After-school programs offer young people opportunities for self-expression, exploring their talents, and forming relationships with supportive adults. That is, after-school programs promote young people's social and emotional learning (SEL) skills--whether the programs use that term or not. Despite these programs' potential, Noelle Hurd and Nancy…

Though no clear link between professional development and youth outcomes has been established in either the in-school or the out-of-school time (OST) literature, a research-based consensus establishes the characteristics of high-quality professional development: It is sustained over a period of time, coherent, content focused, and based in a…

This Research Report summarizes various strategies that have been found to help struggling students succeed without having to repeat a grade. They include aligning instruction with standards, providing "early warning" assessments, multiage grouping, accelerated learning, increased professional development for teachers working with low-performing…

From its founding, The After-School Corporation (TASC) has worked to advance two interrelated goals: (1) Increase the availability of after-school opportunities by providing resources and approaches for establishing new projects and expanding existing projects; and (2) Enhance the quality of after-school services by incorporating research-based…

This discussion paper provides background information on credentialing, raises issues in the area of credentialing for out-of-school time programs, and suggests the important decisions that need to evolve in the out-of-school time field. The first part of the paper defines credentials, describes traditional and changing concepts of credentialing…

This paper focuses on some of the "how to's" of professional development for the field of out-of-school programs. The paper examines some of the training experiments in the out-of-school time field and considers questions and issues that must be addressed to create an accessible, viable, and useful system of professional development for…

Afterschool programs supplement students' academic preparation, provide adult supervision when parents are working, and provide an opportunity for adult social and emotional growth. This paper examines how adult educators in these programs can mobilize their inner resources and social-emotional aptitude to achieve good relationships with their…