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Several research studies
and reports are being released by national organizations and government
entities focusing on the value of afterschool programs. Links to
some of the most recent research and reports can be found here.
Iowa
Afterschool Alliance Fact Sheet
This fact sheet describes baseline
demographic data gathered about school-based afterschool programs
in Iowa in 2005
A
Brief from Fight Crime: Invest in Kids.
This brief from law enforcement stresses
the value of afterschool programming in light of pending cuts to
the 21st Century Learning Programs. This document contains visuals
to show the impact of afterschool on juvenile crime.
School Administrator
The May
2005 issue of School Administrator features an article by Afterschool
Alliance Board Chair Terry Peterson, "Leveraging the After-School
Value Added." The issue also includes, "Finding the Right
Hook: Strategies for Attracting and Sustaining Participation in
After-School Programs," which offers promising recruitment
and retention strategies to school administrators seeking to boost
participation rates in their school-based afterschool programs.
New Directions
for Youth Development
This journal focuses on Participation in Youth Programs: Enrollment,
Attendance, and Engagement. The
Spring 2005 issue unpacks the construct of participation in
out-of-school time programming, posing a three-part equation: participation
= enrollment + attendance + engagement. It draws on the latest research
and evaluation literature and provides research-based strategies
on how to define, measure, study, and increase participation.
The Prevention
Researcher
There is an article in this journal entitled "Engaging
Adolescents in Out-of-School Time Programs: Learning What Works."
It examines both the incentives and barriers that affect adolescents'
participation in out-of-school time programs.
Out-of-School
Time Program Evaluation: Tools for Action
NWREL has developed a useful parent survey. It covers a number of
different aspects of the program (including staff performance and
some child outcomes). To find the survey, go to the website and
look in Appendix G.
Mathematica Evaluation
In April, the Department of Education and Mathematica Policy Research
released the third and final phase of Mathematica's
evaluation of 21st Century Community Learning Centers. As you know,
the first two phases of the study painted a sometimes downbeat picture
of afterschool programs' effectiveness. This third phase of research
added an additional year's worth of data on elementary school afterschool
programs -- the same programs included in the earlier phases of
the study -- and reached the same general conclusions: that the
studied afterschool programs have little discernible impact on academics
and a mixed impact on behavioral issues.
Building
and Sustaining Afterschool Programs: Successful Practices in School
Board Leadership
This resource is provided by the National School Boards Association.
This unique guide for school board members profiles innovative strategies
that eight school districts have used to create and strengthen after-school
programs in their communities. The stories focus on building community
partnerships with a wide variety of community groups and agencies
to build sustainable long lasting education programs. Topics include
funding, quality programming, connecting with parents and families,
professional development and evaluation.
Selecting
Educational Software for Teenagers in After-school settings: A Toolkit
from the America Connects Consortium
This toolkit, provided by the Education Development Center, Inc.
is designed to help locate and evaluate software that is both appropriate
for high school students and suited to community technology center
settings. It provides a process for assessing both the needs of
learners and instructors and the educational value of different
software programs. The toolkit also features a review of the most
common types of educational software available today. Finally, it
includes a list of resources for locating and evaluating additional
education materials.
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