A U.S. Department of Education 2005 survey in 2005 on after-school programs and activities found that 40 percent of students (1 out of every 8) in kindergarten through eighth grade were in at least one weekly nonparental after-school care arrangement. (Tab, 2006) This means that up to 40 percent of students attending K-12 schools could be attending afterschool programs.
This same study also found that of students who were attending after-school programs, more than half of them attended programs run by or in association with a school.
Students in kindergarten through eighth grade were more likely to attend a school- or centerbased after-school program at a public school (61 percent) than at a church or other place of worship (9 percent), private school (10 percent), community center (8 percent), a program in its own building (15 percent), or any other location (5 percent)(p. 4)
This means that whether we like it or not, schools are a necessary piece to the puzzle of afterschool education. I do worry about an over emphasis on academics in afterschool programs. Having worked both as a teacher of enrichment (Theater and Performance) classes and as the director of an academic tutoring program I understand the merits and think there is a place for both types of activities in afterschool programming. My concern, like that of many community based service providers, is that greater control over afterschool programming and curriculum by the public education system will result in the sterilization and institutionalization of out of school time programs. I struggle with the need for greater quality control and program accountability while at the same time acknowledging the creativity and limitlessness of our current model of afterschool instruction.
I am encouraged as I read some of the literature detailing quality afterschool programs. Instead of trying to evaluate individual programs by comparing them to public schools, they instead look at a variety of factors that over the years have contributed to student growth. The RAND Corporation (Bodilly & Becket, 2005) identified the following as characteristics of high quality programs:
- a clear mission
- high expectations and positive social norms
- a safe and healthy environment
- a supportive emotional climate
- a small total enrollment
- stable, trained personnel
- appropriate content and pedagogy with opportunities to engage
- integrated family and community partners
- frequent assessment
To this I would like to add Miller's (2003) additional criteria detailed in a report commissioned by the Nellie Mae Education Foundation
She included all of the characteristics mentioned in the RAND report and as well as adding some additional characteristics including: adequate funding; appropriate space; the inclusion of youth voice; opportunity for choice in activities; staff who understand participants’ cultures and can support healthy identity development; strong management and leadership. (Noam, 2008)
It is in these kinds of reports that I think lies the way forward for afterschool curriculum. If we continue to recognize the importance of youth voice and choice as well as the need for cultural competency then I think there is room for every organization: governmental, non-profit, educational, and community based, to be part of the conversation. In the introductory piece to this blog I wrote that schools can't do all alone and I am encouraged by the move toward collaboration by entities like Seattle University. But collaboration, regardless if on the neighborhood, community, city, district, or state level, needs to have at it's core respect and value for the opinions and expertise of all stakeholders.
References
Mccombs, J., Bodilly, S. J., et. al. (2010). Hours of Opportunity, Volume 3: Profiles of Five Cities Improving After-School Programs Through a Systems Approach. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation.
Noam, Gil. (2008). A New Day for Youth: Creating Sustainable Quality in Out of School Time. New York, NY: Wallace Foundation
Tab, E.D. (2006). National Household Education Surveys Program of 2005 After-School Programs and Activities: 2005. U.S. Department of Education NCES 2006-076.
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