Accomplishments:
- RIASPA facilitated a Summer Learning Symposium to correspond with the release of its Policy Brief on Summer Learning Loss.
- RIASPA wrote a white paper for school districts to demonstrate the benefits of partnering with community organizations to offer high-quality summer opportunities for high school students.
- A second white paper highlighted RIASPA’s work on two of its major initiatives: the Summer Learning Demonstration Project and the Urban Education Stakeholder Project. The paper discusses how summer can be used to improve literacy practice among elementary school students and ensure that children are reading on grade level by the end of their third grade year.
- In 2011, RIASPA held professional development sessions weekly in the winter, spring and autumn for afterschool professionals.
- RIASPA’s annual Lights On Breakfast of Champions event attracted almost 400 afterschool professionals, elected officials, school teachers, principals, superintendents, AmeriCorps members and advocates.
- RIASPA worked with state policy leaders and local leaders to help design student-centered learning experiences where a high-school student can receive credit for expanded learning opportunities.
Current Projects and Initiatives:
- RIASPA is helping local school districts transition away from a “traditional” summer school model to a collaborative model that engages afterschool professionals and community-based organizations to help students succeed.
- RIASPA has worked closely with several state colleges to develop a youth development certificate for the field, that will connect to an associate’s or bachelor’s degree and will lead to further professionalization of the afterschool field.
- RIASPA continues to focus on supporting legislation to create a dedicated funding stream specifically to support and expand high-quality summer learning programs across the state.