After School and
Community-Based Programs:
Research and Resources
Promising Practices
After School
This searchable database is aimed at afterschool program directors who want
to improve the quality of their programs. "All sorts of other people
will find it useful, too--people like program staff, volunteers, parents,
community members, policymakers, funders, researchers, and anyone else who
cares about children and youth." Users can search the database by keyword
or examine the available rsources under seven headings, including areas
like community and family involvement, financing, and research.
Research
on After-School Education
There is growing evidence that good afterschool programming makes a difference
in kids' lives, according to Harvard's Program in Afterschool Education
and Research. Studies suggest that attendance at afterschool is associated
with better grades, peer relations, emotional adjustment, and conflict resolution
skills. Children who attend programs also spend more time on learning opportunities
and academic and enrichment activities than their peers. Whether programs
are school-based or independent of schools, they should aim to create continuity
across learning opportunities, achieve integration of different learning
goals, and deepen children's exploration and skill acquisition. (Harvard
Education Letter)
Strengthening
After-School Programs
The Forum for Youth Investment's report "Moving an Out-of-School Agenda"
looks at common challenges cities face "as they attempt to saturate
their neighborhoods with high-quality supports and opportunities for learning
and development." The report asks important questions about the design
and quality of after-school programming and includes 10 short "Task
Briefs" that illustrate the issues. The Forum's GRASP Project partnered
with four cities -- Chicago, Kansas City, Little Rock and Sacramento --
to assess their current work and deepen community discussions about out-of-school
time. (Executive summary at this page with link to a PDF of the full report.
and other GRASP products.)
What
Teens Want After School (PDF File)
The Center for Teen Empowerment surveyed more than 400 teenagers and staff
to find out more about the optimum characteristics of effective after-school
programs. This report presents their findings and a series of actions recommended
by Boston teens. (One mg PDF file)
Afterschool.gov
The after-school programs "homepage" for the U.S. Department of
Education. A good place to start your search for ideas and resources. (If
it's still available. The Administration is cutting funds for after-school
programs....)
Beef Up
Your After-School Program
"The YouthLearn Guide" helps after-school (and in-school) programs
create and implement high-quality, technology-enriched learning activities.
The easy-to-use 160-page manual includes lessons, worksheets and sample
activities for new and existing programs. Developed by the Morino Institute
and Education Development Center, Inc. based on seven years of fieldwork,
the guide is already being used by Boys and Girls Clubs and PowerUP programs.
Bulk discounts available.
Resources
for After-School Programs
This page at ED's 21st Century Community Learning Centers site offers a
rich collection of links and resources that can help schools and communities
build strong after-school programs.
Best Practices
Database on After-School Programs
The National Governors Association's Center for Best Practices conducted
a national survey to identify state initiatives that provide out-of-school
learning opportunities for school-age children. The results are available
in their online database.
Helping
Underachieving Middle Schoolers After School
Given the higher standards for students' knowledge and abilities, coupled
with the growing use of high-stakes tests for decision-making, there is
heightened demand for quality after-school programs to help underachieving
students. This article focuses on school-based after-school initiatives
aimed at middle and high school students in urban schools. Includes a description
of a program based on the Howard University Talent Development Model of
School Reform and "specific guidance for principals to create an environment
to enhance the success of after-school initiatives."
What
Students Learn in Youth Programs (PDF file)
Most people agree that the key to the young people's future success is learning.
The debut issue of the Forum for Youth Investment's newsletter looks at
learning, including a summary of research about where adolescents and teens
find both the motivation and demanding activities that foster learning --
in structured, voluntary after-school activities.
Powerful
Learning with Public Purpose
What Kids Can Do, a new national nonprofit, "combs the country for
compelling examples of young people working with adults in their schools
and communities on the real-world issues that concern them most." Peruse
the pages of the WKCD website and you'll find the group lives up to its
slogan -- "Powerful Learning with Public Purpose."
The
Promise of After-School Programs
Can after-school programs help address student failure and the achievement
gaps associated with socioeconomic and racial differences? And if so, what
should these programs look like? This article in Educational Leadership
(April 2001) looks at several theories of school failure and considers how
after-school programs might be designed to address them.
Workshop
on After-School Programs
The wNetSchool website is offering a free professional development workshop
-- "After-School Programs -- From Vision to Reality" -- where
educators can examine the benefits of a quality after-school program. Faculty
include An-Me Chung of the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, and Ellen Gannett
of the National Institute on Out-of-School Time. Go to this page to begin.
After-School
Programs: Issues and Ideas (PDF file)
If you want to know more about after-school programs, this guide from the
David and Lucile Packard Foundation may serve as a good starting point.
