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Archives of Features Items
Mott Mosaic - December 2007
The National Network of Statewide Afterschool Networks is featured in the December 2007 edition of the Mott Mosaic. Go to the C.S. Mott Foundation's website for access to this featured article as well as the full publication.
Afterschool Alliance. Afterschool Alert. Issue Brief #29, Expanding Learning Opportunities: It Takes More than Time
This issue brief focuses on expanded learning opportunities, which is defined as a school reform model that lengthens the school day and/or year for students. It highlights best practices from the afterschool field involving programming that builds on students' school-day experiences that is meaningful and of high quality. The brief frames efforts to extend the school day as a strategy that provide broader opportunities for students when incorporating afterschool best practices such as, offering enriching, hands-on activities and mentoring to students.
Afterschool Community-to-Business Toolkit
Corporate Voices for Working Families has developed the Afterschool Community-to-Business Toolkit to give local providers, statewide networks and after school advocates help in navigating the business world. The toolkit provides after school providers with the facts and figures they need to make the business case for investing in strong after school programs in their community.
The Afterschool Community-to-Business Toolkit includes:
A Q&A with Corporate Voices President and CEO Donna Klein where Klein offers tips and insight from her more than 25 years in business;
The Corporate Voices for Working Families after school policy statement, After School for All: A Call to Action from the Business Community, outlining the critical components of a high quality after school program;
Basic Facts about after school in America;
Statistics and information about why business should care about after school programs with an emphasis on the impact of after school programs on lower-wage working families;
Case studies and profiles of successful after school advocates working with business; and
An after school resource guide with a list of organizations that can provide information on after school programs that are successfully serving working families from around the country.
For a DVD of the After School Toolkit please contact Susan Holbrook at sholbrook@cvworkingfamilies.org or call 202-333-8922.
Afterschool for the Global Age
After-school programs with an international focus may help students in the United States prepare for the global market, a report concludes.
Based on a forum convened by the New York City-based Asia Society and the San Rafael, Calif.-based George Lucas Educational Foundation, Afterschool for the Global Age details the importance of international awareness in students and provides recommendations for implementing globally focused after-school programs. Programs should teach students skills or attitudes such as sensitivity to foreign cultures, fluency in foreign languages, and an understanding of international trade, according to the report.
Afterschool Funding in New York State: The Case for a More Coordinated System
NYSAN has released a third brief in their afterschool policy brief series. Afterschool Funding in New York State: The Case for a More Coordinated System explores New York’s diverse afterschool funding landscape. The brief provides highly detailed information about each funding program, while also discussing remaining needs and existing barriers to improving afterschool programs. The brief also outlines key recommendations for developing a strong, statewide afterschool system in New York.
Afterschool Learning: A Study of Academically Focused Afterschool Programs in New Hampshire
Fifty-nine percent of elementary school students and 62 percent of middle school students in New Hampshire who took part in after-school programs showed academic and behavioral improvements in the wake of their participation, concludes a report.
The report by the New Hampshire Afterschool Evaluation Task Force created in 2002 by then-Gov. Jeanne Shaheen, a Democrat rated progress by examining factors such as homework completion, class participation, in-class behavior, attendance, and academic performance in math and English. The report surveyed 16 elementary school programs and 13 middle school programs in the state.
Afterschool Programs: Giving Hope and Help to All Our Children
William S. White, President and CEO of the C.S. Mott Foundation, remarks from the July 2005 Summer Institute of the 21st Century Community Learning Centers initiative in Chicago.
A New Day for Learning
The Task Force on Time, Learning, and Afterschool released its report, A New Day for Learning, calling for immediate action to design a comprehensive learning system throughout the day, early to late, and year round so that young people have a seamless learning experience with optimum opportunities to learn and develop. They propose building a different culture of community-wide responsibility for a broader view of learning where all American school-age children have access to experiences that will help them be successful lifelong learners.
