Group aims to help at-risk youths

Every day after school, hundreds of schoolchildren ages 5 to 15 gather for free academic enrichment and recreational activities put together by After-School All-Stars.

“If they didn’t have it, they tell us they would be bored at home or playing video games,” said Ranna Daud, interim executive director. “On the flip side, you would have some kids who would be involved in risky behaviors. We want to make sure they have positive activities after school.”

After-School All-Stars provides opportunities for at-risk and underprivileged youths with free programs such as tutoring, homework assistance, creative writing, sports and recreational activities.

Daud has seen a mixture of children impacted by the program. Some are struggling because they live in a single-parent household, while others have fallen behind because of bad influences.

But when they come into the program, all are accepted and cared for, Daud said.

“We had one student, his mother approached us because he was overweight,” she said. “She wanted to get him involved in healthy activities to help him lose weight.”

Daud has had other children who have parents in jail, making for a difficult home life.

“It doesn’t take away the struggle,” Daud said. “But for those two hours, they know they belong somewhere.”

Jennifer Leifer, the site leader for After-School All-Stars at Bridger Middle School, 2505 N. Bruce St., has been with the school more than six years and the program two years.

She said when the after-school option wasn’t available, some of the students got into a lot more trouble.

“Students were getting into trouble, fighting and being tempted by drugs,” she said. “This opens doors to other options and gives an extra boost to the community.”

She added that she has seen students who have been prone to fights or were even suicidal start coming to After-School All-Stars and change their behavior.

The program is in 14 schools in the Clark County School District.

Sites can range from 150 children per day at one location to 350 at another.

“We have over 6,000 kids,” Daud said. “We would love to be in all the schools.”

She added that the program has enough funding for only a certain amount of schools. The two hours the youths are on site are divided into two parts.

First, the program focuses on academic enrichment.

“We want to make sure they are staying on track academically,” Daud said.

She added that teachers from within the schools, such as Leifer, usually volunteer afterward to help with the academic part.

“We have such amazing teachers who are willing to stay longer, going above and beyond,” she said.

The next hour, After-School All-Stars introduces the youths to some sort of recreational activity, whether it is sports or dance.

“Every school is a little different,” Daud said.

Some schools choose to teach traditional Mexican dances or have a hip-hop instructor, while other sites choose to have something soccer-related. One school, Daud said, has instructors who teach students different circus-type acts such as hula hooping, juggling or gymnastics.

Leifer said the program would be nothing without its donors who make the activities possible.

To gauge what type of recreation to bring in, Daud asks the school’s principal, teachers, site leaders and the children, to see what types of things they are interested in having.

During the summer, the program reaches out to develop more community partners. It also offers a summer camp for eighth-graders who have exhibited warning signs of dropping out.

The program allows students to learn about college, visit the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and talk about leadership skills through activities and field trips.

For more information, visit asaslv.org.

Contact Henderson/Anthem View reporter Michael Lyle at mlyle@viewnews.com or 702-387-5201.