Additional Resources

Resources

• After-School All-Stars
  After-School All-Stars serves 35,000 middle-school students in 15 cities across the country through comprehensive and engaging after-school and summer programs. The sports, educational, and cultural programs are fun for kids, keep them safe, and help them achieve success in school and life.
  
• The Afterschool Alliance
  The Afterschool Alliance is a nonprofit organization dedicated to raising awareness of the importance of afterschool programs and advocating for quality, affordable programs for all children. On this Web site, you will find information such as the latest after-school news and events, research, resources and policy information.
  
• Child Care Bureau Afterschool Investments Project
  Afterschool Investments, a project of The Finance Project and the National Governors Association, supports State efforts to provide quality afterschool opportunities by providing technical assistance to Child Care and Development Fund grantees and other State and local leaders.
  
• Coalition for Community Schools
  The Coalition for Community Schools works toward improving education and helping students learn and grow while supporting and strengthening their families and communities. Community schools bring together many partners to offer a range of supports and opportunities to children, youth, families and communities -- before, during and after school, seven days a week.
  
• Complementary Learning to Close the Achievement Gap
  This issue of the Evaluation Exchange from the Harvard Family Research Project introduces “complementary learning” -- the idea that narrowing the achievement gap requires solid and sustained investments in nonschool learning supports, such as early care and education, families, after-school programs, libraries, museums, and other community-based supports. According to HFRP, while good schools are critical, schools alone cannot improve educational outcomes and fully prepare our children for success in the global 21st century.
  
• The Council of Chief State School Officers
  The Council of Chief State School Officers is actively advancing state efforts for extended learning, particularly with relation to its work in low-performing, high-poverty schools in need of improvement. Here you will find information on best practices, state efforts and technical assistance.
  
• Education Commission of the States: Extended Day Programs Site
  This website provides quick facts, information about what states are doing, selected research and readings, and programs and practices related to extended-day programs.
  
• Evaluating Out-of-School Time Program Quality
  This issue of The Evaluation Exchange by the Harvard Family Research Project focuses on assessing and improving the quality of out-of-school time and youth development programs. Articles cover innovative methodologies and new technology systems for assessing quality, strategies for recruitment and retention, and understanding and measuring participation.
  
• Fight Crime: Invest in Kids
  This Web site has information on how after-school programs help decrease crime in the hours of 3-7pm.
  
• The Finance Project
  The Finance Project has developed a technical assistance Web site focused on financing and sustainability.
  
• The Forum for Youth Investment
  The Forum for Youth Investment focuses on planning, research, advocacy and policy development for programs for youth.
  
• Harvard Family Research Project Out-of-School Time Program Evaluation Database
  This Web site addresses the issues of how evaluation works for out-of-school programs and how different programs approach the task of evaluating their programs.
  
• Lawmakers Form Congressional Afterschool Caucuses
  March, 2005: In a move designed to raise public awareness about the need for more afterschool programs and increase resources for quality afterschool care, Members of Congress have established the first-ever Afterschool Caucuses - one in the Senate, and one in the House of Representatives.
  
• National Association of Elementary School Principals
  The National Association of Elementary School Principals’ Web site has information of after-school programs including resource links, promising practices, results of a survey of elementary school principals and the latest after-school news.
  
• National Conference of State Legislatures
  NCSL's After-School Project will provide state legislatures with comprehensive resources on developing and financing quality after-school and alternative education programs. These resources will offer legislators insight on available funding streams and will highlight the unique role legislators can play in creating safe and nurturing environments for school-aged children, especially as more parents work extended hours outside of the home.
  
• National Governors Association
  The National Governors Association Center for Best Practices supports governors and other state leaders in sharing, probing, and creating effective practices that will expand and enhance extra learning opportunities for children and youth. The NGA Web site also includes technical assistance to states, a Web based database of state level programs and a quarterly newsletter.
  
• National Institute on Out-of-School Time
  The National Institute on Out-of-School Time Web site includes a fact sheet on children and youth in out-of-school time and information on research, policy and publications.
  
• National League of Cities
  The National League of Cities is interested in supporting municipal efforts to promote afterschool success. They do this by showing ways to promote partnerships that make it possible to forge a shared vision of afterschool challenges and opportunities, assess local resources and needs through surveys and data analyses, and improving quality so that programs effectively deliver on promises of safety, academic achievement, and cultural enrichment.
  
• National School-Age Care Alliance
  NSACA’s mission is to build a profession that develops, supports and promotes quality after-school programs for children and youth.
  
• Promising Practices in Afterschool
  Promising Practices in Afterschool’s Web site contains after-school program activities, examples of best practices and information on funding and afterschool resources.
  
• Schools of The 21st Century
  Based at Yale University, the 21C program develops, researches, networks, and supervises a revolutionary educational model that links communities, families, and schools. There are currently over 1300 schools across the United States that are participating in the 21C program.
  
• United States Department of Education: 21st Century Community Learning Centers
  The US Dept. of Ed. Web site on 21st CCLC includes news and events, state information and other useful resources.