Applying the Evidence-Based Approach in Washington
Afterschool Programs have been proven to be an effective strategy to help kids become more engaged in learning and achieve higher academic performance. According to a first-draft report that was recently prepared for the Washington Learns Committee (pages 47 - 52), well-designed afterschool programs yield numerous improvements in academic and behavioral outcomes and should be included in all successful school models. The report outlines steps to increase the value of afterschool programs in school districts and to help improve the academic achievement and success of kids in your school.
Charting the Benefits of High-Quality After-School Program Experiences: Evidence from New Research on Improving After-School Opportunities for Disadvantaged Youth
The after-school movement finds itself in the fortunate position of being able to use rigorous research to guide improvements in after-school opportunities for young people. The recent Study of Promising After-School Programs adds to this research base by demonstrating the protective value of high-quality after- school experiences in the after-school hours. The study examines the policy implications of recent findings of the Promising Programs study, which was conducted by researchers at the University of California at Irvine, the University of Wisconsin at Madison, and Policy Studies Associates, Inc., with support from the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation.
The Costs of Out-of-School Time Programs: A Brief Review of the Literature
The Finance Project and Public/Private Ventures new release The Costs of Out-of-School Time Programs summarizes the existing knowledge on the costs of out-of-school-time learning. This literature review is part of an on-going study of the costs of high-quality out-of-school-time learning programs supported by the Wallace Foundation.
Every Child, Every Promise, Turning Failure Into Action
America's Promise has released a comprehensive study that measures the presence of the essential resources - The Five Promises - that correlate with a child's likely success as a youth and an adult. The third part of this research study, Investing in Our Young People, has recently been released and the full report, key findings and key implications can all be downloaded.
Extended Learning Opportunities: A Policy Statement of the Council of Chief State School Officers
CCSSO has released a policy statement regarding Extended Learning and Developmental Opportunities. The policy statement defines Extended Learning Opportunities, identifies and addresses challenges faced, shares characteristics of successful programs, identifies opportunities for support, and the implications for state education policy and practice.
Finding Funding: A Guide to Resources for Afterschool Programs in New Hampshire
PlusTime NH's manual provides information about federal, state and private funding sources. For each funding source, it displays general information about the funder as well as the uses of the funds, applicant eligibility, application process, flow of funds, funding history, matching requirements and more. This manual is an abundance of resources and tips on finding funding that best fits your program, proposal writing tips and much more. To order the manual, contact Renee Lindley.
Focus on Families! How to Build and Support Family-Centered Practices in After School
A guide by the Harvard Family Research Project serves to help afterschool programs become more effective in their efforts to engage families after school in benefit of children's social development, informal learning and academic growth.
Follow the Money: A Tool for Mapping Public and Private Funds for After-School Initiatives
This tool is designed to help you create a map of funding sources that support services for school-age children and their families. The tool is organized into two worksheets the first worksheet aids in the data collection of various funding sources, including identifying information on the administering agency, appropriation level, and type of services supported. The second worksheet helps you to begin an analysis of that information, including assessing to what extent you are making the best use of dollars in the system and if opportunities exist for using current funding sources in different ways. The tool includes step-by-step instructions as well as tips to make the process easier.
Getting the Grant: A Guide to Securing Additional Funds for After School
The Finance Project recently released Getting the Grant: A Guide to Securing Additional Funds for After School which provides guidance on how to develop effective grant proposals to garner program support. The guide outlines considerations for identifying and pursuing grant funding opportunities, reviews the key components of a grant proposal and offers concrete suggestions for making each section succinct and compelling. The guide also includes resources that provide examples of quality grant requests and additional information on funding sources and grant writing.
Helping Youth Succeed Through Out-of-School Time Programs
A paper by the American Youth Policy Forum reviews the current research and literature in OST programs including effectiveness, academic enhancement, career and college preparation, leadership development and civic engagement; and provides policy guidance on how to support and sustain high quality OST programs as part of a system of support for older youth.
The Impact of After-School Programs that Promote Personal and Social Skills
A new report by Joseph Durlak and Roger Weissberg, published by the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL), with support from the William T. Grant Foundation, shows that youth who participate in after-school programs using evidence-based approaches to enhance personal and social skills show significant improvement compared to their peers. The report says that youth programs were most successful at improving outcomes when their activities were sequenced, active, focused, and explicit (SAFE). To download the full report, visit the CASEL website.
