Pennsylvania Parents Value Science, Technology, Engineering and Math Learning Opportunities Provided by Afterschool Programs

HARRISBURG, Pa., Sept. 30, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- At a time when many experts are concerned that U.S. students are not prepared for a changing economy that relies on science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), parents of most children enrolled in afterschool in Pennsylvania report that their child's program offers STEM learning opportunities, according to a household survey commissioned by the Afterschool Alliance.

Pennsylvania Statewide Afterschool Youth Development Network (PSAYDN) announced today that the new report, Full STEM Ahead: Afterschool Programs Step Up as Key Partners in STEM Education, finds broad support among Pennsylvania parents for providing STEM learning in afterschool, and high satisfaction with afterschool STEM offerings among parents of children in afterschool programs.

Findings from the report are based on responses collected for America After 3PM from 30,000 U.S. households, including in-depth interviews with more than 13,000 parents and guardians, and 435 parents in Pennsylvania.

"Afterschool is a dynamic, effective setting for innovative STEM education," said Afterschool Alliance Executive Director Jodi Grant. "With their focus on hands-on learning and youth development, and the time they can give students to experiment, afterschool programs are well positioned to help increase STEM skills. These new data make clear that parents in Pennsylvania recognize the value of the STEM education afterschool programs can provide. Pennsylvania and the nation will be better positioned to succeed in tomorrow's economy if we make afterschool STEM education offerings even more robust."

Key findings from Full STEM Ahead, which is based on America After 3 PM, the most comprehensive survey ever to ask parents about their children's participation in afterschool STEM programs:

• Most Pennsylvania parents say afterschool programs can help students gain STEM skills. Fully 62 percent of parents agree with that statement.
• Most Pennsylvania parents believe afterschool programs should offer STEM. In all, 75 percent of parents in Pennsylvania believe afterschool programs should provide opportunities to explore and engage in hands-on STEM learning.
• Most Pennsylvania parents with children in afterschool say their child's program offers STEM. Some 66 percent of parents whose children attend afterschool programs say that their child's program provides STEM learning opportunities.
• Most Pennsylvania parents with children in afterschool programs are satisfied with the STEM learning opportunities. The afterschool STEM opportunities were deemed satisfactory by 59 percent of parents with children in afterschool in Pennsylvania.

"The economic realities of the new economy are clear: STEM skills are going to be essential for this generation," agrees Dr. Cynthia Pulkowski, Executive Director, ASSET STEM Education. "Tomorrow's workers will be called on not just to keep up, but to innovate, which means they'll need true mastery if they're to excel in the workplace."

Full STEM Ahead offers recommendations to reduce missed opportunities in afterschool STEM education. They include engaging and educating parents about the important role afterschool programs can play in supporting STEM learning; increasing technology and engineering programming in afterschool programs; and increasing investment in afterschool programs so many more children can access the STEM learning opportunities these programs can provide.

"Those of us in the afterschool field know firsthand that we have a special opportunity to help children learn and get excited about STEM," Laura Saccente, PSAYDN director explained. "We have seen terrific growth in STEM instruction and know that there is even more demand to provide these programs in Pennsylvania. Afterschool is well suited to the kinds of hands-on learning that STEM often demands. Working closely with our school, business and community partners, we know that afterschool has the setting and tools to give Pennsylvania's workforce of tomorrow the opportunities it needs to excel in STEM."

In October 2014, the Afterschool Alliance released findings from America After 3PM, revealing a dramatic increase in participation in afterschool over the past decade, from 6.5 million to 10.2 million children. The survey also documented a vast and growing unmet demand for afterschool, with the parents of 811,954 Pennsylvania children reporting that they would enroll their child in a program if one were available. Nearly one in five students in Pennsylvania today is unsupervised after the school day ends. National and state results from that report are available at www.afterschoolalliance.org/AA3PM/.

A major new study from the Afterschool Alliance found that, despite rapid growth in afterschool participation, for every Pennsylvania child enrolled in an afterschool program, there are at least two more waiting to get in. Currently there are 811,954 kids whose parents would enroll their child, if a program were available.

The America After 3PM survey was conducted by Shugoll Research; it is based on in-depth interviews with 13,709 households with children, completed via an online survey using a blend of national consumer panels. Full STEM Ahead is sponsored by Comcast Tech R&D Fund, the Noyce Foundation and the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation. America After 3PM is funded by the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, The Wallace Foundation, the Ford Foundation and the Noyce Foundation, with additional support from the Heinz Endowments, The Robert Bowne Foundation and the Samueli Foundation.

Pennsylvania Statewide Afterschool/Youth Development Network (PSAYDN) promotes sustainable, high-quality out-of-school time youth development programs through advocacy and capacity building to enhance the welfare of Pennsylvania's children, youth and families. More information is available at www.psaydn.org.

The Afterschool Alliance is a nonprofit public awareness and advocacy organization working to ensure that all children and youth have access to quality afterschool programs. More information is available at www.AfterschoolAlliance.org.

Contact: Aylissa Kiely
717-903-0219

SOURCE Pennsylvania Statewide Afterschool Youth Development Network