Gaining a Voice After School

Why After-School Programs Are a Powerful Resource for English-Language Learners

By Claudia Weisburd

At the age of 14, Miguel, a recent immigrant from Mexico, is struggling to acclimate to a new school, language, and culture while also dealing with the social and developmental challenges of adolescence. His beginner-level English leaves him lost during class discussions. He dreams of working with computers someday, but he’s floundering through textbooks and tests.

Miguel’s parents can’t offer much support: They speak no English, and, like the families of 59 percent of adolescent English-language learners, live far below the poverty line. Friends and family members talk together in Spanish. Miguel is trying to grasp what his teachers want him to learn, but he is finding that, as a 2007 report from the Carnegie Corporation of New York put it, the task for him takes “double the work”—learning the content and the language.

If Miguel becomes part of the almost 50 percent of Latino students who drop out, he’ll be ill-prepared for an English-speaking workforce. Even if he graduates, there’s a good chance he won’t be ready for college. In California, 8.6 percent of Latino 9th graders graduate eligible for admission to the California State University system, and only 3.5 percent for the University of California system. How will Miguel fulfill...