Out-of-school time, Students

Service as a Strategy in Out-of-School Time

adamf — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 15:47:41 -0500

A How-to Manual

This manual discusses quality Out-of-School-Time (OST) programs, highlights effective practices, discusses service and service-learning activities for children and youth in OST, and lists resources and contacts. The purpose of the manual is to help individuals and organizations effectively integrate service in the development and implementation of OST programs.

LEARNS: Support and Training for Educational Success and Mentoring

jcfiala — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 11:20:05 -0500

LEARNS, a Corporation for National and Community Service sponsored technical assistance provider, is available to assist your national service program with any aspect of educational success or mentoring.

ANNOUNCEMENT: New Youth Impact Newsletter

Volume 3: Beyond the Classroom: Service-Learning in Out-of-School Time (PDF)

Providing summertime contact in school-based mentoring programs

pingv — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 17:04:28 -0500

One of the main challenges for school-based mentoring programs is keeping matches in touch over the summer break when extensive in-person meetings may not be possible. Research indicates that school-based mentoring relationships suffer when summer contact is absent. Luckily, there are several strategies available to school-based mentoring programs to keep matches engaged, minimize the negative impact of the summer break on relationship quality, and get matches ready to build on positive momentum when the school year starts back up. This effective practice was submitted by LEARNS at the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory in April 2008.

Identifying features of high-performing after-school programs

pingv — Mon, 10 Jul 2006 15:13:00 -0500

In 2005, the After-School Corporation (TASC) commissioned an evaluation of the after-school programs it funds in New York City to determine which programs were most successful in improving student academic performance and to identify what traits and features were common to them. The study was implemented by Policy Studies Associates (PSA) as a follow up to their multi-year evaluation of TASC. PSA found that shared characteristics among these high-performing programs include: a broad array of enrichment opportunities; opportunities for skill building and mastery; intentional relationship building; a strong/experienced leader/manager supported by a trained and supervised staff; and sponsoring organizations that provided an effective balance of support and autonomy. The findings of this study will be of value to new and existing national service-funded organizations seeking to establish or improve their programming, staffing, and support systems for out-of-school time (OST) programs.

Providing educational enrichment for students expelled from traditional school settings

pingv — Fri, 19 Aug 2005 01:00:00 -0500

Middle school students who have been expelled from Metropolitan School District in Indianapolis are given the chance to reenter the district without falling behind in school. The non-traditional Opportunity School Program provides academic and social skills development, as well as service-learning activities, to keep students on track. This effective practice was shared by Kristine Myers, Youth Support Administrator of Opportunity School.

Using performance to give voice to children of prisoners

pingv — Tue, 24 May 2005 01:00:00 -0500

The loss of a parent to incarceration has a tremendous impact in the life of a child. For adolescents who are dealing with other difficult life issues, having a safe way to express their thoughts and feelings can make a tangible difference. At San Francisco's Balboa High School, students told their stories in the form of a play, and this literally meant the difference between dropping out and staying in school. This program was highlighted in an article by Heather Knight in the San Francisco Chronicle on April 23, 2005.

Utilizing Foster Grandparents to increase literacy during summer break

pingv — Thu, 09 Sep 2004 01:00:00 -0500

During summer break Foster Grandparents from the Mexia State School Foster Grandparent Program partnered with local city libraries to provide reading programs for children with special reading needs. This assured continuous service hours for Foster Grandparents as well as positive benefits for children in the community. Larry Lynch submitted this effective practice in August 2004.

Serving at-risk junior high school students by modeling positive life choices

pingv — Fri, 08 Aug 2003 01:00:00 -0500

With adult mentoring and community support, an after school program in Franklin County, Ohio focuses on encouraging at-risk junior high school youth to make positive life choices — specifically organized around the issues of teen pregnancy, physical and substance abuse, and academic success. John Magee submitted this effective practice to the Promising Practices in Afterschool e-mail discussion list in June 2003.

Supporting at-risk youth with summer high school preparatory programs

pingv — Thu, 31 Jul 2003 01:00:00 -0500

The transition from middle school to high school can be a difficult one for even the most "on track" students. It can pose some especially tough challenges for at-risk youth. In North Carolina, teachers work hands-on with students to prepare them during the summertime months for their first year of high school. The curriculum offers help in core academic courses, as well as support in areas of confidence and self-esteem building, and organizational and study skills. Regina Gilchrist Ash submitted this effective practice to the Promising Practices in Afterschool Listserv in April 2003.

Training new after-school volunteers

pingv — Thu, 15 May 2003 01:00:00 -0500

Strong after-school programs are enhanced by the presence of well-trained volunteers and staff. Effective training empowers volunteers to do their best and leads to greater academic and social success among children enrolled in these programs. This effective practice offers general tips that program directors need to know for training elementary school-age care volunteers, and is excerpted from the book Training New After-School Staff: Welcome to the World of School-Age Care, by Roberta Newman (School-Age Notes, 2002).

