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“Heart House at the Head of the Class for Austin’s Afterschool Care Programs.”
 

More than 42,000 elementary students and more than 15,000 middle school students are expected to start classes in just a few day within the Austin Independent School District. While families face many important issues about how students spend their time during the school day, it is equally important to consider how they spend their time after the last school bell rings.
A 2003 study by the Travis County After school Network (TCAN) found that approximately 34,000 school-age children in low-income families in Travis County are unsupervised, and therefore at risk, between the hours of 3:00 and 6:00 p.m., while parents or guardians are still working. During these critical hours juvenile crimes triple, and children are more likely to become the victim of a crime or become involved with alcohol or drugs. Children enrolled in after school programs not only avoid these dangers, but have better attendance and achievement in school, and are one-third less likely to become teen parents.

Heart House, a free after school program dedicated to providing a safe haven and academic support to low-income children, is one program that is tackling this troubling issue. Established in Austin in August of 2002, Heart House gives low-income children access to caring adult role models and mentors, homework assistance, art enrichment, computer learning, health and safety information, and literacy programs. Heart House, located in a low-income, predominantly minority neighborhood in Northeast Austin, is currently open weekdays from 3:00 – 6:00 p.m. and serves up to 50 children, ages 5 – 12, each day.
“There simply is no question as to the need for after school care,” says Anna Land, who co-founded Heart House in Dallas in 2000 and opened the Austin location two years later. “All you have to do is walk through a low-income neighborhood at about 3:30 and you’ll see young kids hanging out on the streets, no where to go and nothing to do until their caretaker gets home from work.” Land’s goal is to expand the program significantly, placing Heart House locations in needy neighborhoods nationwide.

Diane Cannon, executive director of Heart House, states, “ At Heart House, we help an often overlooked part of our community by keeping children from at-risk neighborhoods safe, supervised and learning in the hours after school and before home.”
But Heart House is much more than a secure, comfortable place for kids – the emphasis is firmly on education. Through its innovative learning programs and its dedicated “homework time” with tutors, Heart House is a leader in providing educational opportunities in after school care. “We are very excited with the feedback we receive from teachers – most Heart House kids’ skill sets, especially in reading, have significantly and rapidly improved since joining our program.” Teachers also report an improvement in behavior and attendance amongst Heart House participants.

Shirlene Justice, a board member with Heart House and the coordinator for AISD Afterschool, has seen the need for after school care first hand. “Elementary and middle school children need to be supervised from the time they leave their school to the time an adult arrives at home. A safe, structured environment like the one Heart House provides gives them the support and the tools they need to succeed in school and in life.”
Leading politicians nationwide, including California Governor Arnold Schwartzenhager and Democratic Presidential Candidate John Kerry have identified affordable, quality after school care as an important issue affecting thousands of American families, especially single-parent and low-income families. The After school Alliance estimates up to 15 million school-age children are left unsupervised during non-school hours in the U.S. each day. And voters care about this issue, as well. In a recent survey, more than two-thirds of the public give a higher priority to providing access to after school programs than to cutting taxes.