In cities and towns across America, millions of children and youth get out of school by mid-afternoon but have neither a safe, supervised place to go nor a structured or engaging activity in which to participate. Because the hours between 3:00 and 6:00 p.m. are when young people are most likely to be affected by crime or to engage in risky behaviors, the lack of afterschool opportunities presents significant challenges to parents, community members, and city, state, and federal leaders. Many local elected officials also recognize the importance of providing young people with access to challenging, relevant, and enriching activities that address other city goals and priorities. Concerned about quality of life and the city's economic vitality, municipal leaders use afterschool programs to support academic achievement, improve public safety, help working parents become more productive, and combat childhood and youth obesity. Because state policies impact local efforts and vice versa, partnerships between municipal leaders and statewide afterschool networks can draw upon local knowledge to emphasize the importance of afterschool and strengthen both state and local afterschool initiatives. This strategy guide features examples of how cities and statewide networks are effectively working together on behalf of children and youth in individual communities and simultaneously using their collective powers to increase afterschool funding and improve policy decisions that affect young people across the state. This guide also provides a list of ideas for how cities can partner with their respective statewide afterschool networks to impact state policy, leverage resources, sustain programs at the state and city levels, receive guidance and training to improve program quality, generate state and national visibility, and expand access to high-quality programs. Cities that have partnered with their statewide afterschool networks are appended.

A wide body of research shows that consistent participation in high-quality afterschool and summer programs, also called out-of-school time or OST, provides substantial benefits to children and youth and their communities. Youth are more prone to engage in juvenile delinquency, substance abuse and other risky behaviors after 3:00 p.m. if there are few positive OST programs available. Municipal leaders are also well aware of the impact of high school dropout rates on crime and unemployment, and are increasingly supporting out-of-school learning opportunities as a strategy for promoting school and career success. This strategy guide provides cities with guidance on how to create enriching, relevant and supportive OST environments for middle and high school youth that will help put them on a path to success. The guide outlines key strategies that show the most promise for maximizing scarce local resources for the benefit of older youth, coupled with city examples from small, midsized and large cities. The practices described in the guide draw upon research on the unique developmental needs of middle and high school aged youth and what seems to work best in recruitment and retention of these youth. Ideas are presented for creating citywide "infrastructure" to help ensure that older youth not only attend OST programs, but do so at high rates of participation in order to maximize gains. Many of the ideas require little or no additional spending, but instead encourage creative use of partnerships and policies to achieve positive results for older youth. (Contains 8 resources and 17 footnotes.).

When the bell rings at the end of a school day, millions of children are left to their own devices while they wait for their families to return home at the end of the work day. Findings from a study conducted by the Afterschool Alliance, "America After 3PM," show that 15.1 million children are unsupervised when the school day ends. The out-of-school time hours represent a challenge to families and community members who are looking for safe places and engaging activities for children and youth. The out-of-school time hours also represent a genuine opportunity for municipal leaders--the opportunity to rally the entire community around the goals of keeping children and youth safe and engaged, while also helping to advance a number of other key city priorities. City officials are well positioned to support the development of strong partnerships with key sectors of the community to increase the number and quality of out-of-school time programs. This guide highlights three key strategies that mayors and other city leaders can use to promote partnerships and build public will in support of out-of-school time programs. (Contains 2 footnotes and 14 resources.).

Expanding Minds and Opportunities: Leveraging the Power of Afterschool and Summer Learning for Student Success presents an impressive and significant body of work that comprises almost 70 reports, research studies, essays, articles, and commentaries by more than 100 authors representing a range of researchers, educators, policy makers, and professionals in the field, as well as thought leaders and opinion influencers. Collectively, these writings boldly state that there is now a solid base of research and best practices clearly showing that quality afterschool and summer learning programs-including 21st Century Community Learning Centers-make a positive difference for students, families, schools, and communities.

Strengthen programs of family and community engagement to promote equity and increase student success! When schools, families, and communities collaborate and share responsibility for students′ education, more students succeed in school. Based on 30 years of research and fieldwork, the fourth edition of the bestseller School, Family, and Community Partnerships: Your Handbook for Action, presents tools and guidelines to help develop more effective and more equitable programs of family and community engagement. Written by a team of well-known experts, it provides a theory and framework of six types of involvement for action; up-to-date research on school, family, and community collaboration; and new materials for professional development and on-going technical assistance. Readers also will find: Examples of best practices on the six types of involvement from preschools, and elementary, middle, and high schools Checklists, templates, and evaluations to plan goal-linked partnership programs and assess progress CD-ROM with slides and notes for two presentations: A new awareness session to orient colleagues on the major components of a research-based partnership program, and a full One-Day Team Training Workshop to prepare school teams to develop their partnership programs. As a foundational text, this handbook demonstrates a proven approach to implement and sustain inclusive, goal-linked programs of partnership. It shows how a good partnership program is an essential component of good school organization and school improvement for student success. This book will help every district and all schools strengthen and continually improve their programs of family and community engagement.

Build a strong afterschool program that increases learning while incorporating standards! Research shows that participation in structured afterschool programs holds huge benefits for children’s academic and social development. But how can school principals create programs that help maximize student proficiency? This book holds the answers. Based on an AASA/Mott Foundation study, this concise yet comprehensive guidebook offers a step-by-step process to help principals and administrators build a successful and sustainable afterschool program. The author discusses how to integrate standards and incorporate a high-level curriculum and provides profiles of programs that have improved achievement, particularly for students who are at risk. School leaders will find checklists, planning worksheets, evaluation tools, and surveys, plus guidelines for: • Developing a parent and community base of support • Hiring staff and obtaining volunteers • Getting funding and grants • Collecting and evaluating program data This book will help school leaders identify the most effective ways to structure afterschool programs. The author shows how to avoid common problems and demonstrates through examples that, by working closely with staff and the community, it’s possible to raise student proficiency levels and cultivate academic success.

The authors survey the current afterschool landscape and bring to light important issues and practices within the field, explore the challenges and opportunities facing afterschool education programs, and point to future directions for these burgeoning educational ventures. Afterschool education has grown in recent years into a vast and diverse enterprise. In the United States, young people spend almost a third of their organized time (including school hours) in afterschool and summer programs. Yet there is little clear and conclusive research on afterschool programs—research that would help guide the practice of existing afterschool programs and establish guidelines for the creation of new programs. An indispensable guide for practitioners, administrators, policy makers, and parents, Afterschool Education will serve as the cornerstone for all future accounts of and proposals for this crucial educational field.