Afterschool Research and Policy Implications

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Afterschool Research and Policy Implications

• Presentation to Wisconsin State Prevention
  ConferenceJune 11, 2009Ramada Hotel, Stevens
  Point, WI

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Defining Afterschool

• The Who, What, Where and Why?

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Who?

• 6.5 million children and youth in K-12
• Nearly 1 million in 21st Century Community
  Learning Center programs
• In about 10,000 school and community based centers

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What is Afterschool?

• Safe, structured programs that provide youth in
  K-12 a range of supervised activities
  intentionally designed to encourage learning and
  development outside the school day
• Can also be called
• School age child care
• Out of school time
• Expanded learning opportunities

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Where is Afterschool?

• Occurs is variety of settings
• Schools,
• Museums
• Libraries
• Parks
• Faith based organizations
• Youth service agencies,
• Health agencies
• And many other community based organizations.

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When?

• Before and after school
• Weekends
• School holidays
• Summer
• During the school year
• usually run 2-3 hours/day
• 4-5 days/week

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Why do Afterschool?

• Educators, researchers, advocates and policy
  makers alike are rethinking how to best educate
  our nations young people and prepare them to be
  productive citizens in the 21st Century
• Most agree this includes sustained participation
  in well-structured and well-implemented after
  school programs and activities

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Put a Face on It Activity Part 1
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What does research say?

• Does participation in after school programs make
  a difference, and if so,
• What conditions appear to be necessary to achieve
  positive results?

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A seminal research study

• After School Programs in the 21st Century, Their
  Potential and What it Takes to Achieve It, Number
  10, Feb. 2008, by Pricilla Little, Christopher
  Wimmer and Heather B. Weiss
• This Harvard Family Research Project research
  brief summarized 10 years of research

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A Resounding YES!

• A decade of research and evaluation studies,
  confirms that children and youth who participate
  in after school programs can reap a host of
  positive outcomes in a number of related areas
  such as
• Academic
• Social/emotional
• Prevention
• Health Wellness

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ACADEMIC OUTCOMES

• Afterschool programs can improve academic
  achievement outcomes such as
• Better attitudes toward school higher
  educational aspirations
• Higher school attendance rates less tardiness
• Less disciplinary action (e.g., suspension)
• Lower dropout rates
• Better performance in school, as measured by
  achievement test scores and grades
• Greater on-time promotion
• Improved homework completion
• Engagement in learning

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Key Study SupportingAcademic Outcomes

• Longitudinal Findings from the Study of Promising
  After-School Programs by
• Deborah Lowe Vandell, University of California,
  Irvine
• Elizabeth R. Reisner, Policy Studies Associates,
  Inc.
• Kim M. Pierce, University of California, Irvine
• 2008

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Conclusions on Improved Academic Outcomes

• Elementary middle school students who regularly
  attended high quality afterschool programs
  demonstrated significant gains of 12 to 20
  percentiles in standardized math test scores.
• Elementary middle school students who regularly
  participated in high-quality afterschool programs
  had significant gains in self-reported work
  habits.
• Classroom teachers of the elementary students
  also reported gains in work habits task
  persistence.
• Vandell, D,. Reisner, E. Pierce, K. (2007)

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Conclusions on Improved Social and Behavioral
Outcomes

• Elementary program participants exhibited gains
  in social skills with peers pro-social behavior
  reductions in aggression
• Both elementary and middle school program
  participants demonstrated reductions in
  misconduct (e.g., skipping school, getting into
  fights).
• Middle school program participants reported
  reduced use of drugs alcohol
• Vandell,D,. Reisener, E. Pierce, K. (2007)

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Study Insights

• After school programs can improve academic
  achievement however, dozens of studies
  underscore the powerful impact of supporting a
  range of positive learning outcomes, by providing
  youth opportunities to learn and practice new
  skills through hands-on, experiential learning in
  project-based afterschool programs.

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Common Threads

• Its not just that the programs intentionally
  tried to improve academic performance and
  therefore offered academic support, but they
  combined it with other enrichment activities to
  achieve positive academic outcomes.

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SOCIAL/EMOTIONAL OUTCOMES

• Afterschool programs can improve youth social and
  developmental outcomes. Outcomes include
• Decreased behavioral problems
• Improved social and communication skills and/or
  relationships with others (peers, parents,
  teachers)
• Increased self-con?dence, self-esteem, and
  self-ef?cacy
• Lower levels of depression and anxiety
• Development of initiative
• Improved feelings and attitudes toward self and
  school

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Key Study Supporting Social/Emotional Development

• The Impact of After-School Programs That Promote
  Personal and Social Skills
• Joseph Durlak, Loyola University, Chicago,
• Roger Weissberg, University of Illinois, Chicago
• Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional
  Learning (CASEL), 2007

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Findings

• Youth who participate in after school programs
  improve significantly in three major areas
• Feelings and attitudes
• Indicators of behavioral adjustment
• School performance
• Effective programs use evidence based skill
  training approaches

