Providence After School Alliance

Below you can find useful research, tools and reviews pertinent to the after-school field. Older documents can be found on our archives page.

Systems Building
Quality Improvement
Evaluation of After School
Youth Development
Sustainability
Family Engagement in After School
Extended Learning Time - The School's Role in After School

Systems Building

Investments in Building Citywide Out-of-School-Time Systems: A Six-City Study
To meet the growing demand for providing better out-of-school time opportunities to more children, a number of cities have been working to create out-of-school time “systems” – meaning developing the coherent structures necessary to secure and maintain the needed leadership, information and other resources to deliver quality programs citywide. This new report analyzes the investments being made to develop such systems in six cities (three of which have been pursuing their OST work with Wallace support): Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Denver, New York City and Seattle.

A Place to Grow and Learn: A Citywide Approach to Building and Sustaining Out-of-School Time Learning Opportunities
Drawing on early lessons from a Wallace initiative in five cities, this report describes a novel, coordinated approach to achieve widespread, sustained improvements in the quality and reach of out-of-school time programs so that many more children can benefit. While many questions remain about the effectiveness of this new approach, the report discusses a number of "action elements" that can help other cities get started, including: committed leadership, multi-year planning, reliable information, and commitments to expanding both participation and program quality.

Quality Improvement

Administrative Management Capacity in Out-of-School Time Organizations: An Exploratory Study
To run out-of-school time (OST) programs most effectively, organizations need strong managerial and administrative capabilities, from sound budgeting and human resources practices to carefully planned-for technology. The report describes in detail the administrative and managerial challenges confronting OST organizations and recommends possible solutions for OST leaders, public and private funders, and other interested parties.

After School Grows Up
A report published by The After School Project, a program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, on how four large American cities approach scale and quality in after-school programs.

Attracting and Sustaining Youth Participation
An evaluation brief by the Harvard Family Research project on attracting and sustaining youth participation in out-of-school time programs.

Building Quality Improvement Systems
This report from the Forum for Youth Investment presents three case studies of quality improvement processes and outlines their lessons learned.

Measuring Youth Program Quality: A Guide to Assessment Tools
A compendium from the Forum for Youth Investment comparing the purpose, structure, content and technical properties of nine youth program quality assessment tools.

Putting It All Together: Guiding Principles for Quality After-School Programs Serving Preteens
This report from Public/Private Ventures focuses on six after-school program components associated with positive outcomes for preteens.

Supporting Success: Why and How to Improve Quality in After-School Programs
This Public/Private Ventures report examines the program improvement strategies, step-by-step, that allowed The James Irvine Foundation's CORAL initiative to achieve the levels of quality needed to boost the academic success of participating students.

Evaluation of After School

Several major evaluation firms have done extensive work on after school and offer resources and reports on their websites related to evaluation of after school including:

Child Trends
Policy Studies Associates
Public/Private Ventures

Several evaluations of other cities' after school systems have informed PASA's work:

Chicago's After School Matters
LA's BEST
Making the Most of Out-of-School Time (MOST)
Massachusetts After-School Research Study (MARS)
San Francisco Beacons
The After School Corporation (TASC)

The following two meta-analyses provide excellent data on the impact of after school on youth outcomes:

Critical Hours: Afterschool Programs and Educational Success
Explores after-school programs contributions to educational and personal success.

The Impact of After-School Programs that Promote Personal and Social Skills
A report from the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) and Loyola University describing the strong positive effects after-school programs can have, and the conditions needed to realize these benefits.

Other useful evaluation resources and articles:

Confronting the Big Lie: The Need to Reframe Expectations of Afterschool Programs
A paper by Robert Halpern discussing the outcomes for which after school programs should be held accountable. Sam Piha take a similar stance in his article Holding California Afterschool Programs Accountable.

After School Counts!
A study of effective ways to measure and track after-school participation.

Using Evaluation Methods to Promote Continuous Improvement and Accountability in After-School Programs: A Guide
From Policy Studies Associates, an easy to follow guide on how to conduct program evaluation.

Youth Development  

40 Developmental Assets
The Search Institute's 40 Developmental Assets are concrete, common sense, positive experiences and qualities essential to raising successful young people.

Adolescent Literacy Development in Out-of-School Time
This Carnegie Corporation practitioner's guidebook was created to address integrating adolescent literacy development initiatives into a wide variety of out-of-school time programs.

Core Principles for Engaging Young People in Community Change
This report describes principles to build the capacity of organizations and communities to ensure that all youth believe that they have the responsibility and resources needed to make their communities better places. 

The Development of Children Ages 6 to 14
By Jacqueline Eccles, Professor of Psychology, Education and Women's Studies at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.

