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Children who attend high quality after-school programs have
better peer relations, emotional adjustment, conflict resolution
skills, grades, and conduct in school, compared to their peers
who are not in after-school programs. (Baker
and Witt, 1996; Kahne, Nagaoka & Brown, 1999; Posner &
Vandell, 1999)
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WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO ALIGN
OUT-OF-SCHOOL PROGRAMS WITH STUDENT LEARNING?
Alignment means that out-of-school-time
activities purposefully complement work in schools, improving the
ability of students to meet learning standards. Accomplishing this
requires a partnership in which before- and after-school programs,
schools and community organizations work together to improve
student learning. Alignment is important because it ensures that
children’s needs are met at every level—emotional and
physical as well as academic.
Alignment does not mean that
out-of-school programs duplicate what happens during the school
day. Out-of-school programs emphasize play as well as academics,
helping children experience success in new ways and develop as
well-rounded individuals.
The Seattle School Board considers alignment so important that
it provides space rent- free in school buildings to dozens of
out-of-school-time programs that have an approved plan to align
their offerings with the schools’ learning standards. About
25 percent of all Seattle Public Schools students now attend such
programs before or after school.
WHAT MAKES A HIGH QUALITY
OUT-OF-SCHOOL-TIME PROGRAM?
The best out-of-school-time providers plan their programs to
coordinate with school activities and learning standards. They
participate in school district-sponsored training to understand how
to encourage student inquiry and design meaningful projects. They
reinvest rent savings in program improvements. The provider and
school mutually decide whether and how to share facilities,
curriculum, staff, volunteers, equipment, technology,
transportation and emergency procedures. They also communicate
regularly about individual student needs, behavior management,
family involvement, health and safety.
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WHAT DOES AN "ALIGNED"
AFTER-SCHOOL PROGRAM LOOK LIKE?
A third grade teacher devotes time in class to a science
lesson about rainforest ecosystems. After school that day, the
third grade teacher in a YMCA program gathers a group of students
to create a play about rainforest animals, or helps students build
a model of a rainforest.
In general, a good out-of-school-time program (like a good
classroom) will provide project-based learning—which means
using an everyday experience to teach many different lessons. A
middle school group might change the oil in a car. Along the way
they would do Internet research about how a car works, write
instructions, negotiate individual responsibilities among group
members, calculate the amount of oil needed, read a dipstick, and
clean up without harming the environment. All the skills they need
for the project are reflected in school learning standards.
WHAT ARE SOME OF THE CHALLENGES
TO ALIGNMENT?
The 47,000 students in Seattle Public Schools have widely
varying experiences at the end of the school day. There are many
out-of-school-time program providers, and their programs vary
widely. Some offer rich learning experiences, others only
baby-sitting. Some have highly skilled workers; others have
inexperienced staff members who leave their jobs after a short time
in search of better pay elsewhere. A consistent, enriching
after-school experience helps enable children to meet standards in
school, so Seattle Public Schools works to make alignment more
widespread.
WHO ARE OUR PARTNERS IN
OUT-OF-SCHOOL-TIME LEARNING?
The Seattle School District’s Office for
Community Learning leads the alignment initiative.
The initiative’s oversight committee, called Learning
Partners, includes the YWCA,
Community Day School Association and
World of Wonder. Additional members of
the alignment team include Project
Lift-Off, the City of Seattle’s
Office for Education and its Human Services
Department, Seattle Parks Department, and
School’s Out Washington. See our list of Aligned Out-of-School Time
Programs (Adobe Acrobat, 78 KB).
All Out-of-School-Time
Programs in Seattle Public Schools.
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