Afterschool Programs News Feed

Joe Davis: Building better learning through afterschool

Tue, 08 May 2012 09:38:26 GMT

By ANN RICHARDS

Good afterschool programs extend classroom learning
Afterschool offers alternative paths to learning
New Web site: Expanding Learning a resource for schools and educators

When Joe Davis was a young teacher in Tallahassee, Florida, he often stayed after school to grade papers or finish lesson plans — and his classroom quickly became a hangout for students with no place to go. Searching for ways to keep them entertained, Davis resorted to using suggestions for extracurricular work that appeared in the margins of his teacher’s textbooks. “I never had the time to use those ideas during the school day,” he said. “But the kids really responded to those activities.” Now Chief Operating Officer for the Florida Afterschool Network, the former Chief of the Bureau of Family and Community Outreach at the Florida Department of Education has assumed the role of national spokesperson for the Expanded Learning and Afterschool Project, a new Mott-funded initiative designed to help spread the use of high-quality afterschool programming to districts across the country.

High quality after school programs accelerate student achievement. Click to expand (PDF).

Mott: You’ve been involved with the afterschool movement since you were a classroom teacher. What prompted you to build a career in this area of education?

Davis: My career evolved quite by accident. I was planning to go to law school, but I took a year off after college and started substitute teaching to earn some money. I ended up as a long-term substitute, teaching English at middle school — and it was a blast. I was offered a permanent teaching position and spent five years as an EH (emotional handicapped classroom) teacher for 22 sixth, seventh and eighth-grade students. During my ten years of teaching middle-school kids — I also taught history in a regular classroom — I realized how afterschool programs fueled my creativity as a teacher and how that kind of learning connected with the kids.

In too many districts, we let our middle-school students out at three o’clock with no place to go. It’s a travesty, really. Good afterschool programs make a teacher’s day easier. Not only can they extend classroom learning — without the pressure of tests — but they help the school make positive connections with students. When I took a job at the Florida Department of Education, I was fortunate enough to be introduced to the 21st Century Community Learning Centers Program. I soon realized the significance of the impact of that program on over 65,000 Florida students every year. I was also able to apply what I learned through my own afterschool activities to shape what was being done at the state level. Leaving the Department of Education to become the COO of the Florida Afterschool Network has only intensified my commitment.

Mott: Why do you believe quality afterschool programs extend and expand learning?

Davis: I have to go back to my days of teaching, when I saw how differently students responded to academic subjects in the afterschool environment. My social studies class was reading a historical fiction novel about the American Civil War. Borrowing from a suggestion in a teacher’s textbook to assign a student a character from a novel and write additional lines and scenes for them, I decided to use that afterschool. My students loved it. The book came alive for them. From writing the new scenes we went to acting the scenes — and none of those activities cost me anything more than time and imagination.

I think fun and enjoyment is a critical part of high-quality afterschool programming. Nothing is more discouraging than visiting an afterschool program that is just used as a holding pen for kids.

Mott: In this era of tight budgets, why should districts consider afterschool programs an essential part of the academic day?

Davis: Good programming after school makes teaching easier and learning easier. And now we have research confirming what most teachers know intuitively — high-quality afterschool programming has a positive impact on the academic performance, attendance and behavior of students.

Funding for afterschool is a tough problem for a lot of districts. But if you can provide a safe space for kids after school, a place where they have opportunities to grow socially and emotionally, there’s no reason why you can’t take that next step and make it educationally relevant. Even with tight budgets, schools can tap community resources, recruit volunteers from local colleges or service organizations and experiment with flexible teaching schedules. It’s always a surprise to see how well kids will respond to classroom material when it’s presented in a different light, with a little less formality than during the school day.

There’s a lot to be gained through an investment in afterschool. It’s tough, but superintendents and principals have to ask themselves how existing budgets can be leveraged so that afterschool space can be made available and learning can be incorporated into even the most simple, low-cost activities.

Mott: You’ve agreed to serve as a spokesperson for the new Expanded Learning and Afterschool Project, funded by the Mott, Noyce and Packard foundations. Tell us a little more about the purpose of this initiative.

Davis: Right now, we’re trying to leverage technology to get research and information about effective afterschool programs into the hands of interested parties — any organization, school district, educator or administrator interested in starting a program or improving an existing program.

