October 5, 2008 | Volume 5, Issue 3
City-Wide Initiatives as a Means of Building Strong Out-of-School Time Systems
ABSTRACT
As communities across the nation seek to improve opportunities for youth to develop skills, they are turning more frequently to innovative programs offered during non-school hours or in venues contrasting traditional high school settings. In fall 2007, twelve Heinz School graduate students considered the untapped possibilities of out-of-school time (OST) programming to enhance high school reform in the Pittsburgh community and to meet the needs of the area’s young people, including academic enrichment, career and college preparation, and leadership development. This article reviews and summarizes benchmarking and best practices pertaining to OST programming emergeding from the students’ research, especially with regard to city-wide coalitions as a means of building successful OST systems.
BACKGROUND
The out-of-school time (OST) field has expanded rapidly since the mid-1990s, when the Safe and Sound Campaign and the 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21CCLC) initiative were first funded. “After-school” programming used to focus narrowly on providing a safe place and academic assistance for children ages 5 to 14 during non-school hours, typically from 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm, in school or community settings.(1) Today, the term “out-of-school time” encompasses this traditional definition of after-school as well as efforts to comprehensively and holistically serve young people- including those of high school age- and to contribute to positive youth outcomes during afternoons, evenings, weekends, summers, and even holidays.(2)
Just as the OST field has evolved in recent years, so has the notion that OST programming still has unexploited potential to better support education reform efforts. The After-School Institute, for example, notes that “while a tremendous amount of funding has been allocated to direct services for OST providers and programs, too little has been directed at building OST systems” that can meet students’ needs on a larger and more efficient scale.(3)
Similarly, nationwide benchmarking conducted by twelve Heinz School graduate students for a fall 2007 capstone project exposed the value of investing in OST initiatives that synergize resources on a city-wide level to achieve objectives in increasing student achievement. The project, “An Out-of-School Time Model for High School Reform in Pittsburgh Public Schools,” emphasized how “city-wide out-of-school time approaches emerged as a best practice in providing OST opportunities to students in a large school district or region.”(4) Furthermore, the project cited the potential of this kind of approach to support and enhance OST programs for high school students across Pittsburgh.
This article reviews and summarizes benchmarking and best practices pertaining to OST programming that emerged from the students’ research, especially with regard to city-wide coalitions as a means of building successful OST systems. The article highlights Chicago, Illinois, as one city that – through its After School Matters initiative – is utilizing a city-wide strategy to enrich the lives of teens and revitalize the city’s communities.(5)
CHICAGO’S AFTER SCHOOL MATTERS: A CASE STUDY
In1990, Block 37 in downtown Chicago was abandoned and run-down. By the middle of the decade, however, a transformation had occurred that made the once vacant block into a vivacious block. Through an initiative led by Chicago’s First Lady Maggie Daley, Block 37 had been converted into an art-themed job training center for teens. The center was a setting where teens could practice and gain knowledge about a vast array of artistic genres taught by skilled professionals from Chicago’s own neighborhoods and communities.
By the fall of 2000, the overwhelming success of Daley’s initiative targeted at Chicago’s high school youth prompted the expansion of the job-training program beyond the arts, and the creation of new opportunities in sports, technology, and written and spoken word. Collectively, these innovative programs formed After School Matters.
As After School Matters grew, the non-profit organization worked to coordinate Chicago’s resources and anchor its programs around clusters of public high schools, parks and libraries.(6) Today After School Matters partners with Chicago Public Schools, the Chicago Park District, the Chicago Public Library, the Chicago Department of Children and Youth Services, the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs, and a multitude of community-based organizations to provide teens with the opportunity to engage in constructive activities during out-of-school time hours. At program locations throughout the city, local professionals help Chicago’s youth meet the challenges that await them “by developing marketable job skills and building confidence by showcasing their talents.”(7) According to the organization’s web site, “After School Matters has grown from serving 180 teens in three neighborhoods to offering nearly 600 programs in 58 schools.”(8)
WHAT IS “A CITY-WIDE APPROACH” TO OST PROGRAMMING?
After School Matters is more than a traditional after-school curriculum. It is the intermediary that drives an out-of-school time system in which several interconnected agents and stakeholders within the city of Chicago work cooperatively. These agents and stakeholders provide students with opportunities to interact with professionals, develop job and leadership skills, and, consequently, enrich and enhance their overall academic experiences. The coordination of After School Matters and relevant partners is an example of a “city-wide approach” to OST programming.
The term “city-wide approach” as used in this article refers to a large-scale, voluntary coalition of multiple players across a city with a shared vision to provide quality OST programming and an increased capacity to serve youth. Benchmarking by the Heinz School graduate student team revealed the basic structure enabling a city-wide approach is a coalition of a core set that may include the school district, local governments, funding organizations, community providers and even businesses. There is no standardized exhaustive list or formula for developing city-wide OST systems; however, recurring themes amongst the most successful OST initiatives informed key best practices about the role that intermediaries, leaders, and a clear mission can play in strengthening the OST field. (9)
BEST PRACTICES: INTERMEDIARIES, LEADERS, AND A CLEAR MISSION
The Community Network for Youth Development (CNYD) defines intermediaries as entities that connect the organizations and people they serve with a body of knowledge and skills.(10) As is the case with Chicago’s After School Matters, city-wide approaches and coalition-building are often driven- at least in early stages- by intermediary organizations. For this reason, when a 2006 report by The After-School Institute stressed the need to look towards systems-building to address out-of-school time quality, it pushed for funders “to strengthen the roles of intermediaries in strengthening the after-school field.” (11) The report goes on to describe the value of services that intermediaries provide, such as “technical assistance, professional development, and capacity building at local, regional, and national levels.”(12)
Another important component of city-wide coalition-building is “a leader who at best is ‘first among equals’ and plays the role of ‘a centrifugal force’ that coordinates with other members and maintains momentum.” (13) In Chicago, First Lady Daley stepped up as the leader. The leader plays a critical role in getting key stakeholders on board with the city-wide initiative. His or her enthusiasm, mission, and planning methods affect the success of the initiative. The leader of a city-wide initiative is responsible for coordinating efforts, establishing momentum and making sure that OST programs are a priority among stakeholders in a community. As such efforts can be quite complex, often the leader’s vision is carried through intermediaries that perform roles mentioned earlier in this discussion.
