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LA's
BEST
LA’s
BEST After School Enrichment Program provides a safe and supervised after
school education, enrichment and recreation program for elementary school
children, ages 5 to 12, in the City of Los Angeles. Created in 1988, LA’s
BEST (Better Educated Students for Tomorrow) is a unique partnership including
the City of Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Unified School District and the
private sector.
From the close of every school day until 6:00 p.m., each LA’s BEST
school site creates a safe haven for the children it serves, providing homework
assistance, a nutritious snack and a variety of education, enrichment and
recreation activities – all at no cost to parents. Activities include,
but are not limited to: Computer Club, Crafts, Dance & Drill Team, Field
Trips, Performing & Visual Arts, Poetry, Reading for Recreation, Science
& Math Clubs and Seasonal Sports.
Independent evaluations conducted by the UCLA Center for the Study of Evaluation
have shown children who participate in the LA’s BEST program like
school more, show significant improvement in grades, demonstrate positive
behavior changes and report feeling safer in school. More recently, a longitudinal
study released in June 2000 (“A Decade of Results: The Impact of the
LA’s BEST After School Enrichment Program on Subsequent Student Achievement”)
revealed that LA’s BEST students with high levels of participation
in the program demonstrate higher school attendance, higher language redesignation
rates and improved performance on standardized tests in mathematics, reading
and language arts into middle and high school. The success of the program
is also reflected in its growth and longevity. LA’s BEST has grown
from its original 10 sites in 1988, and now serves more than 21,000 children
at 135 elementary school sites. |
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