01/18/05 -- The most successful after-school and other extended-day learning programs have strong support from the local school board, concludes a new report from NSBA.
Building and Sustaining After-School Programs: Successful Practices in School Board Leadership was developed with support from the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation and is part of a larger NSBA initiative, the Extended-Day Learning Opportunities (EDLO) program.
“High-quality after-school and summer programs are engaging and comprehensive and are done in partnership with families and other key stakeholders in the community,” the report says.
Such programs offer opportunities for learning with connections to real-world tasks. They encourage greater family involvement, and they strengthen the school climate by encouraging involvement with local organizations.
The report is based on the experiences of eight school districts with exemplary after-school programs identified by an EDLO advisory committee. Here are some recommendations from the leaders of the eight districts:
• Find out what your community needs and what researchers recommend.
School board members, administrators, and principals in Traverse City Area Public Schools in Michigan, for example, held a series of open meetings to determine parents’ needs. Officials at Sycamore Community Unit School District 427 in Illinois were reluctant to compete with private day-care providers, so the school district provided the facilities and allowed private groups to run the programs.
• Make a commitment. School boards need to stay committed to after-school programs even when funding is tight. They also should incorporate after-school enrichment into their long-term strategic plans and provide funding through the district’s general budget.
• Decide what you can provide. Districts with tight budgets often start with a grant from private foundations or with funding from the federal 21st Century Community Learning Centers program.
But even with outside support, districts need to be able to keep schools open for extra hours and days, which means more money for custodial support, security, and other costs.
The Chesterfield County, Va., school district saves money by providing space at an elementary school for an after-school program for 70 at-risk children. The program is run by the local YMCA. The district assigns Title I teachers to the program and uses Title I money to bus students home.
• Open yourself to partners. Extended-day programs offer school districts excellent opportunities to form partnerships with businesses, cultural organizations, and community groups.
The Cincinnati Ballet, for example, sends an instructor to the Covington, Ky., school district to teach children in an after-school program at no cost to the district.
And in Helena, Mont., the district’s after-school and summer program has brought in local experts from many areas -- pilots, judges, veterinarians, horse trainers, and others -- to provide hands-on apprenticeship-style learning experiences.
• Concentrate on quality programming. The best after-school programs do much more than provide a warehouse for children where they can do their homework and have a snack.
The Palm Beach County, Fla., school district was able to raise test scores through a structured literacy program offered in its after-school centers.