(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — In more than three decades in Chicago, After School Matters has grown into a non-profit powerhouse that offers teenagers training not just in the Arts, where it started, but in sports, skills and more.
Melissa Mister, Chief of Strategy and Staff, says this opens opportunities.
“When you're a young person, you've got interests, you've got ideas, but you need an opportunity to go test things out, to try things out,” Mister said.
“So we offer opportunities to go try it out, see if it's a good fit for you. If it's not, we still count it as a success because you've learned something about yourself.”
Tony Diaz, ASM's Chief of Programs, says the kids themselves help choose what’s offered.
“What's important is we want to remain in, you know, look at those industry trends and so Melissa mentioned earlier that we're now offering more programs like welding or plumbing,” Diaz said.
“So we wanna also create pathways for what's happening in the workforce so that our young people can get exposure to those different opportunities. So programs like artificial intelligence.”
He said After School Matters is partnering with Google for that.
The program partners with a couple hundred organizations to offer a wide variety of training programs when school is not in session. Diaz said the organization offers programs in three, soon to be four, buildings of its own.
“What we're seeing in our buildings is that they work for our teams. It helps them build community.
“You might see a team their first year be a little more shy and then they have flourished over the years to be the leader of their programs.”
Mister said they have followed up with and surveyed participants to ensure that the program is having a lasting impact.
“What we find is that, you know, around 90% of our teens have a plan for post-secondary, what they want to do after high school, that's huge. We find that the same, around 90% of our teens, report that they're more hopeful about their futures based upon participation in programs,” Mister said.
And she says past students report they learned technical skills and life skills in their years with ASM.
The success of Chicago's After School Matters is the topic of our ''At Issue' 'program this weekend. You can hear more at 9:30 p.m. Sunday.
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