Welcome.

Rachel Klepper, P.h.D. is a graduate of History and Education at Teachers College, Columbia University. Dr. Klepper is a research analyst with United Neighborhood Houses New York and an American Council of Learned Societies Leading Edge fellow.

Her dissertation explores the history of afterschool programs in New York City in the mid-twentieth century, and how ideas about childhood, philanthropy, social welfare, and education shaped the varied opportunities available to children.

Previously, Dr. Klepper worked at a youth development organization in Washington DC, as a program director and afterschool teacher. While experiencing both the significance of afterschool spaces for children and families as well as the challenges that many afterschool programs face, she was motivated to learn more about their history and document their complex and changing purposes.

Articles

• School and Community in the All-Day Neighborhood Schools of New York City, 1936-1971 in History of Education Quarterly (2023)
• Sharing Responsibility after 3:00 P.M.: Bridging School and Neighborhood with the Yorkville Youth Council and the New York City Board of Education in The Metropole, from the Urban History Association