With the recent U.S. Department of Education's 21st Century Initiative there has been a proliferation of after-school programs emerging in rural, suburban, and urban school communities across the country. Although these programs are financially supported through the federal government, the grants are only funded for a 3-year period. Given the…

This document introduces science center educators to a new partnership model based on lessons learned during a 3-year national pilot project to support collaboration between six urban science centers and over 30 community-based after-school programs. The collaboration tested and refined an innovative curriculum challenging children to build…

Afterschool programs provide safe places for youth after school in addition to improving academic achievement and helping working families. Afterschool programs provide youth a safe, supervised environment that reduces their risk of committing or becoming a victim of violent crime. A recent report from Fight Crime: Invest in Kids has found that…

This document is comprised of six issues of the Child Care Bulletin, a bimonthly publication of the National Child Care Information Center. The January-February issue focuses on involving communities in child care planning. Topics discussed in this issue include: community mobilization strategies, assessing needs and establishing goals, and…

This technical aid packet provides information on the value of after-school programs in addressing students' barriers to success. It focuses on school-community collaborations and on opportunities for after-school involvement offered at school sites. The six chapters focus on the following: (1) "After-School Programs as Part of a Broad, School…

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…

Noting that various types of evaluations of after-school programming conducted over the last several years have provided useful information to providers and to policymakers, this report summarizes the lessons learned from independent evaluations of after-school programs. The following overall findings are supported with a delineation of findings…

This report summarizes findings from a comprehensive evaluation of the Center for Family Life (CFL) in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, New York. CFL provides assessment and counseling, community-school programs, parent education workshops, adult employment programs, foster grandparent programs, neighborhood foster care programs, and a thrift shop. The…

The move to lengthen school days with afterschool programs has support from Democrats and Republicans. Supporters of afterschool programs include child care professionals who believe young children need more supervision, educators who believe children need more academic instruction, and politicians who believe teens need more structured…

There is a growing conviction that out-of-school programs can play an important role in improving student achievement. Both government and private sources are investing in them. This report focuses on the expanding prevalence of after-school programs in California, and profiles their nature and the demands that they face. Funding has been…

Recognition of the range of potential benefits linked to out-of-school experiences has led to a rapid expansion of out-of-school time opportunities across the United States. This guide outlines an approach for bringing the community together to meet out-of-school time needs of children, youth, and families. Launched in 1994, the MOST (Making the…

This issue of "The Evaluation Exchange" focuses on out-of-school time (OST). Several authors provide insights into how they, and others, are tackling measurement issues, from using technology and data systems to collect information and track progress, to applying lessons learned from developing early childhood quality measures. Other authors…

In 1999, the U.S. Department of Education contracted with Mathematica Policy Research, Inc., and Decision Information Resources, Inc., to evaluate the 21st Century Community Learning Centers program. The evaluation team collected student outcome data in five areas: (1) after-school supervision; (2) location; (3) activities; (4) academic…

Interviewed and observed 8th graders involved in the Community Youth Research after school project (which taught youth how to investigate community needs and effect systemic change), examining how they described and interpreted their surroundings and directed their concerns toward social action. Participants identified many problems, making sense…

Presents four research-based strategies for promoting reading achievement in after-school programs: literacy centers, a print-rich environment, play-based learning, and theme-related activities. Discusses the importance of making books readily available to children, including opportunities for students to read to one another and discuss what they…