After-school mentoring and tutoring allows students in danger of dropping out to establish one-on-one relationships with adults, as well as to improve their academic skills. The supportive and trusting relationship between a mentor and a student can encourage the student to stay in school.
After-school sports programs help students become connected to their school and make new friends. Students can also feel a sense of achievement from success in sports. All these factors help contribute to students deciding to stay in school.
Some private and non-profit organizations offer after-school programs that serve as an adjunct to education already happening in the classrooms. Often these programs help students prepare for future careers in business, farming, health services and technology. These activities allow students to socialize with one another in a structured environment.
After-school apprenticeship programs allow high school students to explore future career opportunities and develop skills they can use in the workplace. Often the apprenticeships transition into summer internships, where they can develop leadership and problem-solving skills. Students who undergo after-school apprenticeships develop greater confidence and teamwork abilities and are less likely to drop out of school.
Military-style drill instruction is a major factor in some successful after-school programs. This type of military training has proven especially helpful with students who are referred by courts or probation officers.
After-school career-oriented or technical classes allow students to shine in areas that don't always get highlighted during school hours. Students may get to show off creative or organizing talents in ways that will help them feel more a part of their school, which in turn will make it less likely they will drop out.
After-school science programs such as Colorado's MESA program offer students mentoring relationships in a context of hands-on and team-building activities. Field trips to colleges and companies that could potentially hire the students in the future help expand the students' range of possibilities and self-confidence.
With so many schools cutting out arts classes in the everyday curriculum, many students have no place to connect. After-school arts programs can allow these students to reconnect to their schools and their peers by giving them opportunities to create and even sell works of art. A program of this type in Providence, Rhode Island has reduced the dropout rate from 34 percent for the general high school population to zero percent for the students participating in the program.