After School Initiative

Our Initiative | ASES/Proposition 49
21st Century Community Learning Centers
Other Funding Opportunities
Tools to Start and Run After School Programs
Resource Links | Contact

BACKGROUND

When the Bay Area Partnership was first formed in 1997, access to quality after school programs was chosen as one of the first issues on the agenda. The Partnership’s early leaders understood that after school hours offer young people opportunities for learning and recreation in a safe environment – a critical need in the region’s poorest communities.  The Partnership’s earliest work helped schools in these communities access federal and state funding to develop after school programs.

THE ISSUE: ACCESS TO QUALITY AFTER SCHOOL PROGRAMS

Opportunities of after school programs
Quality after school programs provide young people with an array of learning opportunities and personal supports that promote their healthy development.  In the poorest pockets of the Bay Area, many working parents lack the resources to pay for child care, and children are at risk of becoming either the perpetrators or victims of violence or getting involved with drugs, gangs and other negative activities.  Through after school programs, children access enrichment activities – the arts, sciences, community service, recreation – that are often unavailable during the school day, and receive academic support through tutoring and homework help. 

Benefits of after school programs

• Youth who participate in after school programs tend to have higher overall school attendance, do better in school, and are less likely to demonstrate negative behaviors, such as violence or alcohol abuse.
• After school programs provide some of the essential activities – for example, arts, recreation, tutoring – that schools and families often struggle to provide for their children.
• After school programs also enable parents to worry less about their children’s safety, balance work and family more effectively, and become better connected to their communities. 
• For research on the benefits of after school programs, see the report, “Critical hours: After-school programs and educational success,” by Beth Miller (2003) commissioned by the Nellie Mae Education Foundation and available at www.nmefdn.org

OUR INITIATIVE: EXPAND ACCESS AND MAINTAIN QUALITY

The goals of the Bay Area Partnership’s After School Initiative are to:

• Increase the number of children and youth participating in quality after school programs
• Ensure that after school programs can sustain services over time
• Improve the design and quality of after school programs

1.  Accessing Funds

Over the past five years, the Bay Area Partnership has worked with more than 50 communities to help them access after school funding through the federal 21st Century Community Learning Center program and the California After School Education and Safety Program (ASES).  Our primary focus is on low-income, underserved communities (such as Vallejo, North Richmond and rural Sonoma County).  Through this work, we have leveraged tens of millions of dollars to create after school programs in our priority communities. 

Proposition 49: A New Opportunity for After School Funding in California
Our work expanded dramatically in the fall of 2006 with the release of more than $400 million in new state funding – an almost four-fold increase – through Proposition 49.  This new funding created enormous opportunities for needy elementary and middle school children.  The Partnership worked to reach out as broadly as possible across the nine counties of the Bay Area so that the lowest income communities were informed and prepared to apply.

The Bay Area Partnership met this challenge through several strategies:

• Regional information sessions
• Community-based planning support
• Development of planning tools [To see these tools, click here]

As a result of this work and in collaboration with partners, we made sure that every community in the Bay Area with a high proportion of low-income families (as measured by schools’ free and reduced lunch participation rates) had information about the new stream of After School Education and Safety (ASES) funding as well as direct technical support in developing an application when needed.
 
21st Century Community Learning Centers
This federally-funded program helps communities develop and operate after school programs for elementary, middle and high school students. The funding is administered by the California Department of Education.  [For 21st CCLC guidelines, click here.]

The Bay Area Partnership is focusing on helping high schools access this important resource.  High school-age youth have unique challenges, particularly in low-income communities, and after school activities – such as music, dance, tutoring, and career awareness – can inspire and motivate teenagers and provide positive alternatives to boredom and misbehavior. 

To support programs in developing effective high school after school programs, the Bay Area Partnership is providing the following:

• Assistance with planning and writing 21st CCLC grants.
• Information about best practices and model programs from around the state. 
• Connections to program partners – cities, schools, community-based organizations and other stakeholders – to lay the foundations of a sustainable program

2.  Planning for Sustainability

The Bay Area Partnership’s work with local school districts focuses not just on getting initial funding for after school programs, but on sustaining these programs and ensuring their long-term success.  The Partnership’s Sustainability Project has provided training and support to 30 communities.

Our Sustainability Project helps schools, community-based organizations and districts develop three to five-year plans that:

• Define program goals and activities
• Identify strategies to build community support and strengthen organizational capacity
• Establish strategic financing plans to access and maintain funding over time
• Document strategies in a written sustainability plan

3.  Building Quality

Increased state and federal funding presents enormous opportunities for Bay Area communities to expand their after school programs.  At the same time, the rapid expansion of programming raises significant challenges as many new programs begin providing services with no prior experience and limited time to think about critical elements of quality and infrastructure.

The Bay Area Partnership meets this challenge by providing the following:

• Learning communities that bring together after school program providers to learn how to build quality programs and develop action plans to improve their programs.
• Information about best practices and model programs
• On-site coaching
• On-going support, advice and referrals

FUTURE EFFORTS

In the future, we envision the following directions for our work: 

• Expand the number of after school programs that participate in learning communities on quality and sustainability
• Create regional peer networks to share best practices and facilitate mentoring
• Connect after school, nutrition and health services to maximize resources for high-need schools