On March 11, 2009, Mayor Thomas M. Menino joined more than 350 youth program providers, public officials, school and foundation leaders at the Boston Public Library to celebrate the expansion of after-school programs in Boston and to envision the future of the field.

Organized by Boston After School & Beyond, the event marked ten years since Mayor Menino launched the Boston 2:00-to-6:00 After-School Initiative, the first-in-the-nation city after-school office. This commitment has proved to be both enduring and catalytic: It has allowed a variety of programs to flourish in school buildings, enabled new programs to take shape, and helped connect the learning that takes place during the school day with learning that takes place beyond the school day. This leadership has put Boston at the forefront of the nation in after-school programming and innovation, in schools and in the community.

This video shows the growth in after-school programming in Boston since Mayor Thomas M. Menino launched the Boston 2:00-to-6:00 After-School Initiative a decade ago. It features the stories of individual organizations from across the city. The music was provided students from Zumix in East Boston.