Effects+of+Extra+Curricular+Activities+on+Student+Safety


 * Research Question: The Effects of Extracurricular Activities on Student Safety**
 * Author: Stephanie Otis**

// Analysis Article: //

Davila, S., & Walker, J. T. (2007). Losing the Wait. //Parks & Recreation//, //42//(3), 48–51.


 * Summary: ** In //Losing the Wait//, Stefanie Davila and Joseph T. Walker address the vital importance of after-school programs to ensure student safety. They discuss a phenomenon called the “danger hours”, the time frame between 3pm and 6pm when “children are more likely to become victims of violent crime, get killed by household or other accidents, get hooked on cigarettes or experiment with drugs”. Davila and Walker feel that after-school programs can reduce the risks students face in these after-school hours, and this strategy is becoming increasingly popular. However, they note that these programs must have effective policies in order to work. Specifically, Davila and Walker address the issue of pick-up procedures and late fee policies in after-school programs. They explore trends and successes in programs with and without enrollment fees and/or late fee policies, and the differences in policies. Overall, they feel that there is no standard recipe for after-school program policy. Instead, Davila and Walker feel that each agency must figure out what works best for them and the community they are serving.


 * Reaction: ** I loved the points Davila and Walker made in //Losing the Wait//. They truly emphasized the importance, even necessity, of after-school programs in securing student safety. The term “danger hours” was described very well. It makes sense that it is during this idle time between school and the arrival of parents home that children are going to get into trouble. If these programs can develop effective ways of operating, they can protect our students and be the cornerstones of a safer community as a whole. An after-school program could essentially be a safe haven. The majority of this essay focused on late fee policies. However, I will be using the first few paragraphs that are focused on the ability after-school programs have to protect students.

// Scholarly Article: // Growing Up Drug Free. (2013). //Gifted Child Today//, //36//(2), 84–85. doi:10.1177/1076217513475428


 * Summary: **// Gifted Child Today // discusses many ways to prevent drug use among teens. More specifically, it discusses the book //Growing Up Drug Free: A Parent’s Guide to Prevention//, published in October 2012 by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the U.S. Department of Education. According to this analysis, the best way to prevent your children from becoming involved with drugs is to develop strong family ties and positive relationships. //Gifted Child Today// lists eight different prevention tactics from //Growing Up Drug Free: A Parent’s Guide to Prevention//, which involve both the child and the parents. This analysis also provides a list of program models, and short descriptions, to produce performance results for low-income, high-ability learners.


 * Reaction: ** This analysis laid out the major points of the book //Growing Up Drug Free: A Parent’s Guide to Prevention// very effectively. The numbered prevention strategies were simple to understand and reader-friendly for all. Also, the summaries of the subjects covered in the book were effectively concise. I will be using the point made about the importance of involving a child involved in extracurricular activities to prevent drug-use, as this is a very important part of keeping a student safe.

// Summary Article from Points of View Database: //

Brian Wilson. (2013). Counterpoint: The Effectiveness of Mandatory Drug Testing in Schools: Points of View Reference Center Home. //Points of View//, 6–6.


 * Summary: ** This scholarly article explores the effectiveness of mandatory drug testing in schools. Brian Wilson presents an argument for mandatory drug testing, and also explores its opposition. Wilson feels that extracurricular activities are a privilege and should be enjoyed by students with a superior intellect, ambition, or athletic ability. Therefore, students who participate in them should be held to a higher standard, meaning they should not partake in drugs. The argument of character is presented. Wilson knows that straight “A”s should not be required of these students, but he argues that character must be. And he feels that this includes the ability to resist the temptation to take drugs. To ensure this, Wilson argues that school districts should require drug testing, or at least consider it. He discusses a study done by the American School Health Association in which 76,000 students from throughout the United States were used. Results showed that in districts that screen for drugs, among high school seniors, there was only a 1% drop in marijuana use. Wilson argues that this is too small of a benefit for the cost of drug testing. He also makes the point that extracurricular activities bring such positive benefits to students’ lives that mandatory testing could be a barrier to these otherwise positive effects. In conclusion, Brian Wilson feels that the consequences of violating school drug policies are just as crucial as mandatory testing because the students need to know that the punishments are serious and consistent, in order to discourage drug use.


 * Reaction: ** I felt that this article did a fantastic job at presenting both sides of the argument to its readers. It was a smooth read and made many great points that need to be taken into consideration when debating the requirement of drug testing in extracurricular activities. Wilson made a really great point that the requirement of drug testing may discourage students from joining an extracurricular activity. This is extremely detrimental because these activities not only keep children safe, but also offer a magnitude of other positive benefits, such as behavioral and educational, as we have explored in our Team Page. These benefits can outweigh the use of drugs in the eyes of some people. In my opinion, these pros and cons need to be weighed and prioritized at the district, state, and national level. Then, the decision on drug testing and its consequences should be decided.

