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CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARADVERTISER.COM
More than 600 students, parents and educators representing Hawaii’s afterschool programs gathered Wednesday for the 13th annual Lights On Afterschool rally at the state Capitol to send a strong message that millions more kids nationwide and thousands in Hawaii need quality after-school programs. Sonny Nguyen of the Ala Wai Kamaaina Kids program held up his sign for all to see.
Hawaii’s Department of Education is touting a new national study that says the state is in the top 10 for afterschool programs.
The department on Friday announced that the Afterschool Alliance’s "America after 3 p.m." study found that a vast majority of parents in Hawaii are satisfied with their child’s afterschool program.
The top 10 states from highest to lowest are California, the District of Columbia, Florida, Vermont, Massachusetts, Arizona, Oregon, Nebraska, Tennessee and Hawaii.
Forty percent of Hawaii’s children in grades kindergarten through fifth-grade participate in an afterschool program. For sixth through eighth graders, that figure is 16 percent. It’s 10 percent for those in high school.
The department says the study reveals that the demand for afterschool programs exceeds availability.
