national 4-H Afterschool Program
A North Carolina State University associate professor will head the new national 4-H Afterschool Program, developed to help 4-H and other youth-serving organizations create and improve after-school programs.
Dr. Eddie Locklear, 4-H Afterschool’s new director, says the 4-H youth development network’s aim is to generate high-quality after-school programming that meets local priorities. He will devote 45 percent of his time to the after-school initiative.
The initiative, building on 4-H’s strengths, means after-school programs nationally can use 4-H program materials, create 4-H clubs at after-school sites and receive child development training for after-school staff working with youth ages 5-18 or grades K-12.
“This program presents us with a cohesive national system through which local organizations can tap into 4-H’s expertise more efficiently and more often,” says Locklear, Extension 4-H specialist in the 4-H and Youth Development Department in N.C. State’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.
More than 4.2 million young people — most in the 5-to-14 age range — participate in 4-H after-school programs at more than 260,000 sites nationwide, according to statistics from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service (CSREES).
Funded by the JC Penney After-school Fund, a nonprofit organization that provides support to America’s leading after-school groups, 4-H Afterschool will work with urban, suburban and rural communities.
4-H Afterschool offers customized programs and technical assistance, including a series of user-friendly resource guides with “learn-by-doing” curricula that cover a range of high-interest topics, from team building and leadership to mechanics, aerospace and computer science.
Locklear said the research-based, ready-to-use curricula help youngsters achieve social, emotional, physical and academic success.
“They stress valuable skills such as leadership, collaboration, decision-making, civic responsibility and critical thinking,” he said.
4-H Afterschool also supports programs that empower youth to achieve success while developing healthy lifestyles.
“Regardless of the type of after-school program you want to build,” Locklear said, “4-H Afterschool helps you use your community’s uniqueness to provide extraordinary, hands-on learning opportunities for youth to develop valuable life skills while having fun.”
4-H Afterschool
is a collaboration among the Cooperative Extension System — state
land-grant universities, state and county governments and CSREES —
and National 4-H Council.
—Art
Latham
