Should Middle Grades Students Be Left Alone After School?

cents, educators, parents, and communities is the increasing number of 10 to 15 year olds who spend time alone after school. This growing number of unsupervised or “latchkey children” has resulted from changes in the economy, family structures, labor force, and other related factors. While schools and communities have a long-standing history of creating high-quality after-school programs for elementary school children, the community response to young adolescents has too often been to ignore their needs because they are not clearly understood (Kerewsky & Lefstein, 1982). Of the more than 17,000 organizations that offer community-based youth programs during non-school hours, only 29% of young adolescents are reached with these programs (Carnegie Council on Adolescent Development, 1995). Clearly, the need for after-school programs depends upon how the population in need is defined. Most youth development advocates would argue for a universal approach where all youth ages 5 to 17 should have after-school programs available to them (Center for Prevention Research and Development, 2002). Several studies have demonstrated the adverse effects of latchkey by showing that young adolescents who spend time alone after school were more likely to enter into high-risk behaviors like alcohol and drug use than students who do not spend time alone (Mulhall, Stone, & Stone, 1996; Richardson et al., 1989; Center for Prevention Research and Development, 2002). Further research has found that numerous childhood and youth problems ranging from school failure to drug abuse to teen pregnancy can be prevented by high quality after-school programs (Belle, 1999). An alternative way to view the issue is to also consider the opportunities that are lost when young adolescents spend time alone after school (Lipsitz, 1986). One study found that highachieving students spend a minimum of 20 hours per week engaged in constructive formal and informal learning apart from school (Clark,