School board member Erica Whitfield receives Prime Time PBC Community Champion Award 2019.

“The mission of Prime Time Palm Beach County is to help children and youth succeed by strengthening and expanding quality in after school programs and summer camps.”





Prime Time Palm Beach County is a non-profit, “Dedicated to Quality Out-of-School [OST] Time”:


Prime Time oversees a system for reaching quality standards through assessment, program improvement and quality coaching. It also provides professional development, career advising and networking opportunities to OST practitioners, and through partnerships, supports a range of enrichment activities available to OST programs countywide.

History

The hours between the time that children get out of school and the time that working parents come home is considered “prime time” for continuous learning and growth or risky behaviors. This critical window of time after school presents not only challenges but also opportunities to impact youth development. Recognizing that the majority of violence, drug and alcohol use, and sexual experimentation among young people occur during these after school hours, educators realize the value of quality, accessible afterschool programming. In 1996, key stakeholders in Palm Beach County, Florida, convened to share resources to improve the quality of local afterschool and summer programs.

Four years later, in 2000, the group formed a separate non-profit organization, Prime Time Palm Beach County, Inc. The organization was — and still is — dedicated to ensuring that afterschool programs are of the highest quality so as to keep youth engaged in learning, and on track for academic success and healthy social development.