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Evidence Based Training Approaches (SAFE)

• Sequential (set of activities focused on
  outcomes)
• Active (forms of hands on learning)
• Focus (on personal or social skills
• Explicit targeting of specific personal or social
  skills

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PREVENTION OUTCOMES

• Participation in after school programs can have a
  positive impact on a range of prevention
  outcomes.
• Avoidance of drug and alcohol use
• Decreases in delinquency and violent behavior
• Increased knowledge of safe sex
• Avoidance of sexual activity
• Reduction in juvenile crime

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Key Study Supporting Prevention Outcome

• Longitudinal study of effect of participation in
  LAs BEST programs on juvenile crime
• Tracked students from 1994 2003
• Comparing LAs BEST participants to two control
  groups

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Results of Study

• Participation in LAs BEST was signi?cantly
  related to lower incidences of juvenile crime.
• Researchers estimate this translates into average
  savings to society of 2.50 for every dollar
  invested in the program.
• While participation rates were a key factor in
  crime reduction this is powerful evidence of
  potential long-term effects of and bene?ts to
  society from after school programs!

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HEALTH AND WELLNESS OUTCOMES

• Participation in after school programs can
  contribute to healthy lifestyles and increased
  knowledge of nutrition and exercise. Outcomes
  associated with participation in after school
  programs include
• Better food choices
• Increased physical activity
• Increased knowledge of nutrition and health
  practices
• Reduction in BMI
• Improved blood pressure
• Improved body image

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Key Study Supporting Health and Wellness Outcome

• Summertime and Weight Gain Study (Paul von
  Hippel)
• Children gain body mass index (BMI) nearly twice
  as fast during the summer as during the school
  year. (2007)
• Black and Hispanic children and children who are
  already overweight experience healthier BMI gain
  during the school year (2007)
• Only 1 in 5 children in 2006 who received free or
  reduced meals during school did so in the summer
  (2007)

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Put a Face on Your Partners Activity
                                                        
                                                               

                                        
                                    
                                         
                                    
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Three Critical Factors to Achieve Successful
Outcomes

• Access to and sustained participation in programs
• Quality programming, particularly
• Appropriate supervision and structure
• Intentional programming
• Strong partnerships with families, other
  community organizations and schools

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Supporting Student Outcomes Through Expanded
Learning Opportunities

• NEW report by Harvard Family Research,
  http//www.hfrp.org/

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Principles of Sustainable Partnerships

• Shared vision with focus on supporting academics
• Blended staffing models that enable crossover
  between school, afterschool and summer staff
• School/Afterschool/summer partnership at multiple
  levels
• Regular and reciprocal collection and sharing of
  info on student progress
• Intentional and explicit contrast between school
  and afterschool

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Using Research for Policy Change

• Expand definition of student success
• Use knowledge about how students learn best
• Integrate various approached to acquiring and
  reinforcing knowledge
• Collaborate across local, state and national
  sectors
• Provide new leadership and professional
  development opportunities
• A Report from the Time, learning and Afterschool
  Task Force, 2007

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Join Afterschool Alliance

• Host a Lights on Afterschool Event on October 22,
  2009
• Free resources at afterschoolalliance.org

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What is ?
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• Vision

All Wisconsin school age children and youth have
the opportunity to attend a high quality
afterschool program.
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Mission

• Support schools and community partners in
  delivering high quality afterschool programs to
  diverse school age children and youth that
• Increase academic achievement
• Enhance youth development
• Encourage family involvement.

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• Partnership Goal
• Create a sustainable structure of statewide,
  regional, local and school-community partnerships
  focused on supporting high quality afterschool
  programs and influencing policy development.
• Policy Goal
• Support the development and growth of statewide
  policies to secure resources needed to sustain
  new and existing afterschool programs.
• Program Quality Goal
• Support statewide systems to ensure programs are
  of high quality.

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Supporting Student Success (S3) Grant

• Goal
• Establish sustainable cross agency funding to
  maximize existing revenue
• Adoption of statewide quality regulations and
  program standards for extended learning
  opportunities

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Connect to UW-Extension 4-H Youth Development

• Visit county staff http//www.uwex.edu/ces/cty/
• Wisconsin 4-H Afterschool website
  http//www.uwex.edu/ces/4h/afterschool/

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Making Your Case Activity

• Refer to Outcomes handout for ideas
• Draft a 2 min. pitch to a key stakeholder, funder
  or legislator
• Introduce self say who you are representing
• Say why you are here in one sentence
• Make your case in 2 minutes
• Ask for something specific
• Leave handout send thank you

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Whats Next?Converge for a common cause with

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Adapt and Share This Training

• PowerPoint handouts posted on my webpage at
• http//www.uwex.edu/ces/4h/afterschool/partnership
  s/links.cfm

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Keep ConnectingFor its all about the Kids!