leaveraging afterschool

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Leveraging the Afterschool Value Added Terry Peterson, Ph.D. Terry is the Director of the Afterschool And Community Learning Resource Network, funded by the Mott Foundation. He is also the University of South Carolina Educational Foundation Senior Fellow for Policies and Partnerships and educational consultant to the dean at the College of Charleston. He can be reached by calling 843.953.7403 or

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Page 1: Leaveraging Afterschool

Leveraging the Afterschool Value

Added

Terry Peterson, Ph.D.

Terry is the Director of the Afterschool And Community Learning Resource Network, funded by the Mott Foundation. He is also the University of South Carolina Educational Foundation Senior Fellow for Policies and Partnerships and educational consultant to the

dean at the College of Charleston. He can be reached by calling 843.953.7403 or 803.238.4343, or by emailing him at [email protected]

Page 2: Leaveraging Afterschool

• In too many schools 3pm marks a daily missed opportunity.

• It’s when learning effectively stops.

• Many school districts’ investments in learning resources

and facilities sit idle.

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• Afterschool programs make a positive difference.

• Surveys show that an overwhelming majority (90%) support afterschool

programs, and most (76%) would be willing to pay extra taxes to make

them available.

Page 4: Leaveraging Afterschool

• Rising academic standards require students to have more

learning opportunities.

• Changing workplace demands means parents need additional

support supervising their children after school.

Page 5: Leaveraging Afterschool

There was tremendous growth in afterschool programs

through the 1990s.

Local, State, and Federal budget cuts have halted that

growth.

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Are we missing a prime opportunity to fill the after school hours with enriching

activities and expanded learning opportunities?

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Multiple Effects

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Superintendents face great challenges:

• increase student performance and academic standards while balancing financial concerns

with limited public support.

While some still see afterschool programs as an extraneous burden,

others are leveraging existing resources to provide effective

programming.

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Utilizing existing resources this way demonstrates to taxpayers that their investments are being

used efficiently.

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• Reducing afterschool funding is seen as a mistake.

• Extensive research on the effectiveness of afterschool programs in

terms of student achievement, social interaction, and safety clearly

demonstrates that, if done properly, they live up to their promise.

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According to Anne Duncan, CEO of the Chicago Public Schools:

“For the first time ever, we have 8th graders beating national norms…part of the reason-we

think we did so much better is [that] last year we added about 50,000 students to our after-school programming. So [after-school] is a core, a core

part of our educational strategy.”

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Learning and Growth

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Well-structured afterschool programs effectively expand learning time for students.

• reinforce classroom work

• develop team-building and leadership skills

• “21st Century skills

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California students who participated in afterschool programs for 7 or more months demonstrated improvements in math scores that were 2.5 times

greater than found statewide.

Attendance was also greatly improved as compared to the previous year.

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“High quality afterschool programs don’t just keep children away from

trouble. In today’s educational world, where the expected level of

achievement keeps rising, afterschool opportunities provide the extra time and

help that many children need.”

- Inez Tenenbaum, South Carolina State Superintendent of Education

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One outlier: an examination of pre-NCLB 21st Century Community

Learning Centers programs.

Results are likely related to the fact that pre-NCLB programs were not required

to make academics priority.

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A Resource Question

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Federal funding increase for 21st Century Community Learning

Centers would be helpful.

States could provide a boost by including afterschool funding in their

state school finance formulas.

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One answer - Leverage existing resources:

• community involvement

• law enforcement

• youth

• parks and recreation

• faith, cultural, and civic organizations

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• district facilities

• classrooms

• computer and language labs

• libraries

• art studios

• sports facilities

Keep children learning after 3pm

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Some resources can be found within the district.

By combining district and school programs that have a student and

community focus allows for higher participation with lower per-

student costs.

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Afterschool programs can be part of a broader outreach effort to

parents and other family members.

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These efforts can build a critical mass that can lead to the employment of a

full-time coordinator.

By working with principals these coordinators can continue to build

public support for both the afterschool programs and the school in general.

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The cost of afterschool programs is significantly less expensive than

the regular school day.

Most of the operating cost and overhead is already paid for.

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District Progress

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The synergies to be found in afterschool programming are not

limited to the financial side.

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The afterschool environment can attract participation of other groups

who are interested in helping children such as parents, senior

citizens, volunteer and mentoring organizations.

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Afterschool programs are useful tools for accomplishing multiple

goals.

Robust and comprehensive afterschool programs are an

important way to leverage more student success and public

support.