PASA is a public/private partnership with the City of Providence and the Providence Public School District — cross-sector collaboration is at the heart of our work. As an intermediary organization, PASA oversees this collective action, advocacy, and integrated planning. To do this, PASA collaborates with a number of city and state agencies, as well as a large network of public and private program partners.
The sum of each of these parts makes a healthy and sustainable system!
On the Ground: AfterZone Site Management Agencies
Site Management Agencies handle the day-to-day operations of each AfterZone home base.
That way PASA can focus on “big picture” operations, like providing technical assistance, linking the middle and high school systems, offering professional development to formal and informal educators in the AfterZone, and securing funding to ensure long-term sustainability of Providence’s unique model.
PASA is grateful to the following organizations for managing our five AfterZone home base sites:
Boys & Girls Clubs of Providence: Roger Williams Middle School
PASA and Providence Public School District (PPSD): Gilbert Stuart, Esek Hopkins, DelSesto, and Nathan Bishop Middle Schools
Hands-On: AfterZone Program Partners
The AfterZone is a coordinated system of programs operated by nearly 100 community-based program providers like Save the Bay, Audubon Society of Rhode Island, and Girls Rock! Rhode Island who lead the city’s middle school youth in activities ranging from music, to art, to horseback riding, sailing, hands-on math and science, and a variety of sports.
To see what the current session of program providers are doing, check out the AfterZone program brochure!
Hands-On: Hub Program Partners
Building on the success of the AfterZone system for middle school, PASA’s high school system called the Hub provides credit toward graduation through participation in a variety of Expanded Learning Opportunities/programs operated by community-based program providers like Inspiring Minds, Codery, Engineers Without Borders, and more.
To see what students participating in the Hub’s Expanded Learning Opportunities programs have accomplished, check out the Hub blog!
Building Local Systems: Partnerships
City Partnership
The City’s contributions, via City Hall and the City Council, to the public/private after-school system are long-standing and dynamic. The Mayor chairs PASA’s Board of Directors, and the Superintendent of Schools and Chief of Police also sit on the PASA board.
District Partnership
Together, PASA, the Providence Public School District, partner schools, and the community of program partners have developed shared goals, a collaborative practice of community educators within the school day, and joint accountability through a PASA/District shared learning model that includes teacher and community educators co-teaching, a data-sharing agreement, and the creation of an expanded learning model that offers high school credits for high quality out-of-school experiences.