Our Approach and Impact

Adolescence is a crucial time for young people to develop the skills, knowledge, connections, and independence that will help them successfully navigate into adulthood.

After School Matters provide a supportive, structured environment to help prepare teens for their future and thrive. Research shows suggests that participating in these programs can positively impact teens’ socio-emotional, cognitive, behavioral, and educational outcomes, especially the more frequently youth attend programs.

ASM provides a supportive, structured environment to help prepare teens for their future and thrive. Research suggests that participating in these programs can positively impact teens’ socio-emotional, cognitive, behavioral, and educational outcomes, especially the more frequently youth attend programs.

Our Approach

Apprenticeship Model

ASM offers project-based programs led by industry experts that allow teens to gain technical and 21st-century skills while earning a stipend. Youth also dive into planning for success, personal mindset, social awareness, collaboration, and problem-solving.

Positive Youth Development Best Practices

Our instructors and staff are trained to create a safe, supportive, interactive, and engaging environment for youth to explore their interests, develop skills, and build strong relationships. Many of these best practices are rooted in the Weikart Center’s evidence-based Youth Program Quality framework, a highly esteemed quality improvement system to advance youth development.

21st-Century Skills Development

Our programs are designed to build teens’ technical skills in a particular content area (the arts, communications, STEM, or sports) and their critical 21st-century skills that prepare teens for work, college, and beyond.

Our Impact on Teens

Our research consistently shows that After School Matters’ high-quality, relationship-based programs inspire teens, support skills development, and contribute to teens’ sense of belonging, hopefulness, and preparation for the future.

Safe Space + Teen-Centered, Project-Based Programming + Incentives to Participate =

High Engagement

9 in 10 teens report having fun, feeling challenged, and satisfied with their program experience.

Sense of Belonging

More than 8 in 10 teens report feeling connected to their instructors and peers and that they belong in their program.

Skills Development

9 in 10 teens report strengthening and gaining confidence in their skills and abilities.

Feelings of Safety

More than 8 in 10 teens report feeling safe and that their program provides a place for them to be their true selves.

Preparation for the Future

Data suggests that ASM teens are 2x more likely than their peers to graduate high school and 1.5x more likely to enroll in college. 96% of teens report having plans after graduation.

Sense of Hope

Nearly 8 in 10 teens report feeling more hopeful about their future after participating in an ASM program.

Our Impact on Instructors

After School Matters is dedicated to providing a supportive environment for our instructors to learn new skills, build deeper connections with teens and their peers, and have a joyful and satisfying experience sharing their expertise with Chicago youth.

Professional Development

Each year, ASM offers thousands of hours of training in positive youth development best practices to hundreds of instructors. 8 in 10 report the training improves their professional skills.

Community Mentorship

Instructors consistently report they value the relationships and sense of community they develop with teens and other instructors, and how rewarding it is to share their knowledge with teens and watch them grow.

Sense of Joy and Satisfaction

More than 9 in 10 instructors report finding joy in leading their programs and being proud of what they achieve with their teens.

Our Impact on Communities

After School Matters strives to impact the teens, instructors, families, and communities we serve by providing other key supports and resources outside of programming.

Community-Based Organization

Each year, ASM partners with 160+ community-based organizations across the city to help fund and provide the administrative support needed to run successful youth programming.

Mental Health Resources

ASM began a partnership with Adler Community Health Services (ACHS) in 2020. Since it began, nearly 1,000 youth and 200 instructors have acceessed free services like telehealth counseling, workshops, trainings, and more.

Stipends

Stipends help provide financial support to teens and their families. 1 in 4 teens use their stipend to contribute to their family needs (e.g., rent, groceries), and 2 in 5 teens use their stipend to cover necessary personal expenses (e.g., school fees, work clothes).

Meal Distribution

Since the pandemic, ASM has provided 200,000+ meals to teens and surrounding communities to help combat increased rates of food insecurity. ASM continues to partner with local organizations to provide meals to teens and their families.

Our Impact on the Youth Development Field

For more than 30 years, ASM has served as a national model for creating high-quality, innovative programming and systems that support positive youth development.

In December of 2022, the U.S. Surgeon General visited After School Matters to hear from Chicago teens about the state of youth mental health locally and learn more about the ways ASM is supporting teen mental health through our programming and innovative partnership with Adler University.

This program helped me deal with stress, anxiety, and overall helped me better myself and it was so much fun meeting new people.

ASM teen

What We've Been Learning

Explore what we’ve been researching and learning.