Our Web site, www.expandinglearning.org, hosts some great new research by Joseph Durlak (Loyola University Chicago) and Roger Weissberg (University of Illinois at Chicago) that underscores the link between high-quality programs and student achievement.

Expandinglearning.org is the starting point. How people use the site will help determine the type of information and technical assistance we offer and how it will be delivered. We are hopeful that the contacts made through the Web site will help grow local programs and build our base of best practices in afterschool.

Hometown Grantmaking in Flint: Children and Youth

Wed, 18 Apr 2012 10:45:27 GMT

The Summer Tot Lot program is an initiative of Flint Community Schools.

More information about YouthQuest and the Summer Youth Initiative is available from the Genessee Regional Chamber of Commerce.

“Big Sales Night” transforms elementary students into entrepreneurs

Thu, 12 Apr 2012 10:05:09 GMT

By ANN RICHARDS

YouthQuest afterschool program uses real life experiences to reinforce learning
“Big Sales Night” fosters entrepreneurial skills in young students
Expanded Learning and Afterschool Web site links communities with resources

Video By: DUANE M. ELLING

It’s not every day that a third-grade class has the opportunity to produce and market its own music CD. But at Freeman Elementary School in Flint, Michigan, Jef Johnson, a learning guide for the YouthQuest afterschool program, used his skills as a music producer to introduce an enthusiastic class of 9-year-old singers to the recording industry.

The end result, The Blue Dragons Mix Tape, was one of eight different products and services showcased at the school’s “Big Sales Night,” held in early April. The culminating event of an eight-week afterschool unit using entrepreneurship to sharpen academic and personal skills, the “Big Sales Night,” raised $606.50 for two local charities. About 70 to 80 people — mostly Freeman school parents, family members and friends — attended the event.

“It was a lot of work, but it was so much fun,” said Kate Potts, the school’s YouthQuest site team leader. “The kids learned how difficult it can be to run a successful business, and as a plus, we were able to work in the idea of charity and how hard people work to help other people.”

Each of YouthQuest’s seven, multi-week sessions during the school year is designed around a theme, which gives the afterschool staff the opportunity to exercise creativity around an established lesson plan, Potts said.

“We’re able to learn what works and what doesn’t from the experiences of other afterschool teams and try some different approaches. The theme helps guide our planning and keeps us from getting into a rut,” she said, noting that Freeman’s final eight-week session will be devoted to the planets and space travel.

“We try to work with our classroom teachers to weave afterschool activities with classroom activities,” Potts continued. “This session was particularly useful for our younger students, who are learning about coinage and currency. Before we brought each class together to outline their business plans, we spent some time learning how to count money, how to make change. Our older students learned about profit, and why businesses need to be profitable.”

Although they considered creating “play money” that students could use to start businesses and purchase products and services, Potts and her eight-member team of learning guides ultimately decided that the rigor of creating and marketing actual products and services would encourage teamwork and challenge students’ creative and decisionmaking skills.

“We ended up with some interesting businesses — a waffle restaurant and art gallery, jewelry, photography and school supply stores, a lemonade stand and CD and DVD sales.”

Freeman is one of 15 elementary and middle schools in Flint and Genesee County offering free YouthQuest afterschool programming. Supported with an annual grant of $3 million from the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, YouthQuest is managed by the Genesee Regional Chamber of Commerce. Taking a whole-child approach to learning — using engaging and experiential activities to connect with and expand lessons learned during the regular school day — the program serves approximately 2,800 children each year, according to Rhetta Hunyady, the chamber’s vice president.

A graduate of the University of Michigan-Flint’s School of Education, Potts began working for YouthQuest while doing her student teaching. After graduating, she stayed with the program because of the inventive teaching opportunities offered through afterschool.

“So much learning comes from exploration, from working through problems and making mistakes — afterschool offers that kind of creative time for teachers and more importantly, for students,” she said.

National event shines “Lights On Afterschool”

Tue, 18 Oct 2011 12:00:00 GMT

Through rallies, parades, open houses and tours, more than 7,500 schools and nonprofits across the U.S. will call attention to afterschool programs – and the important role they play for children and their families – at the 2011 Lights On Afterschool event October 20.

“The things that make afterschool programs so beneficial, fun and diverse are showcased each year during Lights On Afterschool,” said Afterschool Alliance Executive Director Jodi Grant.

Afterschool activities provide ample hands-on problem-solving opportunities.