Journal of Youth Development ~ Bridging Research and Practice
This journal focuses on the development of school-aged youth through the transition to adulthood (ages 6-22). With funding support from the National 4-H Leadership Trust, this journal features original research, best practices in youth development programming, innovative research and evaluation methods and strategies, and reviews of resources of interest to youth development researchers and practitioners.
Journal of Youth Development: Supporting Social and Cognitive Growth Among Disadvantaged Middle-Grades Students in TASC After-School Projects
A recent study by Christina Russell and Elizabeth Reisner, published by Policy Studies Associates with support from the William T. Grant Foundation, describes how after-school opportunities with varying features affect urban middle-grades (6-8) adolescents who live in poverty. The study explores the associations between after-school programs and the social and cognitive outcomes of disadvantaged middle school participants in TASC programs. To download the full study, visit the Journal of Youth Development website.
M.O.S.A.I.C.: Afterschool Time
An Education Development Center Mosaic issue features highlights from an expert panel discussion on staffing and professional development, research and evaluation, the role of afterschool programs and directions for the future. It also addresses afterschool in the context of science, engineering, technology and media and provides an overview of EDC's current projects and a program evaluation.
Moving Towards Success: Framework for After-School Programs
Moving Towards Success: Framework for After-School Programs is a working document developed by a committee of preeminent researchers, evaluators and program experts with funding from the C.S. Mott Foundation. It describes a theory of change approach to help guide the thinking and implementation of program goals and elements, outlines a broad range of desired participant outcomes to consider and discusses conditions most suitable for achieving positive results that meet the needs of the after-school participants.
New Resources from Afterschool Alliance
Evaluations Backgrounder: A Summary of formal Evaluations of Academic Impact of Afterschool Programs focuses on the impact of afterschool programs on academic success. Key themes that emerged include: Improved school attendance and engagement in learning, improved test scores and grades, frequency and duration of afterschool participation increases benefits, and students at greatest risk show greatest gains.
New resources from The Harvard Family Research Project
Learning from Small-Scale Experimental Evaluations of After School Programs is their eighth publication in the Out-of-School Time Evaluation Snapshots series. The publication reviews the evaluations and findings from studies that are either more local or smaller in scope than traditional evaluations.
HFRP and the National Institute on Out-of-School Time hosted a 1-day summit on quality middle school programs. Click here to view the materials from the summit including the discussions leading up to the summit, what was learned at the summit, and future directions for policy, practice, and research.
The William T. Grant Foundation is featuring findings from HFRP's research study on the predictors of youth participation in out-of-school time activities. To learn more about the study, click here.
NYSAN Program Quality Self-Assessment (QSA) Tool User’s Guide!
The Program Quality Self-Assessment (QSA) Tool provides a comprehensive 10-point framework used by program providers to assess the quality of their afterschool programs. The QSA Tool can be used by a wide variety of programs, including both school and community-based programs that operate before and after school, and during summers and other school breaks.
The User’s Guide complements use of the QSA Tool by providing practical strategies and examples from afterschool practitioners on best practices related to self-assessment and program improvement. The User’s Guide includes information on beginning a self-assessment, engaging stakeholders in the process, and using your findings to create an action plan for addressing areas in need of improvement.
Outcomes Linked to High-Quality Afterschool Programs: Longitudinal Findings from the Study of Promising Afterschool Programs
A new study by researchers at the University of California, Irvine, the University of Wisconsin- Madison and Policy Studies Associates, Inc. finds that regular participation in high-quality afterschool programs is linked to significant gains in standardized test scores and work habits as well as reductions in behavior problems among disadvantaged students. These gains help offset the negative impact of a lack of supervision after school. The two-year study followed almost 3,000 low-income, ethnically diverse elementary and middle school students from eight states in six major metropolitan centers and six smaller urban and rural locations. About half of the young people attended high-quality afterschool programs at their schools or in their communities. Download both the final report and the key findings.
