Elaine Clanton Harpine: After-School Prevention Programs for At-Risk Students: Promoting Engagement and Academic Success

Excerpt

After-School Prevention Programs for At-Risk Students aims to give a step-by-step framework for creating the most effective after-school program. An after-school program is most successful when it focuses on the individuals’ full beings rather than solely on students’ academic needs. Unfortunately, many programs are not successfully meeting these needs. The goal of the book is not only to raise awareness about this problem but also to convince programmers of after-school programs to recreate their program more successfully. Harpine easily convinces readers about the need for change in after-school programs and why a group-centered interactive approach is best. However, she is less successful in providing readers with the tools needed to implement these ideas. Many of the ideas are excellent in theory and would likely be successful in a program with enough manpower, proper budget, and resources. Unfortunately, many programs will not have what is needed to create and implement her desired model. Still, by detailing what could be effective, the author provides an important and useful resource. …