“This is a critical time to let local, state and national leaders experience afterschool programs firsthand, and see afterschool youth having fun with math, showing off their science skills, performing on-stage, making healthy meals and more,” she continued. “With so many programs facing budget cuts, we need to shine a spotlight on afterschool programs, and remind our leaders that these programs are key to keeping kids safe, inspiring them to learn, and helping working families.”

In the Foundation’s home community of Flint, Michigan, the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Flint will host its 9th Annual Steak Dinner October 20, honoring a long-time friend of afterschool programs, Congressman Dale E. Kildee, according to Executive Director James Gaskin.

“It’s great timing for us,” said Gaskin of this year’s Lights On Afterschool celebration. “The dinner is our biggest fundraiser – and this year, we are honoring Congressman Kildee with our Patrick McInnis “Community Hero” Award. He’s been a tireless advocate for afterschool programs locally and nationally,” said Gaskin of the 18-term Flint-area legislator.

The Afterschool Alliance, which works with more than 25,000 afterschool partners like Flint’s Boys & Girls Club, launched Lights On Afterschool 12 years ago to raise awareness of the importance of high-quality programs and advocate for more afterschool investment, says Ursula Helminski, vice president of external affairs for the Afterschool Alliance, a long-time Mott grantee.

“It’s important to take the time each year to celebrate the good work that’s being done by schools and nonprofit organizations that offer safe, high-quality programs for children,” she continued. “And it is equally important to use this opportunity to familiarize the public, policymakers and legislators about the increasing need for these programs.”

Across the country, one in four children and teenagers – 15.1 million youth – take care of themselves after the regular school day ends, according to the Afterschool Alliance. In the 2011-2012 school year, approximately 8.4 million children will participate in safe, supervised activities after school – while the parents of another 18.5 million say their children would participate if a program were available.

To focus attention on the need for more high-quality afterschool activities, the Afterschool Alliance created Lights On Afterschool in 2000. Originally celebrated in 1,200 communities, the national event has grown to include more than one million participants.

A planning kit, available free at the Afterschool Alliance Web site was developed to help local programs recruit volunteers, create media materials and showcase their Lights On Afterschool activities.

The Afterschool Alliance grew out of a partnership between the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation and the U.S. Department of Education to support the 21st Century Community Learning Centers initiative. The recipient of almost $12 million in support from the Mott Foundation, the Afterschool Alliance serves as the national voice for afterschool and expanded learning opportunities, working with national, state and local entities across the country to increase access to quality, affordable afterschool programs, particularly for those from underserved populations.

Gwynn Hughes discusses Mott’s afterschool funding strategy

Tue, 13 Sep 2011 12:04:57 GMT

BY ANN RICHARDS

Since 1935, when philanthropist Charles Stewart Mott made an investment to keep six schools open after hours in his adopted hometown of Flint, Michigan, the Mott Foundation has supported the development of afterschool programs that provide children and young people — particularly those in underserved communities — with recreational and learning opportunities in a safe and supervised environment. In this short Q & A, Gwynn Hughes, who assumed responsibility for Mott’s Learning Beyond the Classroom portfolio less than a year ago, discusses the importance of afterschool programs and the Foundation’s current grantmaking strategies.

Gwynn Hughes
Mott: You are a relatively new program officer at Mott, in charge of one of its largest grantmaking portfolios. Tell us a little about your background.

Hughes: I joined the Mott staff in the fall of 2010. Before coming to Mott, I was the executive director of the Massachusetts Afterschool Partnership in Boston and a Foundation grantee for six years. That experience gave me good, on-the-ground exposure to K-12 education and its challenges.

I graduated from Wellesley College with a B.A. and received a master’s degree in music history from the University of Virginia. That may seem like odd preparation for a law degree, but I always knew I wanted to be a lawyer. So I enrolled and graduated from Northeastern University’s School of Law.

Very early in my legal career — after interning with the Massachusetts Department of Public Welfare — I got hooked on policy and system reform for low-income families. Working in the area of administrative law taught me that while systems are put in place with the best of intentions, helping to build connections between systems would be a powerful and effective way to better support disadvantaged families and children.

The need and potential to connect systems became even more apparent to me when I served as chief operating officer of the state’s Office of Child Care Services, and, later, as the chief of project management and policy support for the Massachusetts Executive Office of Health and Human Services. Many of the services developed as a safety net for poor families operate outside the education system and are delivered through nonprofit, community-based organizations. I kept thinking there must be a way to bring those systems together, and eventually I came to believe that afterschool programming provides the space where that can occur — where nonprofits and schools have an opportunity to connect to help low-income families.