Engaging Older Youth
This report from the Harvard Family Research Project focuses on program and city-level strategies to support the sustained participation of older youth in out-of-school time.  The report looks at OST systems in 6 cities, including Providence and New York.

Everyone Plays!
A review of research on the integration of sports and physical activity into out-of-school time programs.

Helping Youth Succeed Through Out-of-School Time Programs
A guide from the American Youth Policy Forum that focuses on engaging older youth in after school.

Learning to Play and Playing to Learn: Organized Sports and Educational Outcomes
This report from Team-Up for Youth analyzes several distinct strands of research on the effects on youth of participation in organized sports.

Increasing Opportunities for Older Youth in After-School Programs
A report on the experiences of Boys and Girls Clubs in Boston and New York City.

The Silent Epidemic: Perspectives of High School Dropouts
A report on the results of focus groups and surveys of high school dropouts from 25 different locations throughout the U.S.

YOUTH COUNT: Exploring How KIDS COUNT Grantees Address Youth Issues
With support from the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the Forum for Youth Investment takes a close look at the work of twelve KIDS COUNT grantees that have focused a significant part of their policy research and advocacy work on older youth issues.

Youth Involvement in Evaluation and Research
An evaluation brief by the Harvard Family Research Project that highlights the benefits of involving youth in meaningful participation in out-of-school time program evaluation.

Youth Report to America
A report from the Boys and Girls Clubs of America summarizing the results of a national survey of more than 46,000 teenagers ages 13-18.

Sustainability

The Cost of Quality Out-of-School-Time Programs
Commissioned by the Wallace Foundation, this report is based on a rigorous study of 111 diverse, quality programs in six U.S. cities and offers an exploration of the cost of high-quality after-school programming and summer services.

Cutting Costs, Keeping Quality
The Finance Project published this report, detailing research on financial strategies for youth-serving organizations in a difficult economy, in March 2010.

Finding Funding: A Guide to Federal Sources for Out-of-School-Time and Community School Initiatives
Published by the Finance Project, this guide includes everything you need to know about federal funding for after school.

Funding Opportunities: A Guide for Afterschool & Family Support Programs in Rhode Island
This guide is a publication of The United Way of Rhode Island's Community Schools Rhode Island Initiative, and the Rhode Island Afterschool Plus Alliance.

A Guide to Effective Investments in Positive Youth Development: Implications of Research for Financing and Sustaining Programs and Services for Youth
This strategy brief reviews the research on “what works” to promote positive youth development and provides decision makers with background information for making good investment decisions.

Profiles of Successful Afterschool Financing Strategies, 2007
The Finance Project profiles the innovative approaches of the Ella J. Baker House in Boston and Heads Up in Washington D.C., among others. Learn from promising practices used to secure funding and sustain initiatives. There are 19 profiles by The Finance Project highlighting effective strategies for financing after school programs.

The Sustainability Formula: How Nonprofit Organizations Can Thrive in the Emerging Economy
From a statistical analysis of over 700 organizations, the TCC Group identifies specific capacities and behaviors that are most critical to sustainablity.

Family Engagement in After School

All Work and No Play
A report on research conducted by Public Agenda and commissioned by the Wallace Foundation that explores what parents and youth from inner city communities want and need during out of school time.

Focus on Families!
How to Build and Support Family-Centered Practices in After School.

Extended Learning Time: The School's Role in After School

Helping Young People Succeed: Strengthening and Sustaining Relationships Between Schools and Youth Development Organizations
A report from the National Collaboration for Youth, the Coalition for Community Schools, and the Institute for Educational Leadership.

Integrating Expanded Learning and School Reform Initiatives: Challenges & Strategies
Learning Point Associates & The Collaborative for Building After-School Systems have published this policy brief, which sets forth a set of six recommendations to address challenges to a broad adoption of expanded learning strategies in school reform initiatives.

A New Day for Learning
A report commissioned by the Mott Foundation that proposes a comprehensive, seamless approach to learning that values the distinct experiences that families, schools, after school programs, and communities provide for children.

The Role of the School in Children's Out-of-School Time
A paper discussing the important role schools can play in enhancing after school programming.

Time for a Change: The Promise of Extended-Time Schools for Promoting Student Achievement 
A report from Massachusetts 2020 on 7 schools in Massachusetts with extended learning programs.

ELT: Expanding and Enriching Learning Time for All
The After-School Corporation's recently published policy brief contains policy recommendations and advice for schools, school systems, non-profit organizations and policymakers across the country. The report urges educators and policymakers to expand the learning day, to support more time for enrichments as well as academics and to rethink outdated school schedules.