In response to the momentous challenges schools face in meeting the diverse and
growing needs of students, many schools have expanded their school improvement
priorities beyond academic learning. Health and social services, youth development,
parent/family engagement, and community partnership development are four additional
school improvement pathways of growing importance. Many schools also are focusing on
how these priorities are addressed in the out-of-school time hours, particularly as a way to
complement and extend learning and development that occurs during the hours of the
school day. Extracurricular activities are examples of out-of-school time opportunities
provided by many schools that can have an important impact on school priorities and
student success. The purpose of this chapter is to highlight how extracurricular activities
can contribute to these five school improvement pathways. Data collected from 21st
Century Community Learning Centers from Ohio are provided as an example. Implications
for school leaders and practitioners in relationship to maximizing the impact of
extracurricular activities on school priorities and student success also are shared.
Keywords: School improvement, student success, academic learning, mental
health, extracurricular activities, non-academic barriers, parent/family
engagement, community partnerships, 21st century community learning centers,
youth development, out-of-school time, resource assessment, leadership, referral
systems, School-family-community partnership coordinator, single point of
contact, school-based strategies, school-linked strategies, community-based
strategies, design strategies.
