Our innovative pilot program Beyond 3:30 is designed to provide a safe, stimulating place for middle school students to gather between the hours of 3:30 and 8:00 pm. The program, available at no cost to students or their families, restablishes schools as the 'hubs' of their communities by keeping them open and offering quality programming.

Open Schools. Safe Kids. Strong Communities.
Our Toronto's Vital Signs® Report that after-school programs make a critical difference in safety and social development: after school, unsupervised children are more likely to engage in gang-related or delinquent behaviour, or become victims of crimes.

Addressing Educational Disparity
Toronto's Vital Signs® 2009 also reports that Toronto's priority neighbourhoods have large concentrations of students living in poverty, and that these students have less exposure to mainstream cultural, recreational, and enrichment programs than their counterparts in more affluent neighbourhoods. Beyond 3:30 seeks to address this disparity and provide vulnerable students the same opportunities as others in Toronto. This program truly extends beyond the classroom.

Quality After-School Programming
The Toronto Community Foundation has connected with some of Toronto's highest-impact organizations in order to help deliver effective, quality programming to students and their families. Activities will be tailored to the unique qualities of each neighbourhood and the interests of its students, and will include:

• Music, drama, and visual arts programs
• Homework and book clubs, and family literacy programs
• Sports activities
• Health and wellness workshops
• Student cooking and nutrition programs

The Cornerstone: A Community Meal
The cornerstone of Beyond 3:30 will be a weekly community meal, where students and their families will share a nutritious meal together. The meal also provides a venue for different families to connect with one another, learning about other cultures through sharing food and through interaction.

Measurements for Success
The Toronto District School Board's Model Schools for Inner Cities initiative was awarded a Vital Ideas grant from the Toronto Community Foundation's Vital Toronto Fund to enable them to study the effects of the Beyond 3:30 pilot. Research conducted by the Toronto Foundation for Student Success will collect and report data, including:

• Parent, staff, student, and community surveys
• Suspension, explusion, attendance, and lateness records
• Student achievement records
• Youth crime- and gang-related statistics

Learn more about the early successes of the program with the Beyond 3:30 Mid-term Report, published February 2010 (PDF, 2.7 MB) ››

A Partnership For Success
Beyond 3:30 is an innovative collaboration led by the Toronto Community Foundation, the Toronto District School Board's Model Schools for Inner Cities initiative, and the Toronto Foundation for Student Success. It would not be possible without the generous support of over a dozen Toronto Community Foundation donors and our corporate sponsors.

Many thanks to all our partners:

More Information
Learn more about how you can support Beyond 3:30 ››