ILLINOIS PUBLIC SCHOOLS WITH
BEFORE- AND AFTER-SCHOOL PROGRAMS
2001-2002
As required by Section 2-3.11b of the School Code, the Illinois
State Board of Education collects data from public school
districts regarding the general nature and operation of before-
and after-school programs. Before- and after-school
(latchkey) programs are designed to provide supervision of
children before and/or after regular school hours. The
data included in this report were collected for only those
programs operated for public school districts.
In 2001-2002, there were 392 public school districts operating
approximately 540 before- and after-school programs (an increase
of approximately 4 percent from 2000-2001). Of these
programs, 202 were operated by school districts and 250 were
operated by another agency in space provided by or leased
from the public school district. The 88 remaining programs
were contracted out by the school district. Of the 250
programs operated by agencies other than public school districts,
36 percent were operated by the YMCA/YWCA, 30 percent by local
park districts, and 34 percent by other groups, consisting
mainly on nonprofit programs and day care centers. Other
findings include:
- Before- and after-school programs served a total of 64,441
students. This represents a 31.7 percent increase
over those served in 2000-2001 (48,927). The change
in the definition of the Before- and After-School program
might be one of the reasons for the large increase in numbers.
Almost 78 percent of program enrollment were pre-kindergarten
to sixth grade students.
- Both before- and after-school programs were offered by
41 percent of the programs. Approximately 50 percent
of the operating programs offered after-school programs
only. About 12 percent of all programs offered services
on holidays, and 14 percent in the summer, while only three
percent offered programs on Saturdays and Sundays.
- Hours of operation of programs ranged from 6:00 a.m. to
7:00 p.m. with most programs operating between the hours
of 7:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m.
- Almost 67 percent of operating programs were open to all
children in the public school district who met the age requirement
for the program, and about 57 percent of the programs were
also offered to low achieving students.
- Almost half of the programs either did not require a fee
from parents or it was not reported. The fee range
for programs offering both before- and after-school services
was $10 to $314 for one child per week for a combined A.M.
and P.M. session. The average fee per child was $62.00.
A sliding scale based on parents’ needs and ability
to pay was present in about nine percent of the programs
reporting.
- Sixty percent of programs provided an after-school snack,
about 12 percent provided breakfast, and 13 percent
provided a morning snack.
- Only about 9 percent of the programs reported having children
on a waiting list. The number of children on a waiting
list increased from 1,642 in 2000-2001 to 2,303 in 2001-2002.
Lack of space and funding were the major reasons for not
serving all children.
- There were 2,454 certified staff, 2,172 non-certified
staff, and 1,504 high school/college students employed by
the programs reported. About 63 programs reported
having 706 non-paid staff working for the program.
- About 50 percent of the programs provided staff development.
The staff development was provided mainly for the reading/writing
skills, conflict resolution, CPR, and other safety issues.
- The estimated operational costs of before- and after-school
programs ranged from $200 to $2,160,000.
Prepared by the Data Analysis and Progress
Reporting Division, Illinois State Board of Education, November
2002.
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