The Harvard Family Research Project separated from the Harvard Graduate School of Education to become the Global Family Research Project as of January 1, 2017. It is no longer affiliated with Harvard University.
Volume VI, Number 1, Fall 2000
Issue Topic: Out-of-School Time Issue #1
New & Noteworthy
A list of new resources related to out-of-school time.
Afterschool.gov
Sponsored by the Federal Support to Communities Initiative with support from the National Partnership for Reinventing Government and the General Services Administration, this site has information on resources for out-of-school time initiatives, including an extensive database of federal government grant and loan programs.
Behrman, R. E. (Ed.). (1999). When school is out. The Future of Children, 9(2). Los Altos, CA: The David and Lucile Packard Foundation. This issue focuses on efforts to increase funding and build public will for after school programs and new initiatives that enable the field to grow. More than 10 articles by experts in the field—policymakers, researchers, evaluators, and practitioner—discuss topics ranging from the policy climate for after school programs to the role of the school in children’s out-of-school time. This journal is published three times annually.
Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, 21st Century Community Learning Centers
A focus of the Mott Foundation’s grantmaking is Pathways Out of Poverty, an effort to improve community education through learning beyond the classroom. In pursuit of that mission, the Mott Foundation entered a partnership with the U.S. Department of Education (ED) to provide training, technical assistance, research, and evaluation supports for ED’s 21st Century Community Learning Centers program. To that end, the Mott Foundation sponsors polls, authors’ reports, and produces resources including After School Programs: Give Us Wings, Let Us Fly! and Making After School Count: Communities and Schools Working Together.
Coalition for Community Schools
In partnership with community school networks, foundations, education associations, youth and community development organizations, and governments, the Coalition for Community Schools supports families before, during, and after school, each day of the week, developing and implementing policy that supports the community school movement. In April 2000, the Coalition released A Policy Approach To Create And Sustain Community Schools: Promoting Policies That Strengthen Schools, Families, and Communities.
Council of Chief State School Officers. (2000). Extended learning initiatives: Opportunities and implementation challenges. Washington, DC: Author. This report describes state sponsored extra learning initiatives from five states. Limited copies are available free of charge: Council of Chief State School Officers, One Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Suite 700, Washington, DC 20001-1431.
James, D. W., with Jurich, S. (Eds.). (1999). MORE things that DO make a difference for youth: A compendium of evaluations of youth programs and practices (Vol. 2). Washington, DC: American Youth Policy Forum. A follow-up to Volume 1, Some Things DO Make a Difference for Youth, this report summarizes 50 evaluations of youth programs. Program profiles cover evidence of effectiveness, key components, and contributing factors, providing an updated list of the basic principles behind effective youth programs. American Youth Policy Forum, 1836 Jefferson Place, NW, Washington, DC 20036-2505.
McLaughlin, M. W. (2000). Community counts: How youth organizations matter for youth development. Washington, DC: Public Education Network. The authors of this report studied 120 youth-based organizations in 34 different U.S. cities that constructively engage youth during the out-of-school time hours. They examined youth achievements in community organizations, necessary community supports, and the effect youth organizations have in the classroom. The report also includes appendices on funding and policy strategies, community supports, and meaningful measures of youth outcomes.
National Institute on Out-of-School Time. (2000). Fact sheet on school-age children’s out-of-school time. Wellesley, MA: Author. The 2000 fact sheet provides useful statistics on ways children spend time after school, the variety of programs that respond to their needs, how they benefit from high quality program participation, and the growth of public and private support for out-of-school time programs.
National Institute on Out-of-School Time. (2000). Making an impact on out-of-school time: A guide for Corporation for National Service programs engaged in after school, summer, and weekend activities for young people. Wellesley, MA: Author. Designed for Corporation for National Service staff, this manual offers resource lists, tip sheets, examples of successful programs, ideas and suggestions, and other training material for enhancing the quality of out-of-school time programs for children ages 5 to 14.
National School Age Care Alliance School-Age Review
Produced by the National School Age Care Alliance (NSACA), an organization that strives to develop a high quality school-age care profession, this semiannual journal focuses on promising practices and lessons learned in areas of research, evaluation, programming, and practice. Subscription to School-Age Review is a NSACA membership benefit. NSACA, 1137 Washington Street, Boston, MA 02124.
School-Age Notes
This national resource organization on school-age care publishes a monthly newsletter on activity and developments in the field, and a catalog of resources for starting, administering and enhancing after school programs. Visit their website to sample newsletter articles, purchase a subscription, or order resources from the after school catalog.
Social Policy Action Network
The Social Policy Action Network works with communities and practitioners to build support for change by disseminating research and information to policymakers, engaging the interest of the media, and developing effective solutions to social problems. They have prepared several companion guides to the David and Lucile Packard Foundation’s publication, The Future of Children: When School Is Out. These publications include a policy brief for public officials and a guide for journalists.
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES), Cooperative Extension System Extension ‘CARES’ ... for America’s Children and Youth. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Cooperative Extension System’s national initiative seeks to improve child care and youth programs during the out-of-school time hours. Extension ‘CARES’ ... for America’s Children and Youth links local communities across America to teaching, research, education, technology, and 4-H youth development expertise as well as to 105 land grant universities and 3,150 county Cooperative Extension Service offices. The website provides reports on child care, evaluation information, summaries of recent conferences, and a link to the National Network for Child Care which has over 2,000 free resources on child care, school-age care, and teen programs.
US Department of Education, US Department of Justice. (2000). Working for children and families: Safe and smart after-school programs. Washington, DC: Author. Originally released in 1998, this updated version identifies components of exemplary after school programs, illustrates their potential, and highlights communities that are meeting the need for after school activities. An extensive list of resources, including organizations, websites, listserves, videos, and publications, is also provided.
US Department of Health and Human Services. (2000). Understanding youth development: Promoting positive pathways of growth. Washington, DC: Author. This publication examines the factors that influence adolescent development and provides a brief overview of strategies to help communities support young people moving from adolescence to adulthood. A companion piece to Reconnecting Youth & Community: A Youth Development Approach, this report provides the theory behind the youth development approach.
US Department of Health and Human Services. (2000). Reconnecting youth and community: A youth development approach. Washington, DC: Author. This publication provides guidance to youth services providers, community leaders, and policymakers as they help communities shift from a problem focused approach to serving youth to a community youth involvement model. It also provides steps for implementing a campaign to promote positive images of young people and ideas for involving youth and the community. Available on audio cassette and in Spanish.
Kathleen Hart, Research Analyst, HFRP