Positive Youth Development: State Strategies
What is needed to strengthen youth policy in the states? In this Positive Youth Development: State Strategies Research and Policy Report, co-authored by the Forum for Youth Investment and the National Conference of State Legislatures, learn concrete ways that states are addressing key challenges to creating better aligned and more effective youth policy.
Resources On Afterschool
This comprehensive tool, created by the Collaborative Communications Group, although not inclusive of all the resources in the afterschool field, provides a substantial spectrum of quality resources designed to guide afterschool networks and individual practitioners in multitude of areas. In its fourth edition, the Resources On Afterschool CD and online tool provides selected resources in the areas of: research and evaluation, promising practices, professional development, public awareness and communications, policy development, financing strategies and opportunities to consider in afterschool.
Shaping the Future of After-School: The essential role of intermediaries in bringing quality after-school systems to scale
This report discusses how intermediaries add value to the out-of-school time field. It introduces and describes each partner in the Collaborative for Building After-School Systems (CBASS), a national partnership formed by six local intermediaries committed to promoting and expanding out-of-school time systems across the county. Core functions of intermediaries include
brokering relationships
convening local organizations
rationalizing and expanding services
increasing program quality
strengthening and supporting the after-school workforce
conducting research and evaluation
promoting sustainability
Download a copy of the report.
Shared Features of High-Performing After-School Programs
Recent research conducted by Policy Studies Associates for TASC and the Southwest Educational Development Laboratory (SEDL) echoes what the afterschool field has found over the course of the past decade: that afterschool programs can contribute to increased student achievement. The study shows that afterschool programs helped lead to improved achievement do not necessarily focus on academics.
Statewide Afterschool Networks: Policies & Practices 2005
Policies & Practices offers a summary of each network's efforts in the past year and an overview of work in each of the three key goal areas with examples from states' work in 2005. Stories about the work of each of the organizations involved in ATAC follow the state profiles. Finally, this report includes brief descriptions of the six networks awarded grants in October 2005. The description of the work done to date and the issues now facing networks are intended to help advance an understanding of what is involved in states and the nation developing and sustaining high-quality afterschool programs.
Supporting Student Success: A Governors Guide to Extra Learning Opportunities
The National Governors Association (NGA) Center for Best Practices has released a new guide detailing a host of these programs, also known as Extra Learning Opportunities (ELOs), available to governors and states. The report, Supporting Student Success: A Governors Guide to Extra Learning Opportunities, highlights many of the more successful state ELOs and makes recommendations for governors and other interested policymakers to consider.
Uncertain Times: Funding Insecurity Puts Afterschool Programs at Risk
This recent survey of afterschool programs, finds that afterschool programs are serving a high need population, serving more children than expected, and struggling to maintain their funding. Nearly all respondents say that more children in their communities could benefit from afterschool programs, if they were available. Fewer than half of afterschool programs say their funding is fully secure for the next two years and just one in five has secure funding for three to five years.
Understanding the Market for Arts Education in Afterschool Settings
Afterschool programs and community learning centers are one of the fastest growing providers of education across America. This study, written by Terry Peterson, Scott Shanklin-Peterson, and Jennifer May, indicates that arts education providers now have a unique and exciting opportunity to expand arts participation, inspire, innovate, and cultivate the creative talents of a new generation of young people by developing afterschool partnerships.
Using NCLB Funds to Support Extended Learning Time: Opportunities for Afterschool Programs
Using NCLB Funds to Support Extended Learning Time strategy brief describes how six major funding streams included in the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) can support extended learning opportunities. The brief provides important context for those seeking to access these funding streams and includes a discussion of strategies, considerations and tips for accessing each source.
Whatever It Takes: How Twelve Communities Are Reconnecting Out-Of-School Youth documents what committed educators, policymakers, and community leaders are doing to reconnect out-of-school youth to the social and economic mainstream.
The publication provides background on the serious high school dropout problem and describes in-depth what twelve communities are doing to reconnect dropouts to education and employment training. Includes descriptions of major national program models serving out-of-school youth.
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