Book excerpt: Promising practices in afterschool programs lead to positive social, emotional, cognitive, physical, educational, and cultural outcomes and are culturally-, developmentally-, age-, and gender-appropriate for the children and youth in the program. [...] You can think of it this way: the practice is the why and the activity is the how. [...] The practice promotes the experiences and learning styles of children and youth in the afterschool program. [...] 4 Activities Related to the Practice SAMPLE PROMISING PRACTICE #2 According to the Rural School and Community Trust, the poverty level for Blacks in the county is 51.9% compared to 13.8% for Whites, while the unemployment rate for Blacks is 20.5% compared to 3.3% for Whites. [...] From the design of the program to the educational curriculum to standards and quality issues, programming is what you do with the children and youth who participate in your program.