WHY BOSTON SCORES?

Keeping Kids Safe:

• 21 percent of Massachusetts K-12 youth are entirely unsupervised in the afternoon (Afterschool Alliance, 2006).
• Youth who are not enrolled in after-school programs during these hours are 50 percent more likely to experiment with drugs and alcohol, 3 times more likely to skip classes, and 5 times more likely to be “D” students (Afterschool Alliance, 2007).
• Boston Scores keeps Boston youth safe and supervised during the high-risk after-school hours, and helps them develop the vital life skills they need to succeed in the future.

Promoting Health:

• In communities in Massachusetts, the childhood obesity rate is 35 percent (Mass. Health Policy Forum, 2008).
• Children are also not getting the exercise they need.  The students attending Boston schools with Boston Scores programs attend physical education class only 45 minutes each week in elementary school, and 115 minutes per week in middle school (Boston Globe, 2009).
• Students in our programs exceed the recommended physical activity levels.

Improving Literacy:

• On the 2009 statewide MCAS exam, 70 percent of BPS students in 3rd grade, 69 percent in 4th grade, 63 percent in 5th grade, 57 percent in 6th grade, 52 percent in 7th grade, and 41 percent in 8th grade had scores “in need of improvement” or lower in English Language Arts (Mass. Dept. of Education, 2009).
• Students in our programs show across-the-board improvement of their writing.