Mott: As a practitioner and now as a funder of afterschool programming, why do you believe this type of educational activity fosters success in children and young people?

Hughes: Afterschool programs offer the opportunity to educate differently. I don’t believe you can develop a comprehensive education system without looking at those key hours between 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. — and I’m very excited that, nationally, there’s a movement to look more closely at how we’re educating our kids and where we’re succeeding and where we are failing.

Classroom time is very important. But what happens during the regular school day is just one piece of the educational puzzle. Most students — including those from wealthier districts — need more than one kind of support, one kind of learning experience. A rich afterschool program — not necessarily one that is well-funded, but one that brings in community organizations and leverages their expertise in different areas — not only can support what’s learned in the classroom but can serve as an incubator for developing some really effective ways to educate.

Engaging afterschool programming and learning opportunities for kids — that are project-based and use the larger community as a classroom — help students make connections. They provide practical experiences that help students apply what they learn. The opportunity to help solve a problem in a real-life setting — it builds confidence.

I hope that eventually, the school day will have more characteristics of high quality afterschool. Infusing different kinds of learning experiences into the regular academic curriculum and using the community as part of the process not only helps build better, more connected citizens, but ultimately I think it’s a key to meaningful education reform.

Mott: Tell us a little more about the Mott model for afterschool programs and the funding strategies you are using to increase the quality and number of programs nationally.

Hughes: Mott’s model is very much school-linked or school-based, which we believe reinforces a seamless learning experience for kids and young people. Research has shown that the most effective afterschool programs are the result of partnerships between the school and its community — partnerships that provide continuity with the regular school curriculum and reinforce what students are learning through creative, student-focused activities. It’s a model of afterschool programming that connects with — but is not the same as — the day-to-day classroom experience.

Mott has focused its funding on national- and state-level organizations with the goal of building a system of support for afterschool. Our state afterschool networks — which now include 39 states — are the engine driving the development of policy and quality standards for local programs by identifying best practices for testing and replication [See related story]. We are working toward building a sustainable structure of statewide, regional and local partnerships — particularly school-community partnerships — which in turn will inform policy development at all levels. We depend upon the network’s field experience to inform national education and youth policy initiatives.

Through our network of national partners, we provide a vehicle for continuous quality improvement for afterschool programs through training and information exchange. Our national partners provide expertise, technical assistance, tools and communications strategies to build support for more quality afterschool programs. Together with the states, they are working to encourage the development of local, state and national constituencies and systems that support afterschool, especially for underserved communities.

Mott: Where can people find out more about Mott’s afterschool grantmaking?

There are a couple of great resources, including the Foundation’s Web site: we have the Afterschool issue page that we’re trying to build out to include more information and resources. Our Web site also has afterschool funding guidelines and a searchable database for individuals or organizations interested in specific grants.

The Afterschool Alliance is a great resource for districts interested in afterschool programming. The Afterschool Technical Assistance Collaborative’s new Web site also has information that may be of interest to afterschool practitioners.

Statewide Afterschool Networks: A unified approach to change

Tue, 13 Sep 2011 12:02:51 GMT

BY ANN RICHARDS

Leveraging the best of what works in afterschool policy and practice is the motivating principle behind the Mott Foundation’s national Statewide Afterschool Network initiative. [See related Gwynn Hughes Q&A] To that end, the Collaborative Communications Group (Collaborative) has worked over the past nine years to ensure that the networks are connected, have relevant resources, can share challenges and are recognized for their successes.

“From the first, the national network has been about creating a learning community — its focus is idea sharing, training and leveraging each other’s work,” said Terri Ferinde Dunham, who coordinates the activities of the educators and organizations that belong to the national network at the Collaborative.

Afterschool programs offer the opportunity to educate differently.

“Ultimately, our goal is to provide the supports and create the infrastructure needed to shape national afterschool priorities — priorities that lead to better programs for children and families, especially in high-poverty areas.”

For more than 10 years, Dunham’s organization, an education consulting firm based in Washington, D.C., has partnered with education organizations, foundations, government agencies, school districts, and community-based organizations interested in improving public education and afterschool learning throughout the United States.

