Out-of-School-Time Learning
Everywhere All the Time Learning

WHAT'S THE SITUATION?

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)

When Seattle parents choose an after-school program, one of the key deciding factors is whether the program includes academic support and learning activities. (Project Lift-Off, 1999)

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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