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Editor’s Note: Our guest blogger today is Erik Peterson, Policy Director of the Afterschool Alliance, where his work includes building and strengthening relationships with policymakers and allied organizations to increase public support and funding for afterschool programs. Follow Erik and the Afterschool Alliance on Twitter: @afterschool4all.

If as a nation, we’re ever going to solve the education system problems that cause America’s schoolchildren to lag behind children in other nations on a host of educational measures, we’re going to need to look beyond the four walls and the seven hours of the regular school day. Reforms are ever under way during the regular day, and they deserve our attention. But kids are taking in information and learning new things during their every waking moment. Why not use some of that time to promote 21^st century skills among our young people?

While not always characterized as such, 21^st century skills and the four C’s (critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity) are hallmarks of quality expanded learning opportunities like afterschool and summer learning programs. From teams of students conceptualizing, designing and building robots to solve prescribed tasks—to project-based learning built around community-mapping and mobile-application development—millions of young people are using the hours when school is out to develop and hone the skills they’ll need to flourish in the workplace of ...