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The Countdown to the 'Afterschool for All Challenge' Is On!
on Washington, D.C., for the Afterschool Alliance’s Afterschool for All Challenge: Transforming Research into Action! Registration is still open, so join us on May 8 and 9 to send the message to policy makers that afterschool works!
The Hard Truth About Extended Learning Time
Many schools are ill-equipped to put extended learning time (ELT) to the most effective use for improving student and school outcomes, a new report finds. Off the Clock: What More Time Can (and Can’t) Do for School Turnarounds says, “But the hard truth is that there is far more research showing the ill effects of unequal time than research showing that ELT policies can make up the difference. Less time may be a cause of poor performance, but that doesn’t mean that more time is necessarily the cure.”
The report, released by Education Sector last month, reviews data on how schools are using “increased learning time” mandated by the federal government. The variations are wide—from adding minutes to the school day, to providing afterschool programs and/or shortening recess and lunch. Some approaches show clear potential, while others face considerable limits to implementation.
As sensible as using existing time differently sounds, its results often fall “well short of the mark,” the study says. “Many schools are proposing to gain time for instruction by decreasing non-instructional time, namely lunch, recess, or the time allotted for students to move between classes.” By doing so, Off the Clock warns, “they are choosing technical compliance with federal rules instead of the hard work of comprehensive reform.”
The report notes that schools that have succeeded with extended time have done so largely because they include time as part of a more comprehensive reform. It reviews successful models, including TASC in New York, Citizen Schools in Boston and the Providence After School Alliance in Rhode Island.
“New designs for extended time should be a part of the nation’s school improvement plans,” the report concludes. “But policymakers and school leaders must recognize that successful schools use time not just to extend hours and days but to creatively improve how and by whom instruction is delivered. In the end, the ELT movement is more likely to leave a legacy of school and student success if it becomes less about time and more about quality teaching and learning.”
Download the full report online. Education Sector is an independent think tank that challenges conventional thinking in education policy. Off the Clock: What More Time Can (and Can’t) Do for School Turnarounds was funded by the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation.
Afterschool Alliance Joins Groundbreaking STEM Summit
Thousands of education, policy and industry thought leaders, including Afterschool Alliance Director of STEM Policy Anita Krishnamurthi, will convene in Dallas, Texas, in June for STEM Solutions 2012, a groundbreaking leadership summit that will bring the best minds and best practices together on a national stage to open the conversation about and develop solutions to the science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) skills shortage.
According to Krishnamurthi, “Our organization is participating in STEM Solutions because it offers a wonderful opportunity to connect with some of the leading minds working to advance STEM education in this country. We consider this a stellar opportunity to bring messages about the importance of STEM in afterschool to public policy, science, business, community and other leaders and practitioners. We want to invite those in related fields to learn more about the opportunities for STEM education in afterschool programs, to invite them to participate in our local Lights On Afterschool events this fall, and to engage with our community in other ways.” The Afterschool Alliance is one of the conference’s co-chairs.
Event organizers U.S. News & World Report, Innovate+Educate and STEMConnector™ have enthusiastically welcomed the group’s involvement. “STEMConnector is so proud that the Afterschool Alliance is committing its strong voice and resources towards addressing one of the most pressing issues facing America’s economic future. We respect and admire the Afterschool Alliance’s work and look forward to their critical contributions to the STEM Solutions Conference in Dallas,” said Edie Fraser, CEO of STEMConnector.
To learn more about STEM Solutions 2012, visit www.USNewsSTEMSolutions.com. Use the code ASA002 to register and get a special afterschool program rate.
Nominations Open for the MetLife Innovator Award
For the fifth year, the Afterschool Alliance is partnering with the MetLife Foundation on awards and issue briefs that highlight promising afterschool programs across the country, and for the third year in a row the focus is on middle school youth. Five exemplary afterschool programs that serve middle school youth will win a $10,000 MetLife Foundation Afterschool Innovator Award.
