Harper-Archer failed to meet was English/Language Arts for students with disabilities). We are hoping that students who went to summer school and were allowed to take the G-CRCT over the summer will realize a change in AYP status for this school.
The following outcomes were met:
Outcome #1: participants will have CRCT scores higher than non-participants in Reading, English/Language Arts and mathematics (for every grade level, students participating in the After-School All-Stars program performed better on each of the CRCT measures of Reading, English/Language Arts and mathematics when compared to the students who did not participate).
Outcome #2: participants will have a higher GPA at the end of the year than non-participants (for every grade level except the 6th grade, participating students had a higher grade point average at the end of the year when compared to non-participating students).
Outcome #3: participants will be absent from school less than non-participants (for every grade level, the average number of days absent for participating students was lower when compared to non-participating students).
Outcome #4: 60% of those students participating will attend the program 60% of the time (six of the nine schools met the target attendance rate of 60%; the remaining three schools ranged from an average daily attendance of 52%, 57%, and 58%).
The following outcomes were not met: none