Partnering with faith-based institutions to increase literacy among low-income students

pingv — Wed, 16 Oct 2002 01:00:00 -0500

In Philadelphia's poorest neighborhoods, faith-based institutions, supplied with funding, pedagogy, and training from Public/Private Ventures (P/PV), promote literacy while enhancing their ability to use effective methods that deliver measurable outcomes. Although local institutions have previously provided such useful services as homework help or supervised after school "safe havens," launching Youth Education for Tomorrow (YET) Centers meant moving from a caretaking role to a developmental one that has yielded substantial outcomes. This effective practice describes the YET model of literacy and provides a link to an in-depth analysis of the program.Excerpted from the February 2002 report, Mustering the Armies of Compassion in Philadelphia: An Analysis of One Year of Literacy Programming in Faith-Based Institutions.

Using service projects to teach middle school youth about environmental conservation

pingv — Mon, 22 Jul 2002 01:00:00 -0500

The Environmental Protection Agency's publication, Service-Learning: Education Beyond the Classroom, describes five environmental conservation projects that schools and community groups have conducted with middle school youth. The source document includes additional projects for elementary and high school youth, as well as a list of partnering national organizations.

Using service projects to teach high school youth about environmental conservation

pingv — Mon, 22 Jul 2002 01:00:00 -0500

The Environmental Protection Agency's publication, Service-Learning: Education Beyond the Classroom, describes five environmental conservation projects that schools and community groups have conducted with high school youth.The source document includes additional projects for elementary and middle school youth, as well as a list of partnering national organizations.

Using service projects to teach elementary school youth about environmental conservation

pingv — Mon, 22 Jul 2002 01:00:00 -0500

The Environmental Protection Agency's publication, Service-Learning: Education Beyond the Classroom, describes seven environmental conservation projects that schools and community groups have conducted with elementary school-aged youth. The source document includes additional projects for middle and high school youth, as well as a list of partnering national organizations.

Building effective programs for summer learning

pingv — Fri, 16 Nov 2001 01:00:00 -0600

Summer should never be a break in any child's intellectual development. Summer learning can come from reading books, singing songs, playing games, listening to stories, taking trips, and other kinds of fun activities. However, this kind of summer learning can be more difficult for children of low-income and other disadvantaged families since they have less access to material resources such as books and computers, and fewer enriching experiences such as family trips and summer camps. This effective practice is based on a paper by America Reads intern Peter Johnson (summer 2000), Building Effective Programs for Summer Learning, and offers suggestions for building a summer learning program that reaches the neediest kids, gets kids learning, and keeps going strong.

Implementing a statewide reading program for elementary students

pingv — Mon, 29 Oct 2001 01:00:00 -0600

The Washington Reading Corps was created in 1998 to provide intensive and immediate instruction to elementary students in schools with low reading assessment scores. The program is a unique service partnership between public, private, and community resources that unites teachers, school staff, AmeriCorps and AmeriCorps*VISTA members, and community volunteers in a coordinated, statewide effort. In 1999-2000, about 6,000 volunteer tutors provided services to 26,000 students in 210 schools.

Motivating students to complete homework

pingv — Mon, 08 Oct 2001 01:00:00 -0500

By using recreation time as an incentive, after-school programs motivate students to complete their homework assignments. Athletes in Service AmeriCorps members have successfully implemented the Learn and Earn policies on school campuses, YMCAs, and Boys and Girls Clubs. This effective practice was shared at the 2001 National Conference on Community Volunteering and National Service in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Motivating students with homework stations

pingv — Thu, 30 Aug 2001 01:00:00 -0500

Older students often require guidance to complete homework assignments, but they are not receptive to traditional after-school programs. Homework stations empower students to take control of their own study habits. This effective practice was submitted by City Year Greater Philadelphia at the 2001 National Conference on Community Volunteering and National Service in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Implementing a team-tutoring program for literacy instruction

pingv — Wed, 02 May 2001 01:00:00 -0500

Low-performing readers can benefit from regular one-on-one instruction with a volunteer tutor. However, many programs face difficulties recruiting volunteers who are willing to commit to multiple sessions during the week. With funding from a grant from the Michael Eisner Foundation, the Frostig Center developed the Reading Partnership Program, which provides students with a team of volunteer tutors. The team-tutoring approach provides each student with an hour of one-on-one instruction four days a week. This effective practice shares the program's methods for recruiting tutors and implementing a team-tutoring system.

Keeping schools open during non-school hours

pingv — Wed, 12 Jul 2000 01:00:00 -0500

This excerpt from the book 150 Tested Strategies to Prevent Crime from Small Cities, Counties, and Rural Communities, highlights the practice of keeping schools open before and after school hours, and during the summer.