About Us

The South Dakota Afterschool Network promotes afterschool programs, advocates public policy on behalf of afterschool programs, and encourages high quality in afterschool programs across South Dakota.

The mission of the South Dakota Afterschool Network is to support and sustain quality afterschool, out of school time (OST) and youth development programs to serve the needs of South Dakota’s youth.

We are a member of the CS Mott Foundation’s 50-State Network. We work with other states to influence legislation, create an awareness of need, and improve the quality of existing programs.

The Mott Foundation’s vision of a statewide afterschool network is to expand learning opportunities by developing a structure for bringing together key decision-makers interested in improving outcomes for children and youth through school-based and school-linked afterschool and summer learning programs. The long term goal is that the network will provide intentional and meaningful bridges between leaders of schools, communities, workforce and families in order to better support student learning, and prepare young people for college and careers.

Afterschool affects everyone in South Dakota.

South Dakota has the highest percentage of working parents in the nation. Census estimates place South Dakota at the top consistently, no matter the age of the child. According to census data, there are 153,097 boys and girls age 5 through 17 residing in South Dakota. Eighty-four percent of these school-age kids live in homes where all parents are working. The world of afterschool is a necessity in South Dakota because of all of our working parents!

The statistics are alarming. For every student currently enrolled in a South Dakota afterschool program, two students want to enroll and can’t! We have over 19,000 kids enrolled in out of school time programs across the state, and more than 36,000 kids are on waiting lists.