The guide highlights after-school options for families, provides data showing
why the authors believe the country needs more of those programs, and includes
program descriptions, pertinent Web sites, studies, and a list of experts.
(At the Future of Children
website.)
After-school
Programs Can Make a Difference
This brief article written for principals makes a quick case for after-school
programs in the middle level. ("Middle Matters," National Association
of Elementary School Principals, Spring 2001)
The
Charles Stewart Mott Foundation After-School Programs Page
Mott funds the National Center for Community Education and National Community
Education Association to train and assist all projects funded by the U.S.
Education Department. Mott is also supporting a national public awareness
campaign through the Afterschool
Alliance, "an emerging alliance of public, private and nonprofit
groups committed to raising awareness and expanding resources for afterschool
programs. An important site for those interested in starting or improving
after-school programs. See the After
School Fact Sheet and the after-school
dialogues and the dialogue
archives, plus a selection of useful
publications about after-school programs and community education. And
find out about Mott grants and grantees here.
Middle
School After-School Programs
How can extended learning opportunities expand a students' knowledge? After-school
programs are beginning to gain a presence in local communities, say authors
Ariana de Kanter and Sue Ferguson, who describe successful middle school
partnerships that are producing high-quality afternoon programs. ("Schools
in the Middle" magazine, November 1999)
Promoting
Student Achievement with After-School Programs
This 1999 U.S. Department of Education report includes information on the
effectiveness of after-school programs, and data collected by the Charles
Stewart Mott Foundation documenting "the public's strong desire to
make quality after-school programs available to all children." Booklet
includes ideas on how schools can use after-school programs to promote student
achievement.
After-School
Grants Database
The U.S. Department of Education's new AfterSchool.gov website includes
a database of more than 100 grant and loan programs from the federal government;
community success stories and opportunities to network; government guides,
reports and research, and links to educational web sites for kids and teens.
Boom
Time for After-School Programs
After-school programs are blossoming everywhere. What makes an after-school
program successful? In Boston and in other communities, after-school programs
provide great benefits to students and to the communities the programs serve,
says this article at the Education World website. Includes resources and
related links.
Safe
and Smart After-School Programs
This recently updated federal report offers evidence that after-school programming
can have a positive impact on children and youth, "especially those
at risk for delinquency." Read the April 2000 press
release for an overview of the report.
Community
Learning Centers: Keeping School Open After School
This Education World article highlights a guidebook developed by the U.S.
Department of Education for school communities interested in developing
before- and after-school community learning centers. The guide, Keeping
Schools Open as Community Learning Centers, is available on the ED website.
The
Coalition for Community Schools
Works toward improving education and helping students learn and grow while
supporting and strengthening their families and communities. Community schools
bring together many partners to offer a range of supports and opportunities
to children, youth, families and communities -- "before, during and
after school, seven days a week." SEE the Coalition's booklet, "Community
Schools: Partnerships for Excellence," downloadable at the site
(Acrobat/PDF file).
The
21st Century Schools Afterschool Report Card
These "Report Card Templates" enable school systems or groups
that offer after-school programs to communicate their "vision and accomplishments"
to their communities. Developed for federal 21st Century School grant recepients
but adaptable by any school or district interested in a community dialog
about after-school programs.
After-school
support for kids "who lack social capital"
Former New York Times education writer Gene Maeroff, author of "Altered
Destinies: Making Life Better for Schoolchildren in Need," muses about
the growing interest in after-school and community-based programs for kids
who lack "social capital." (Teachers College Record, 3/00)
Extracurricular
Activities and Academic Achievement
Looking for some evidence that extracurricular activities support student
achievement? Reseacher John Holloway surveyed the research in this "Research
Link" (Educational Leadership, Dec/Jan, 1999/2000). "All the cited
research suggests that extracurricular activities provide all students --
including at-risk and gifted students -- an academic safety net."
The
Rise and Decline of the Teenager
The word "teenager" emerged during the Depression to define a
new kind of American adolescence-one that prevailed for half a century and
may now be ending, says this cover story from the September 1999 issue of
*American Heritage* magazine. "What we learn from looking at the past
is that there are many different ways in which Americans have been young.
Young people and adults need to keep reinventing adolescence so that it
serves us all." A thoughtful article of interest to anyone involved
in youth programs.
The Bumpy Road to School-Community
Partnerships
Bureaucracy, turf wars, and poor communication can hamper the most sincere
efforts to build collaborations between schools and community service organizations
that want to establish after-school programs. This 1996 story from "Changing
Schools in Long Beach" describes a situation that has since improved,
but it points to problems that many districts and agencies face.