Facts and Statistics

 Discovering Options

• Thrives as a result of its 100+ volunteers
• Impacts on average 120 children a year and has affected over 850 children since 2001
• Enjoys key partnerships with administrators, teachers, students and staff at a dozen different elementary schools in the Saint Louis School district

 St. Louis Statistics

• Around two-thirds of children do not have a parent at home after school in the City of St. Louis
• Fewer than 10% have access to daily after-school programming, compared to a national average of 22%
• The Saint Louis Public School system is currently unaccredited and the graduation rate is 55.9%, compared to 85.8% for the State of Missouri

 National Statistics

• Approximately seven million school-aged children lack after-school care
• Unsupervised free time has been demonstrated to lead to a variety of problem behaviors, including delinquency, criminal activity, earlier and increased substance use, victimization, early sexual activity, teen pregnancy, and increased automobile accidents
• Juvenile crime rates triple once school is dismissed
• Children without structured after-school time are less likely to succeed academically, more likely to drop out of high-school, and less likely to go to post-secondary schools
• Less supervision has been shown to result in poorer social skills and emotional problem

According to a survey administered at the conclusion of PREP, all parents were very satisfied with the program and felt that the program had helped their children

• 94% of the parents reported that they saw improvements in the way that their child related to their siblings
• 88% of the parents felt that their child was using more positive communication skills and relaxation techniques at home