Programs should demonstrate success in one of the following four categories:
Afterschool and Digital Learning—Programs that leverage digital technology to facilitate engaging learning experiences, enhance technical skills and strengthen critical thinking across core subject areas.
Afterschool and the Arts—Programs that use the arts as means to strengthen self-confidence and self-expression, build community and improve academic and skills development.
Afterschool and Parent Involvement/Engagement—Programs that creatively engage parents to help them become more involved in students’ learning, both in and out of school.
Afterschool and School Improvement—Programs that utilize School Improvement Grant funding to help promote positive change and improved academic outcomes in partnering schools.
The awards identify potentially lesser-known yet highly effective programs and the individuals running them. Nominees will be judged by the innovative nature of their approach and by their demonstrated effectiveness.
The five winning programs will be notified this summer and are expected to keep their selection confidential until the awards are officially announced in conjunction with Lights On Afterschool in October. Winners will also receive additional support (up to $1,500, plus media outreach assistance) to hold a Lights On Afterschool event to announce the award, and will be expected to provide information and quotes for award materials and news releases. Additionally, awardees and other notable nominees will be recognized in nationally released issue briefs and a year-end compendium.
Nominations are due May 15, 2012. The online nomination form can be found here, and additional details, including information about past winners, are also available online.
Afterschool In Action Compendium Released
Earlier this month, with support from MetLife Foundation, the Afterschool Alliance released its fourth compendium of issue briefs, Afterschool In Action: How Innovative Afterschool Programs Address Critical Issues Facing Middle School Youth.
The compendium includes a compilation of four issue briefs examining the vital role afterschool programs play in addressing important issues for middle school students. The issue briefs address aligning afterschool with the regular school day, bullying prevention, service learning and promoting literacy.
Afterschool in Action details the outstanding work done by the 2011 MetLife Innovator Award recipients. Kids Rethink New Orleans in New Orleans, La.; Higher Achievement in Washington, D.C.; Urban Arts/Project Phoenix in Oakland, Calif.; 21st Century PASOS in Gettysburg, Pa.; and America SCORES in Chicago, Ill., are each featured in the compendium with in-depth profiles.
Be sure to check out this new resource to find inspiration from some of the country’s most innovative programs and learn more about how successful afterschool programs are helping middle school youth traverse a complicated but critical period in their lives.
Can’t Attend the Afterschool for All Challenge? Take Action from Home!
Advocates traveling to Washington, D.C., next month will make the case to members of Congress that they should support and fund school- and community-based before-school, afterschool and summer learning programs that keep kids safe, inspire them to learn, and help working families. Just because you can’t attend, it doesn’t mean that you can’t speak up. Email your member of Congress on May 8 and/or May 9 to make your voice heard!
Background:
Consider using some of these messages in your outreach to members of Congress:
The Afterschool Alliance’s website has numerous resources for afterschool providers looking for new ways to raise money for their programs, including tips for initiating relationships with funders and businesses, and for identifying funding opportunities.
GRANTS/AWARDS AVAILABLE
Gateway to College
The Gateway to College National Network will select up to 10 partnerships between colleges and K-12 schools for multi-year contracts worth $325,000 to $440,000. The network is financing programs that prevent students from dropping out of high school and prepare them for college. The deadline to apply is April 30. Learn more about startup funding online.
Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes
Each year the Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes honors outstanding young leaders who have made a significant positive difference to people and the planet. Nominees must be 8 to 18 years old and must have been the prime mover of a service activity and demonstrated positive spirit and high moral purpose in accomplishing their goals. Youth are nominated by responsible adults with solid knowledge of the young person’s activities and who are not related to the nominee. Winners of the Barron Prize receive $2,500 for higher education or their service project, as well as other honors. Nominations are due April 30 and winners will be notified in July. Click here for more information.