// Opinion Essay: // Campus Activities and Community Connectedness Offer Hope for Toxic School Climates. (2011). //Leadership//, //41//(2), 29


 * Summary: ** This essay is about connecting campuses through activities with students, teachers, and administrators to improve the toxic school climate, specifically bullying. The California Association of Directors of Activities (CADA) “School Safety Roadshow” program and its benefits are the focus of this essay. This program travels to schools to educate and enable educators, students, and community leaders on how to improve school safety through engaging students in activities. These activities must be natural to their school community in order to be most effective. The idea behind this method is that extracurricular activities connect students and connected students create safer campuses. The author is writing from experience, as she attended a CADA School Safety Roadshow.


 * Reaction: ** In this essay, the correlation between extracurricular activities and safety is clear, which I like. It is simple. Connect students through extracurricular activities and connected students will naturally bring a safer school climate. I love that this essay is not simply statements like my previous one. It actually uses an effective program as a real-life, real-solution example. Although the focus of a toxic school climate is bullying, school safety involves much more than just bullying, such as violence or drug trade and use. Personally, I love that this program provides a unique student leadership structure for the schools that participate. I feel it is most effect to keep students safe by finding activities that interest and motivate them, and that they can control. Extracurricular activities do just that, while creating student leaders and a healthier school climate.

// Blog: // Bentivenga, B. (2010). //Are extra curricular activities important?//. Retrieved from []


 * Summary: ** This blog post asks, and answers, the question “Are extracurricular activities important?” The answer is yes. This post discusses the many benefits of after-school activities, including their positive impact on: friends, college, creativity, teamwork and respect, time management, self-confidence, stress relief, real-world skills, and avoiding risky behaviors. Each benefit is explained in a paragraph that is very reader-friendly. Additionally, the blog offers a whole list and description of ideas for after-school activities. As if this wasn’t enough, it also explains a parent’s role in outside activities, such as carpooling, advocating, encouraging, supporting, and helping their child identify which activities they want to participate in and then finding a balance. In conclusion, this blog post argues that just like school is important for our youth, so are extracurricular activities and after-school programs. They can be a safe haven for children while teaching them valuable skills, preparing them for their futures, developing important relationships, and improving academic success.


 * Reaction: ** Throughout all of my research, this blog post was my favorite finding. It organizes and lays out the benefits of extracurricular activities and after-school programs in such an effective and easy-to-read way. The headings and descriptions make it easy to navigate and understand the main benefits. More specifically, I loved the section on “Avoiding Risky Behavior”. I was happy to see that extracurricular activities can be regarded as a safe haven for our youth. I think “safe haven” is a great term that truly embodies the use and benefit of these programs. They are supervised places that are preventing students from engaging in juvenile crime and risky behaviors during the peak time after-school hours (3-6p.m.). It is during this unsupervised, idle time and/or boredom that our youth often fall in the direction of bad behavior. This blog post also backed up its argument on student safety with a strong statistic: //“Students who spend no time in extracurricular activities, such as those offered in after-school programs, are 49 percent more likely to have used drugs and 37 percent more likely to become teen parents that are those students who spend one to four hours per week in extracurricular activities.”// To me, these percentages were shocking, especially for the low amount of hours (only 1-4 per week!). This statistic shows how effective extracurricular activities can truly be in combating the safety issues of our youth generation, such as alcohol and drug use or teen pregnancy. Additionally, I really liked the cause-and-effect argument that was presented. When students are involved in extracurricular activities, they develop a sense of purpose and higher self-esteem. This leads to developing future aspirations for themselves, which will in turn make them more likely to say "no" to risky behaviors. Although I focused on the effects of extracurricular activities on student safety, this is an all-around great source on the importance of extracurricular activities.

Overall Reaction to Your Research
In conclusion, I found that there is a strong positive correlation between extracurricular activities and student safety. Fortunately, extracurricular activities and after-school programs can act as both a safe haven during the idle "danger hours" after school and as a motivator to say "no" to risky behavior. In the bigger picture, extracurricular activities can increase the safety and quality of not only the individual student, but the school and community as a whole.

Relevance in Rhode Island Schools
Based on my research of the effects of extracurricular activities on student safety and my knowledge of school reform efforts in Rhode Island, I strongly advocate that funding for these programs should not and cannot be cut. These extracurricular activities and after-school programs are too vital to the safety of the student and community. Additionally, I feel that each school district in Rhode Island should review their drug-testing policy and consequences in relation to extracurricular activities.

Relevance to Charter Schools
Although the academic success of the charter schools movement is growing, their extracurricular activities do not appear to be. As demonstrated in my research, such activities and programs are extremely beneficial to the safety of the student. The charter schools movement should now focus on developing the "whole child", which includes his/her well-being. This will also lead to a safer community, which charter schools should have a responsibility to uphold just like public schools do.