It is widely known that schools in low-income areas have lower success rates than schools in areas with less poverty. This thesis addresses the interaction between poverty and education through an in-depth analysis of after-school programs in Hamilton Hill and all other aspects that have an effect on the programs; including the classroom itself and the surrounding community. Many other studies on after-school programs have focused solely on whatever after-school program is being studied without exploring the many factors that surround it. I have attempted to produce a multidimensional study that shows everything affecting the state of after-school programs and the children who attend them.
In this study, I have also addressed the question of why after-school programs lack the support and resources they need to sustain themselves and produce the best results that they can. My fieldwork in schools and after-school programs in Hamilton Hill has shown the serious need for supplemental programs for children. I argue that while these programs are essential to the children who participate in them, they are also in a constant state of struggle because of the lack of support that they receive. Ultimately, I make the case that after-school programs need support from outside entities in order to sustain themselves because the obstacles that poverty presents are too influential to be overcome on their own.