BATON ROUGE - Leaders say Louisiana had the highest increase in after-school program attendance in the country.

Louisiana's attendance stood at 85%, compared to the national average of 46%. This attendance also positively affected grade outcomes, as grade point averages for participants jumped 77% as opposed to the national average of 50%.

Additionally, teacher reported engagement in learning was up 87% in grades one through five compared to the national average of 69%. Participants also had a 79% decrease in suspensions compared to 60% nationwide.

"Study after study confirms that students in afterschool programs that are structured and look a little different from a school day, thrive as we would expect them to," Richard Bates from Young Audiences of Louisiana said.