The San Diego After-School All-Stars program recently celebrated its 12th annual “Lights On After School Day,” hosting open houses at Pacific Beach Middle School and Mission Bay High School. The All-Stars program is a national and local after-school program that keeps underprivileged youth off the streets and in class by introducing them to a variety of educational and life experience programs. The program is open to all students but is primarily aimed at middle-school students, said organizers. “We want to make productive citizens out of our students,” said Tyree Dillingham, executive director of the San Diego After-School All-Stars program. The city’s program has 20 participating schools and 4,000 involved students. The program has a four-pronged approach, including: • “We Are Ready,” an interactive transition program that prepares middle-school students for high school and college; • Service learning projects, which promote student participation in Global Youth Day; • “Sports as a Hook,” which addresses the childhood obesity crisis by encouraging sports interaction and healthy eating choices; and • Career exploration opportunity (COE), which helps students find and pursue their passions and teaches them to set career goals. An example of the COE program is during the most recent World Cup tournament, when the students were given a soccer team they had to “manage.” “They had to learn about how to run a business by managing a soccer team,” said Dillingham. “They had to learn how to trade players and market the team.” Dillingham said the All Stars program encourages students to get involved with the decision-making with the everyday after-school activities to give them a sense of ownership and to make the program their own. “Middle-school kids can be opinionated but we like to get their feedback and make sure their voices are heard so they can feel empowered,” she said. The After-School All-Stars program began in 1991 in Los Angeles as a way of positively influencing and inspiring at-risk youth. The program went national in 1992 when Actor Arnold Schwarzenegger founded the Inner City Games Foundation and in July 2003 the program was given its current name. The All-Stars program also operates in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Honolulu, Houston, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, New York, Orlando, San Jose and South Florida. The All Stars program is a locally-funded 501(c)-3 nonprofit. For more information, visit www.sdafterschoolallstars.org.