For example, in the city of Boston, Massachusetts 2020 is an intermediary organization that serves to leverage public and private funds, connect with stakeholders, and provide support and technical assistance for sustaining quality OST programming. Massachusetts 2020 has been a lead partner in launching several major initiatives including Boston’s After-School for All Partnership, the largest public-private partnership dedicated to children in Boston’s history. However, according to Emily Raine, who serves as the organization’s manager of Expanded Learning Time Partnerships, Massachusetts 2020’s success is largely due to its “unique” leadership – Chris Gabrieli, a civic and business entrepreneur and Jennifer Davis, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education and Executive Director of the 2:00-to-6:00pm initiative organized by the mayor of Boston.
Raine states:
“Jennifer and Chris saw a need for greater coordination of services. A lot was going on in Boston in terms of after school and out-of-school time programming, but it seemed too fragmented. There were lots of initiatives, programs, and resources, but things weren’t well-coordinated. Jennifer and Chris were instrumental in bringing initiatives together to do work better and on a larger scale.”(14)
A final and vital best practice in establishing a city-wide initiative is identifying one mission that many different stakeholders can work towards achieving. Key organizations, agencies, and businesses must all take ownership of the mission in order for the city-wide approach to be successful. For this to happen, the mission should be clear and agreed upon by all of the relevant stakeholders. Furthermore, as it pertains to OST, the over-arching vision must incorporate the needs and concerns of students and parents. Having a shared mission is a way to build trust across sectors, political divides and varying interests.
Developing a shared mission was a goal of “Big Thought,” a learning partnership in Dallas, Texas that coordinates city-wide OST programming focused on arts and culture. Giselle Antoni, Executive Director of Big Thought, describes the process of bringing all the players to the table and identifying what the common interest among them was. “It’s a huge Venn Diagram,” Antoni mentioned in a presentation about the city-wide partnership. “The Mayor’s office, school district, nonprofits, mentors. Where do all the circles cross? Weave through everyone’s agendas to find a common goal.”(15)
CONCLUSION
This article suggests that while there is no standard formula for the development of city-wide approaches—or coalitions—broad guidelines can be gleaned from the best practices shared above. The Heinz School graduate student team indicated, however, that “even with these guidelines the process may be tenuous” and requires that various cities tap into their unique resources when attempting such an initiative.(16) Furthermore, “patience and persistence” are cited as significant attributes of engaging in the process.(17)
Nevertheless, given the success of other city-wide approaches across the nation, cities should consider the benefits that such organized efforts can provide for their youth. In fact, large investments in this type of initiative in recent years by organizations such as the National League of Cities and the Wallace Foundation indicate that funders are becoming more aware of the potential city-wide OST systems have to meet students’ needs in a sustainable and efficient way. City-wide approaches, therefore – while complicated to achieve – are worthwhile investments to the field of out-of-school time.
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American Youth Policy Forum (2006, January). “Helping Youth Succeed Through Out‐of‐School Time Programs.” Retrieved March 8, 2008, from http://www.aypf.org/publications/HelpingYouthOST2006.pdf (accessed October 2007)
Ibid.
Leif, Elissa (2006, June 25). “A Drum Major for The After-School Field: A Case Study of The After-School Institute (TASI) of Baltimore, Maryland.” The After-School Institute. Retrieved March 2008, from http://www.afterschoolinstitute.org/pdf/TASI_Case_Study_2006.pdf
Brazier, J., Conrad, J., Gilb, A., Hill, T., Khan, A. S., Lin, P., Lok, M., Orr, B., Pryor, J., Quahliero, A., Smith, A., Tucci, T. (2008 January). “An Out-of-School Time Model for High School Reform in Pittsburgh Public Schools.” Systems Synthesis Project Report. Course 90–739, Fall 2007. H. John Heinz III School of Public Policy and Management.
After School Matters Official Web Site. “History.” Retrieved March 7, 2008 from http://www.afterschoolmatters.org/about/history/
Ibid.
Ibid.
Ibid.
Brazier, J., et al.
Community Network for Youth Development Official Web Site. “Glossary.” Retrieved March 8, 2008 from http://www.cnyd.org/definitions/index.php#intermediary
Leif, Elissa (2006, June 25). “A Drum Major for The After-School Field: A Case Study of The After-School Institute (TASI) of Baltimore, Maryland.” The After-School Institute. Retrieved March 2008, from http://www.afterschoolinstitute.org/pdf/TASI_Case_Study_2006.pdf
Ibid.
Brazier, J., et al.
Ibid.
Brazier, Jessica. (2007, November 1). [Unpublished interview with Emily Raine, Manager of Extended Learning Time Partnerships, Massachusetts 2020, SUBJ: Presentation by Giselle Antoni on Big Thought]
Brazier, J., et al.
Ibid.
Ibid.
