Dr. Bianca Baldridge: Afterschool program benefits

September 5, 2025

Part of:

Evidence-based reporting tools and tips for 2025

SciLine interviews experts and then makes the video and other resources rapidly available for TV newsrooms to use on air.

Journalists: Get Email Updates

What is Experts on Camera?

En español

Dra. Bianca Baldridge: Beneficios del programa extracurricular

Vea todos nuestros recursos en español

With back-to-school season around the corner, many kids and families will turn to afterschool programs to support learning and development after the bell rings. On September 5, 2025, SciLine interviewed Dr. Bianca Baldridge, an associate professor of education at Harvard University.

TV bundle includes:

Soundbite (SOT)
VOSOT script (can be used as-is or modified)
Raw, full-length interview video & log with timecodes (upon request via form below)
Localizable data

These resources are free to use. No attribution to SciLine is required.

Soundbite (SOT) and pronouncer

Downloadable video of the soundbite

High definition (mp4, 1280x720)

Download

Click for VOSOT script (can be used as-is or modified)

ANCHOR
EVEN AFTER THE FINAL BELL RINGS… AROUND TEN-MILLION KIDS PARTICIPATE IN AFTERSCHOOL PROGRAMS BEFORE HEADING HOME.

VO
DOCTOR BIANCA BALDRIDGE… AN ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF EDUCATION AT HARVARD UNIVERSITY… SAYS AFTERSCHOOL PROGRAMS… WHICH USUALLY RUN FROM THE TIME SCHOOL ENDS INTO THE EARLY EVENING… PROVIDE MORE THAN JUST A PLACE TO PASS TIME.
SHE SAYS THESE PROGRAMS OFFER TUTORING AND ACADEMIC SUPPORT THAT HELP BOOST GRADUATION RATES.
THEY CAN ALSO GIVE STUDENTS A SAFE SPACE TO PLAY… BUILD FRIENDSHIPS… AND FOLLOW THEIR PASSIONS.

SOT
Duration: 0:41
Super: Dr. Bianca Baldridge – Associate Professor, Harvard University
“I can’t stress this enough, how diverse the field is. So, a young person could go to a program that’s all about academic support and tutoring, which is awesome, right? If that’s what the family feels the child needs, or if that’s what the young person wants. But they could also participate in performing arts, right, visual arts, STEM, coding, organizing, activism, leadership development, right? There’s just a range of kinds of opportunities that they can participate in. So, I would encourage parents to really talk to their child about what their interests are, to see what their talents are, and maybe perhaps find organizations that can enhance those skills and talents or expose them to new ones.”

VO
IN JULY… THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION TEMPORARILY WITHHELD FEDERAL FUNDING FOR AFTERSCHOOL AND SUMMER PROGRAMS.
THE FUNDS WERE LATER RELEASED… AFTER GROWING PRESSURE FROM BOTH DEMOCRATS AND REPUBLICANS.

Raw, full-length interview covers:

Afterschool program basics, including how many U.S. children attend them, and how they can affect participants’ educational outcomes, social and emotional growth, and other aspects of learning and development;
Recent uncertainty around federal funding for afterschool programs (which was withheld, and later released after 24 states and the District of Columbia sued the Trump administration);
Her research on inequities (by gender, race, and class) in out-of-school-time opportunities;
Her research on the benefits of community-based afterschool programs for Black and Latino youth;
Her research on the 2 million educators and youth workers who staff after-school programs, and
Advice for parents on choosing the right after-school program.