The After School Program in Lincoln Square at the MLK Jr. High School Campus is one of several high school afterschool programs funded by The After-School Corporation (TASC), a nonprofit organization dedicated to enhancing the quality and availability of in school afterschool programs in New York City and New York state. TASC presently funds afterschool programs in 143 public schools in New York City and 75 schools in 51 other New York State school districts. The goals of The After School Program in Lincoln Square are to improve the social, academic, and vocational competencies of school-aged youth; prevent out of wedlock pregnancies; reduce negative behaviors; and provide parents with a safe space for their children after school. The Lincoln Square Business Management Association, a non-profit organization, manages this program. [This Promising Practice was produced by the National Institute on Out-of-School Time for CityWorks and adapted from an original paper written by Sam Piha.].

After-school programs, scout groups, community service activities, religious youth groups, and other community-based activities have long been thought to play a key role in the lives of adolescents. But what do we know about the role of such programs for today's adolescents? How can we ensure that programs are designed to successfully meet young people's developmental needs and help them become healthy, happy, and productive adults? Community Programs to Promote Youth Development explores these questions, focusing on essential elements of adolescent well-being and healthy development. It offers recommendations for policy, practice, and research to ensure that programs are well designed to meet young people's developmental needs. The book also discusses the features of programs that can contribute to a successful transition from adolescence to adulthood. It examines what we know about the current landscape of youth development programs for America's youth, as well as how these programs are meeting their diverse needs. Recognizing the importance of adolescence as a period of transition to adulthood, Community Programs to Promote Youth Development offers authoritative guidance to policy makers, practitioners, researchers, and other key stakeholders on the role of youth development programs to promote the healthy development and well-being of the nation's youth.

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.).

Relationships are not only important to healthy youth development but may be the key ingredient which make intervention programs with youth successful. This study used data from evaluation of a wraparound school initiative called All in For Youth which has, among others, an aim of building and maintaining meaningful relationships between students and caring adults. This study explored students' experiences of how caring adults built positive relationships with them. Results showed three themes that illustrate how adults built these relationships. The first theme reveals that adults build relationships through their interactions with youth. Three subthemes highlight interactions that provide support, promote growth, and involve a social component. The second theme identifies caring skills adults demonstrated that nurtured close relationships. The three associated subthemes show adults were dependable, encouraging, and emotionally intelligent. The third theme discusses how adults build relationships through fostering supportive environments. Three subthemes describe that adults enabled connections, created safe spaces, and utilized team communication. In addition to the three core themes that illustrate how adults build relationships, a fourth theme discussed the evolving nature of student-adult relationships, where it was found that some relationships progressed after students' high school graduation. This study aligns with current research on developmental relationships and highlights the potential that wraparound school support initiatives, like the AIFY program, have for continuing research on these important relationships between youth and non-family adults.

This volume focuses on social and emotional learning (SEL) from a variety of perspectives. The goal of the volume is to offer a clear framing of SEL in relation to other related out-of-school time concepts and initiatives. SEL has gained popularity as a concept in recent years and there remains confusion as well as great interest in the meaning and implementation of SEL in OST. Policymakers, researchers, and practitioners are pursuing work related to SEL in OST and this volume offers an opportunity to share that work by: - Defining and explaining SEL in a variety of out of school contexts and highlighting opportunities for integration and alignment with other fields (e.g., formal education) - Clarifying the language and framework confusion and honoring the field's foundation in thinking about social and emotional development through high quality youth development practice - Sharing information about current trends and new developments and how that work is shaping the field across the developmental continuum - Making the research to practice connection by including in each chapter foundational research on the topic, evidence of effective efforts, and practical implications - Offering recommendations for researchers, practitioners, and policymakers related to SEL in OST settings

Children are already learning at birth, and they develop and learn at a rapid pace in their early years. This provides a critical foundation for lifelong progress, and the adults who provide for the care and the education of young children bear a great responsibility for their health, development, and learning. Despite the fact that they share the same objective - to nurture young children and secure their future success - the various practitioners who contribute to the care and the education of children from birth through age 8 are not acknowledged as a workforce unified by the common knowledge and competencies needed to do their jobs well. Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth Through Age 8 explores the science of child development, particularly looking at implications for the professionals who work with children. This report examines the current capacities and practices of the workforce, the settings in which they work, the policies and infrastructure that set qualifications and provide professional learning, and the government agencies and other funders who support and oversee these systems. This book then makes recommendations to improve the quality of professional practice and the practice environment for care and education professionals. These detailed recommendations create a blueprint for action that builds on a unifying foundation of child development and early learning, shared knowledge and competencies for care and education professionals, and principles for effective professional learning. Young children thrive and learn best when they have secure, positive relationships with adults who are knowledgeable about how to support their development and learning and are responsive to their individual progress. Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth Through Age 8 offers guidance on system changes to improve the quality of professional practice, specific actions to improve professional learning systems and workforce development, and research to continue to build the knowledge base in ways that will directly advance and inform future actions. The recommendations of this book provide an opportunity to improve the quality of the care and the education that children receive, and ultimately improve outcomes for children.