Resources for Afterschool Professionals

Codeacademy has launched After-School Programming, a free kit for educators or youth in middle and high school who want to start afterschool programming clubs. The kit includes a curriculum with interactive lessons, fun projects, and access to a community of teachers around the world. During the first semester, youth build personalized websites, and during the second, they build adventure games. No background in programming or computer science is necessary. Read more about this initiative, and sign up to receive the kit.

This article is one of the best written on the outcomes we should expect of afterschool programs and role of academic measures in program evaluation.

The growing interest in program quality has brought an increase of tools available to help programs and systems assess and improve quality. Given the size and diversity of the youth-serving sector, it is unrealistic to expect that any one quality assessment tool will fit all programs or circumstances. While diversity in available resources is positive and reflects the evolution of the field, it also makes it important that potential users have access to good information to help guide their decision-making.

and , with Sean Fischer and Marybeth Shinn, The Forum for Youth Investment

Responding to increased requests from the OST community for practical evaluation tools, the Harvard Family Research Project recently released Measurement Tools for Evaluating Out-of-School Time Programs: An Evaluation Resource to help practitioners and evaluators find evaluation instruments that match their program and evaluation goals and characteristics. Originally published as part of the OST Evaluation Snapshots series in 2005, the resource has been re-designed and updated to be a dynamic web tool that includes measurement tools and assessments used by programs and studies profiled in Harvard Family Research Project’s OST Research and Evaluation Database.

To support student success, New York State has recently adopted the Common Core Learning Standards, which are detailed in the Common Core Library and EngageNY. The Common Core Standards Initiative has the goal of creating a shared understanding for students, parents, and educators about what students should know and be able to do by the time they graduate from high school.

Development Studies Center (DSC) has created assessments of their AfterSchool KidzLit® and AfterSchool KidzMath™ programs, designed to be fun ways of gauging kids’ reading comprehension or math skills, how kids feel about working with others, and whether kids are progressing or need more time with certain skills. Both assessments have pre- and post-tests, so that educators can measure results over the course of the year, and can be administered with either individuals or groups. DSC is offering the assessments free of charge as a download on their website.