Student grades rise with extracurriculars.

• Position: Middle School - Brief article

Activities outside the classroom-especially community engagement and sports--may help low-income, urban youth academically as they transition Into middle school, according to a study by New York University The findings suggest that participating in extracurricular activities may be protective for low-income youth by providing a setting for development outside the classroom.

Middle school is an important, yet vulnerable, time for youth. Studies have shown that the middle grades are a critical period for identity formation, and are central to students' later academic trajectories, but pupils-especially low-income, urban youth --may experience declines in both grades and school attendance.

"If we believe this decline In academics and engagement Is occurring because middle schools don't fit with what early adolescents need, then perhaps these other spaces can provide opportunities for some of those needs to be met," says lead author Kate Schwartz, a doctoral student in the Psychology and Social Intervention program.

Participating in extracurricular activities in the...