This guidebook was prepared by TASC (The After-School Corporation) and their Frontiers in Urban Science Education (FUSE) programs. FUSE is TASC's initiative to help more out-of-school-time programs and expanded learning time schools offer kids engaging, exciting and inspiring activities that promote science inquiry. The guidebook offers a a…

Across the country many schools and communities are trying to create and support efforts to institutionalize partnerships for learning, including those that rethink the use of time across the school day and year, and across the developmental continuum. Referred to by different terms--integrated, expanded, or complementary learning--the concept has…

In this article, the author argues that as a school district, it is the educators duty to do whatever it takes to help their students succeed. Every project an educator undertakes is designed to meet their needs. He also states that a program's success depends on the support and input of administrators, the board of education, teachers and the…

The Exploratorium is home to XTech, a science education program which began in 2006 and was primarily funded by a three-year National Science Foundation grant (Award # 05-25217) through its ITEST (Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers) initiative. XTech provided project-based afterschool activities in science, engineering,…

Marzano (2003) identified 11 factors that positively influence student achievement. Those factors can be divided into three categories: school-level practices, teacher-level practices, and student-level characteristics. Interestingly, Marzano (2000) found that school- and teacher-level influences account for only 20% of the variance in student…

AASA began an inquiry in 2001 to understand how barriers to effective after-school programs could be overcome by school district leaders. The issue, well-known anecdotally, had not to date been researched. School leaders tend to agree that after-school programs are sound educationally but struggle to operate and sustain such programs.…

In this article, the author discusses how after-school programs are very popular with the public. A series of annual voter surveys conducted by the Afterschool Alliance shows public support consistently running in the 90 percent range, with 76 percent of voters even going so far as to say they would be willing to pay additional taxes if more…

Due to working parents, unsafe home conditions, and mass-media pressures, schools are becoming increasingly involved with providing child care for school-age children. While afterschool care poses a number of design, funding, and equity problems, schools and communities can resolve them to the great benefit of the children served. (MLH)

As part of a series of multimedia resources providing relevant information on important topics facing education leaders today, this booklet and accompanying audio compact disks focus on how extended learning programs and services after school can ensure that all students meet academic learning standards. The booklet includes an overview of the…

Sustainability is a critical issue for the vast array of community initiatives that promote healthy children, strong families, and safe communities. Noting that sustaining an initiative over time requires maintaining sufficient fiscal resources as well as a combination of nonfiscal resources from the initiative itself and the broader community,…

The principal and vice-principal of a California elementary school describe the eight critical elements that helped them develop a model expanded-day program at their school: identifying needs; sharing a vision; fostering staff ownership; investing in staff development; creating partnerships; linking learning to state standards; measuring and…

After-school activity programs to alleviate the worries of working parents with school-age children and to provide these children with directed play are proposed. A budget for such a program; how to locate volunteers; and a sample schedule are suggested. (JL)

Despite the importance of breakfast, summer, and after-school child nutrition programs, coverage in these programs in Massachusetts is low. This report describes the barriers facing the states School Breakfast, Summer Food Service, and After-School Snack Programs and suggests many innovative solutions and resources that program sponsors can use to…

At Santa Maria Middle School in southwest Phoenix, Arizona, teachers have decided to maintain their relationships with their students by looping through sixth, seventh, and eighth grades. Here, they describe the results of the first three years of the program, discussing the development of their team's priorities and the strategies they embraced…

Many children and adolescents, in Boston and elsewhere, experience drastic incongruities between their home, school, and community environments. Arguing that after-school programs can help to unify these disparate worlds, thereby fostering a sense of continuity for youth and aiding their development as learners, this report shows how best to…