In the educational research community, there is a general agreement about the importance of educators receiving professional development as one of the ways to improve student learning. Professional development for educators not only improve their knowledge and classroom practice, but maximizes students' potential for academic success. With the…

A quality improvement system (QIS) is an intentional effort to raise the quality of afterschool programming in an ongoing, organized fashion. There are a number of reasons the QIS is gaining popularity. The main reasons community leaders are drawn to improving quality is that they know that 1) higher quality programs will mean better experiences…

Heather B. Weiss and Priscilla D. Little of the Harvard Family Research Project suggest seven possible approaches to strengthening OST (Out-of-School) organizations, including methods to ensure that OST providers become stronger partners with other groups and more adept advocates for their field. Strategies discussed include: (1) Cultivate…

Recognizing the importance of and need for high quality after-school care for 5- to 14-year-olds, the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration commissioned a set of 9 School Age Care Technical Assistance Papers discussing the steps in designing high quality programs. This two-videotape set, based on those papers, provides guidance to…