State Farm Service-Learning Grants
State Farm’s Youth Advisory Board is interested in funding service-learning projects that address access to higher education or closing the achievement gap; financial literacy; community safety and natural disaster preparedness; social health and wellness issues; and environmental responsibility. Grants of $25,000 to $100,000 will be awarded to schools or nonprofit organizations with service-learning projects that will affect student achievement in their communities. The deadline is May 4. More information is available here.
“Two new studies are flashing warning signs about the move to extend the school day. The Department of Education has made extended learning time a centerpiece of its reform efforts. This could have been a breakthrough moment for our nation’s education system, encouraging community partnerships to expand learning in ways that help students succeed and bring new resources into our schools. As decades of research on afterschool and summer learning programs show, community partners and innovative teaching approaches can help engage and excite students in learning, boosting achievement. But the extended day approach being implemented in many schools as a result of the department’s push to increase instructional time falls short. It largely ignores the deep body of research on what makes effective expanded learning. Instead, too many schools are merely adding another hour or so of regular class time onto the school day. Not surprisingly, two very recent studies suggest we might not accomplish much with this approach to improving schools.”
—Afterschool Alliance Executive Director Jodi Grant, “What New Research on Extended School Day Says,” Washington Post Answer Sheet blog, April 19, 2012
“In my second term…we really went after juvenile crime and tried to keep people out of prison. And one of the things we did was appropriate enough money for afterschool programs for a million and a half young people—this was federal money—and I gather a lot of them have been cut back now under all these financial constraints.… I believe that we’ve got to go back to turning these schools into community centers—leave them open every night, leave them open on the weekends. Offer real support to kids.”
—Former president Bill Clinton at the Clinton Global Initiative University Conference, answering a question on how to combat juvenile delinquency and incarceration, March 31, 2012
Voices from the Afterschool Storybook…
“The most rewarding aspect of my job is seeing kids feel better about themselves. I get to see them develop the pride and self-respect that comes from doing positive things. Watching these kids transform is a huge high for me. Kids who were outcasts in the community are now accomplished artists. It’s incredible to watch ‘hard’ kids soften. They know that they can be themselves in our program.”
—Van Go Mobile Arts founder Lynne Greene
To read more from Greene and other afterschool voices from across the country, click here. Share your story here.
Strong winds couldn’t stop organizers from breaking ground on the Goose Creek Heights Family Enrichment Center in Davenport earlier this month. The new center will offer preschool programs, day care, afterschool activities and parenting classes. Neighborhood officials raised half the funds for the new center over the past three years and are still raising the remaining funds, the Quad-City Times reports. The building is set to be completed later this summer so programs can begin in August.
Four years ago, Randolph High School identified 25 ninth-grade students in danger of being held back, and started the Stars afterschool program to help them stay in school. Because of the program, 21 of those at-risk students are on track to graduate this year and two are slated to graduate next year. Stars provides space and time to complete homework, receive academic help from staff, and join development projects. Stars students told the Boston Globe that the afterschool program kept them in school. Senior Kenneth “KJ” Yellock said, “I know I would probably be behind bars right now if I hadn’t been in Stars.”
Afterschool students from the City of New Brunswick Youth Services, C.A.M.P. Youth Development Program in Paterson and the Jewish Renaissance Foundation 21st Century Community Learning Centers in Perth Amboy celebrated Earth Day last week at Rutgers University’s botanical gardens. The students helped prepare a community youth vegetable garden, assisted with a memorial planting, played family games and took a tour. The Verizon Foundation and the New Jersey School-Age Care Coalition hosted the day’s events.
Six years after then-19-year-old Yasmany Fuentes started an afterschool program based on leadership and discipline with 14 students, the program is thriving as an elective course, with 125 students participating. Fuentes based much of the curriculum of the South Valley Leadership Corps on his own experiences in JROTC, the Albuquerque Journal reports. Fuentes was honored for his work as part of the annual South Valley Pride Day celebration earlier this month.
