This longitudinal study evaluated after-school program (ASP) participation and the development of academic performance (school grades, reading achievement) and teacher-rated motivational attributes (expectancy of success, effectance motivation) over a school year. Participants were 599 boys and girls (6.3 to 10.6 years) from an urban, disadvantaged city in the United States. An ecological analysis of after-school arrangements identified 4 patterns of care: ASP care, parent care, combined parent-self/sibling care, and combined other-adult/self-sibling care. Aspects of academic performance and motivational attributes were significantly higher (p is less than .05) at the end of the school year for children in ASP care compared with those in the 3 alternative patterns of care. Differences were marked for children rated as highly engaged in ASP activities.