The Blueprint of Exemplary
After-School Programs

Quality after-school programs can provide safe, engaging environments that motivate and inspire learning outside of the regular school day. Effective programs combine academic, enrichment, cultural, and recreational activities.

Goal Setting. After-school programs should be clear about their intended goals. Some are designed as safe havens, some focus on recreation, and others have an academic focus. By creating an evaluation plan that focuses on the goals, an after-school program can set a course for continuous improvement.

Staffing. Programs should hire skilled and qualified staff who are experienced in working with school-age children. Staff should be provided with ongoing training which could include how to work with children of different ages, races, or cultures and children with disabilities. Training can give ideas for enrichment activities, greater expertise in academic subject matter, knowledge in assessing student progress, and strategies for implementing the program.

Most after-school programs welcome volunteers. Their use can reduce the price of a program and the staff-to-child ratio. Volunteers should [have experience in] working with children before entering the program and be given the opportunity to participate in on-going staff development.
Staff-to-Student Ratio. The staff-to-student ratio should be low. Usually, the ratio is between 1:10 and 1:15 for groups of children age six and older. By limiting group size, children have more positive interactions. Programs in which children are in groups that exceed 30 tend towards serving a baby-sitting function rather than a learning, enriching one.

Partnerships. A quality after-school program requires collaboration among parents, educators, community residents, law enforcement, community organizations, employers, park and recreation services, and public officials.

Collaboration between the after-school program and the community gives students more options and helps to extend the resources available. Communities can provide funding, facilities, materials, expertise, job shadowing experiences, mentors, tutors, and community service and learning experiences.

When asked to pick the strategy that would be “most effective” in the long term in reducing crime and violence, police chiefs chose “increasing investment in programs that help all children get a good start.” Law enforcement officials are collaborating with community groups, sponsoring after-school programs for children, and serving as role models and mentors.

Involvement of Families. When programs incorporate the ideas of parents and their participating children, activities tend to be more fun and culturally relevant, and tend to capture children’s interests better. Successful programs seek to involve parents in orientation sessions, workshops, volunteer opportunities, and parent advisory committees.

Good programs are designed with sensitivity to the schedules and requirements of working parents. Learning, enrichment, and recreation activities are scheduled before school and for holidays and summer breaks, as well.

Coordinating with the Regular School Day. Enrichment opportunities can be offered to supplement the regular school program. Good learning programs provide a continuity of learning experiences through coordination with the regular school day and communication with the classroom teachers.

Quality programs give children the opportunity to follow their own interests, explore other cultures, develop hobbies, and learn in different ways, such as through sight, sound, or movement. Children are encouraged to try new activities, think for themselves, ask questions, and test new ideas.

After-School Curriculum. A challenging curriculum accommodates individual needs, coordinates with in-school instruction, and focuses on more than remedial work. It also combines direct teaching with indirect instruction, such as computer use, scientific experiments and other hands-on projects, art, music, reading for pleasure, youth leadership, and participation in community activities.

Evaluation. Effective after-school programs have a continuous evaluation component. Continuous monitoring and a shared understanding of the program’s goals help maintain focus, improve effectiveness and accountability, ensure satisfaction, and identify necessary changes.

Depending on the goals of the program, data may include academic performance, results of surveys and focus groups, neighborhood and school crime statistics, and attendance records. Based on this information, leaders, staff, families, and community partners can discuss the progress and success of the program, which will help with decisions about design and funding.

The best evaluations employ well-designed, quantitative studies that include a control group of similar students who have not participated in the program. Finally, the evaluation will be most valuable if it is based on the specific goals of the program and focused on measuring the program’s progress towards and success in meeting those goals.

This entire document published by the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Justice can be found at www.ed.gov/pubs/SafeandSmart/title.html.