More than 350 children from 14 schools and afterschool programs in Rockingham County participated in the Rockingham GO FAR (Go Out For A Run) 5K and one-mile fun run on April 21. For 10 weeks, students met twice a week for an afterschool running club to train for the race. The Rockingham County Partnership for Children sponsored the character development and fitness program to address childhood obesity. According to state statistics, 43 percent of children ages 5 to 11 in the county were overweight or obese in 2009, the Greensboro News & Record reports.
A unique afterschool program in Northeast Ohio is combining arts and on-the-job training. Teens must apply to join the program, provide references and go through a face-to-face interview, as with a typical job, to participate in Young Audiences’ ArtWorks program. Students are paid minimum wage and expected to behave in a professional manner. The high school students learn fine art, music, recording, computer game design, dance, ceramics and more in addition to project planning, teamwork and collaboration, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports. The program plans to host an exhibition in late April for students to display their projects, give demonstrations and sell their art.
Two hundred afterschool students from the Pasadena, Aldine, Sheldon and Galveston school districts showcased their tennis skills at the Grand Slam Tennis Jam in Houston earlier this month. The Tennis Jam was the culminating event for elementary and middle school students after learning tennis over the past semester in their Cooperative for After-School Enrichment (CASE) programs. Students were guests at the U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship and heard Wayne Bryan, father and coach of the longstanding world number one men’s doubles team, Bob and Mike Bryan, speak.
South Salt Lake City teacher Emily Anderson started the Grizzly Academy afterschool program three years ago after she realized that too many of her students were not exposed to the arts. The program begins with an hour dedicated to academics and tutoring, and then students choose to participate in the musical club, intramural sports, cooking, art, dance, wood shop, Latino club or other activities. Chad Reinhart, a professional learning specialist at Granite Park Junior High School, told the Deseret News, “Our data shows that students who participate in the Grizzly Academy have fewer failing grades and do better on year-end tests than those who do not.”
Additions to Out-of-School Time Database
The Harvard Family Research Project has added six new and updated profiles to its Out-of-School Time Program Research and Evaluation Database.
The new and updated evaluations are:
Click here for more information on the Harvard Family Research Project’s out-of-school time initiatives.
Take an Electronic Field Trip
The National Park Foundation offers electronic field trips curated by park rangers on its website. Students can learn about the natural environment, habitat and wildlife conservation in virtual learning sessions. Each electronic field trip consists of a televised broadcast from a national park, featuring rangers and youth hosts; an online lesson plan for teachers; and interactive games for students.
More information from the National Park Foundation is online.
Apply Now for the 'Together for Tomorrow' School Improvement Challenge
The Obama administration has launched a new initiative for the 2012-2013 school year to spur community engagement in turning around some of the lowest-performing schools in the country. The Together for Tomorrow School Improvement Challenge is a joint initiative of the U.S. Department of Education, the White House Office of Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships, and the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS).
At the launch earlier this month at a town hall meeting in Dubuque, Iowa, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said, “When it comes to turning around low-performing schools, the department’s investments and the work of schools and districts aren’t the whole solution. Our schools need the engagement of communities to support and sustain school improvement. This Challenge will help foster partnerships to propel school improvement and produce better outcomes for students.”
The Together for Tomorrow School Improvement Challenge is an opportunity for schools and districts, afterschool programs, institutions of higher education, and nonprofit organizations to join with other community partners in efforts to improve their neediest schools by raising key measurable student outcomes: attendance, behavior, course performance and college access.
Plans can be submitted to catalyze new partnerships as well as spotlight and expand exemplary initiatives already working to raise student achievement and strengthen a community culture of educational success. Plans can encompass a single local community or a regional, state or national effort with multiple sites. The Challenge is not a grant program, but rather an approach to better coordinate resources and efforts, including many through existing Education Department and CNCS programs.
