In This Issue

What's that skateboarder doing on the cover of Northwest Education? Catching some air. Practicing a backside grab. Wiping out. And--through it all--learning.

Our focus this summer on extended learning opportunities gives us a timely chance to consider the lessons that take place outside the traditional school day. That skateboarder, for instance, belongs to a remarkable cadre of young people in Bozeman, Montana, who pooled their energy to design a skate park for their city. The venerable 4-H program, with a century of experience promoting healthy youth development, supported their effort, building in lessons on everything from civics to publishing to engineering. The kids also taught local adults some powerful lessons about the dangers of stereotyping and the power of positive attention.

Elsewhere in this issue, we explore all kinds of places and opportunities for extended learning--from organized after-school programs to homework. Community learning centers, for example, are sprouting in rural and urban neighborhoods and expanding out-of-school activities. Support for such programs is at an all-time high, but so are expectations. We examine what researchers are learning about the benefits well-designed programs can offer, and hear from organizers about the challenges of building and sustaining quality programs. As one coordinator points out, good programs involve much more than after-school care. They connect kids with learning, all day long. We also talk with some of the young people who call these programs "a better place to be."

For many students, unscheduled time offers a chance to follow their passions--whether they run to basketball or baseball, dancing or drawing. "Stretching Mental Muscles" zeroes in on a few teens whose hero is more likely to be Einstein than Michael Jordan. These academic competitors invest their free time dreaming up science projects that may change their own lives, and may one day change the world. On the sidelines--providing support, encouragement, and carpooling--are the teachers and parents who make such dreams possible.

Out-of-school time is a relatively new focus for researchers, but it's a field that deserves a closer look. As any kid will tell you, learning doesn't stop just because the bell rings. "But unless you give a kid positive alternatives," one expert told us, "it's only luck" if he chooses to use his free time in ways that will be good for him, or risky.