Schools around the United States are looking for ways to shrink the achievement gap. Educators in Dane County WI are looking to the after-school programs to help with this. Writer Jessie Opoien, reported on after school programs as a means to shrink the achievement gap.

Shrinking the Achievement Gap“The Madison Out-of-School Time initiative, or MOST, stems from discussions that started about a year-and-a-half ago at the city level.

Its goal is to create a coordinated system for the area’s after-school programs and more effectively address the achievement gap.

Local officials and providers of after-school programs met at the Goodman Community Center to hear a presentation from Adam Greenmann, executive director of the Statewide Afterschool Network in Rhode Island.

Greenmann said rather than looking at the problem as an achievement gap, he frames the issue as an opportunity gap. Frequent participation in quality after-school programs can help close those gaps, he said, adding that it can also deter crime and have a positive educational impact.

The programs implemented in Rhode Island operate with the philosophy that children will learn anytime, anywhere, Greenmann said, stressing the importance of providing opportunities for them to learn positive things.”

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Shrinking the Achievement Gap