All schools and communities that meet the criteria for the Challenge will garner national recognition for their efforts and become part of the Together for Tomorrow learning network. Selected applicants will also be invited to attend a special event in Washington, D.C.
Applicants have until June 29, 2012, to submit plans. Details on the Challenge can be found online.
Last month, Afterschool Ambassador Herb Higgin coached the Michigan City Robotics Team 3936 to a spot in the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics World Championship competition to be held in St. Louis later this month! Read on for Herb’s take on his “fantastic victory” and the success that was a “community effort”:
To earn our ticket to the World Championships we competed against 48 other FIRST Robotics teams from Arkansas, Kansas, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio and were awarded the “All-Star Rookie Team Award” at the Midwest Regional. The award was based on cooperation, community support, volunteerism, website design, industrial design, innovation and having a diverse mix of mentors.
After the team’s thrilling win, my team quickly moved into fundraising mode! It started on the bus ride home from the championships when we accepted an impromptu invitation (offered by phone) to bring Team 3936 to the Michigan City Area Chamber of Commerce Annual Dinner. After the team and students were introduced to the several hundred attendees, we received a thunderous standing ovation from the crowd.
We asked the audience if they had some “extra money” because we’d promised the team we were going to St. Louis for the World Championship by hook or by crook. The response was overwhelming: We received a commitment of help from Michigan City Mayor Ron Meer, a $1,000 donation from NIPSCO (a natural gas provider) and a $7,000 donation from Horizon Bank. NIPSCO’s and Horizon Bank’s generosity still brings tears to my eyes, and our students, parents and mentors were speechless and stunned!
Our entire team is thrilled to be moving on in the competition. And everyone associated with the program is proud of the work our youngsters have done. Of course, there’s a lot more to the FIRST program than building robots. The program connects our students with local technology leaders who work with them on their designs, and help teach them a broad range of things about engineering, the world of work, teamwork, and more. And throughout the process, our kids learn about setting goals and figuring out how to achieve them. They’re filled with pride — justifiably so — at having accomplished what they have. And that sense of achievement, that conviction that they can set a goal and work toward it in a collaborative way, will stick with them for years to come. The robots themselves are pretty cool, I have to admit, but the lessons our kids learn along the way will last a lifetime.
Read Herb’s complete take on Afterschool Snack, the Afterschool Alliance’s blog.
Fill Up on News at Afterschool Snack!
How successful is afterschool in engaging youth in STEM activities? How can afterschool programs access funding to provide meals? What is the latest news on the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act? Find out all this and more in recent Afterschool Snack posts, including:
And be sure to tune in every Wednesday for a national news round-up, and throughout the week for your daily dose of afterschool. Check out Afterschool Snack here.
May 8-9, 2012
The Afterschool Alliance will host the 11th annual Afterschool for All Challenge in Washington, D.C. The event brings together afterschool leaders, advocates, educators, and local and state officials to discuss the hottest issues in afterschool, meet with members of Congress and celebrate afterschool accomplishments. Registration is now open! For more information, click here.
June 27-29, 2012
Join thousands of education, policy and industry thought leaders, including Afterschool Alliance Executive Director Jodi Grant and Director of STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) Policy Anita Krishnamurthi, in Dallas for STEM Solutions 2012. The groundbreaking leadership summit will bring the best minds and best practices together on a national stage to open the conversation and develop solutions to the STEM skills shortage. The conference has a specific track dedicated to education and America’s STEM future. More information is available online, and be sure to use the code ASA002 when you register to get a special afterschool program rate.
July 23-27, 2012
The National Institute on Out-of-School Time will host its Summer Seminars in Boston at the Wellesley Centers for Women. The seminars will offer professional development opportunities for those working in afterschool, out-of-school time, youth development, education or related fields. Workshops will address using the Afterschool Program Assessment System, systems building in a new age of education reform, using data to improve programs, promoting healthy eating and active out-of-school time, and more. Click here for more information.
