Majority of Allegheny County Caregivers Say Their Child’s Afterschool Programs Offer STEM Learning, Report Finds
A total 92% of Allegheny County caregivers with students in afterschool programs said their child’s program offers STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) learning, according to a recent report by Allegheny Partners for Out-of-School Time (APOST) and the Afterschool Alliance.
This number is up from 76% of caregivers who said the same thing in 2014. Additionally, 51% of those whose child’s program offers STEM reported that their child engages in STEM learning after school at least twice per week. However, nearly four in five Allegheny County children - or 92.451 children - whose parents want afterschool programs for them are not enrolled.
STEM Report
The report, Afterschool STEM Takes Off in Allegheny County, is based on survey responses from 30,515 U.S. households, with 456 households with 682 Allegheny County children screened.
Afterschool programs in the county are educating students on a variety of STEM topics, according to caregivers, including:
89% said their child’s program offers engagement in math
83% science
81% engineering
79% computer science
78% tech
Five in six caregivers said afterschool programs help children to gain skills and interest in STEM, such as Tree Pittsburgh’s youth programs, which offer environmental education programming focused on educating youth and families about the benefits of trees in their communities.
Support for afterschool programs in Pennsylvania has increased through the Building Opportunity Through Out-of-School Time (BOOST) program. In 2024, the state invested $11.5 million in OST programs to 46 providers across the state, 10 of which were located in Allegheny County. The investment was renewed at $11.5 million in the 2025-26 state budget.
National Findings
In most respects, Allegheny County findings mirrored national survey findings, such as:
Increases in STEM in afterschool from 2014 to 2025 were seen in every state.
Children in families with low incomes are less likely to have multiple exposures to STEM in afterschool each week than those whose families have higher incomes.
Rural caregivers report fewer computer science and technology opportunities in afterschool.
Two in three parents with children in afterschool programs (65%) value STEM extremely or somewhat when selecting a program - but there are differences by race: Native American parents (73%), Black and Hispanic parents (70%), and Asian-American caregivers (68%) place greater importance on STEM in afterschool than White families (62%).
Caregivers of boys and girls report similar levels of access to STEM in their child’s afterschool program, but caregivers of girls prioritize computer science, technology, and engineering less than caregivers of boys.
Caregivers prioritize STEM, and specifically computer science, more as their children age.
“This study has really good news for Allegheny County,” said APOST Executive Director Karen Dreyer. “In an age when science and technology continue to shape and reshape our lives, we must invest in programs to support young people to learn, explore, and create in the STEM fields, so they gain the skills and experience needed to lead our communities into the future.”