In 2002, the Mott Foundation tapped the firm’s expertise in network building, funding a series of national meetings uniting a first cohort of nine statewide afterschool networks. A longtime funder of the afterschool concept, the Foundation was keenly aware that demand for quality afterschool programs exceeded availability. To scale up and sustain successful afterschool programs, individual public and private sector organizations would need to coordinate their efforts for maximum impact.

“It seems intuitive, but it was a new idea at the time,” Dunham said of the Foundation’s efforts to increase cooperation among state agencies. “It represented a first attempt to create a national network dedicated to building the community collaborations and public/private partnerships needed to increase program quality and sustainability.”

Now numbering 39, the statewide networks have grown in scale and sophistication, in part due to the support and resources of the Afterschool Technical Assistance Collaborative (ATAC). Composed of eight national organizations [1] that provide a customized menu of technical assistance services to the networks, ATAC also is supported by Collaborative Communications Group.

Together with network members, these national organizations are the “engines that drive the development of best practices and policies, like in the area of quality standards, for afterschool programming,” said Dunham. “Ultimately, more quality standards translate into better programs that lead to more supportive policies for afterschool programs. In the end, that’s what is really rewarding about this work.”

“We exist to help the state networks achieve their goals,” said Victoria Wegener, lead facilitator of ATAC and a partner at Mainspring Consulting, a Maryland-based organization that works with foundations, policymakers and state and community leaders to design effective programs for children, families and communities.

“Through direct contact, referrals and most recently, through peer networking, ATAC fosters cross-system information exchanges among the national partner organizations — which represent government, finance, advocacy and data development and collection — with the state and local programs that are working to increase and improve state policies and practices that support high-quality, sustainable afterschool programming,” she explained.

The Foundation has provided more than $7.5 million in support of the national network since 2002, an investment that is benefiting a wide pool of afterschool practitioners and policymakers.

“We reach out to concentric circles of stakeholders — beginning with ATAC and the leaders and steering committees of each of the state networks, expanding to individuals who attend our national meetings and from there to key support organizations and practitioners who use our online resources,” Dunham said.

The network uses “multiple vehicles for connection” to link its diverse membership.

“Each of our networks face challenges specific to their locale, and helping them deal with those challenges requires meaningful, continuous communication — be it online, face-to-face or through conferences and regional meetings,” Dunham continued. “We want our members to lean on and depend upon the national network — we want to become embedded in their regular work routine.”

According to Mary Sutton, executive director of the Michigan After-School Partnership, “Being part of the national network — being part of a strong collective voice — not only validates what we do, but gives us the confidence that comes from knowing we’re not out there building bridges and overcoming roadblocks on our own." A member of the network since 2005, Sutton notes that the peer-to-peer support and the opportunity to tap the resources available through ATAC’s national contacts are “a big advantage to our work.”

To further strengthen members’ capacity to foster state, regional and local partnerships, as well as to secure resources to sustain high-quality afterschool programs, the Mott Foundation provides each state network with a three-year grant of $225,000 to support a variety of projects.

Michigan’s statewide afterschool network is using Mott funding to boost student achievement by linking activities to the regular school day.

“Our focus right now is on improving the quality of afterschool programs through professional development,” said Sutton. “We’re using our Mott funding to build afterschool capacity in the sciences, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). Our goal is to boost student achievement in these areas by linking afterschool activities to what they are learning during the regular school day.”

Linking the state-based work and helping leverage the lessons learned are guiding principles of the network’s continuing development, says the Collaborative’s Dunham.

“We believe networks should be learner initiated and learner driven. Over the past two years, we’ve experienced a subtle shift in how the network operates. We’ve noticed that there’s much more peer-to-peer sharing, particularly online. We’ve come to recognize that the best resources for network members are network members,” Dunham said.

In response to demand from the field, the Collaborative planned to introduce a “more dynamic, responsive on line forum” for its members later this year, making it much easier to track “hot topics” and provide the appropriate technical assistance quickly.

“We tend to the details,” said Dunham. “We serve as the network’s sherpa — helping members make the right connections, setting the table for the right discussions, designing the right meetings at the right time, and keeping the contact lists up to date.

“Network building is complicated work. But that’s how a common vision — a common agenda — is built.”

[1] National Governors Association; Council of Chief State School Officers; National League of Cities; Afterschool Alliance; Finance Project; National Conference of State Legislatures; American Institute for Research; and Terry Peterson at the College of Charleston, South Carolina.