'Expanded Learning Opportunities': Re-Branding 'After School' for the 21st Century

By Robert Stonehill & Fritz Edelstein

For more than 10 years, the label “after-school program” has been used to describe a wide range of educational and noneducational experiences that occur before and after the school day, beyond the school week and year, and not always in formal educational facilities. This term has been useful in building support for the much-needed expansion of academic and enrichment activities that complement the increasingly limited curriculum offered during the regular school day.

It is time to change the brand name to better capture the expansion and evolution of experiences now being offered. After school no longer adequately describes the depth and breadth; in fact, it no longer even correctly captures the time and place. In essence, the field has outgrown the term as it has matured and diversified, and a new brand for its offerings can better capture the expanded universe of activities, experiences,...