Expanding Horizons

The Case for Investing in Expanded Learning for Middle and High School Students

Expanded learning (afterschool and summer school) is essential to lifetime success for all students. California has rightfully infused elementary programs with historic levels of  funding to make access to these learning opportunities universal.

However, the need to provide these programs to older youth outpaces available state funding for expanded learning—high schools sought more than two times the available funding and middle schools applied for more than seven times the available funding. 

As they begin to transition to adulthood, adolescents face a critical time in their lives. Their brains are developing more intensely than at any point since infancy. They are developing not just physically, but also intellectually, socially, creatively, and emotionally. Afterschool and other expanded learning programs (including summer, before school, vacation, and intersession) offer crucial opportunities and relationships to advance adolescent development. 

Expanding Horizons for Older Youth makes the case for investing in these programs for older youth with compelling evidence of their benefits, provides examples of what these programs look like in action,  and charts a path forward for public policy advocates and education leaders. 

This report would not have been possible without financial support from the Kaiser Permanente Northern California Community Benefit Program and the Stuart Foundation.