Organizational and Internet Resources for Out-of-School Programs
After school Alliance - www.afterschoolalliance.org A non-profit public awareness and advocacy group dedicated to ensuring that all children have access to after-school programs by the year 2010. The website includes policy information, research, tips and information on how to advocate for after-school programs.
Americorps - http://www.americorps.org/ Americorps members are volunteers who serve in organizations like Habitat for Humanity, Boys and Girls Clubs, and other local and national organization. They serve as mentors and tutors in many after-school programs that target at-risk youth.
C.S. Mott Foundation - http://www.mott.org/ A leading partner in the U. S. Department of Education’s 21st Century Community Learning Centers initiative, the C.S. Mott Foundation is a private philanthropy that awards grants in four program areas in the United States and selected regions internationally.
Delaware Department of Education - http://www.doe.state.de.us/ The Delaware Department of Education website contains information about the Delaware Content Standards and the Delaware Student Testing Program (DSTP).
ERIC Clearinghouse on Information and Technology - http://www.thegateway.org/ A one-stop access to high quality Internet-based lesson plans, curriculum units, and other education resources. Browse subject and keyword lists or search The Gateway. Retrieved records will link directly to the Internet resources they describe.
The Finance Project - http://www.financeproject.org/ This web site is part of a series of technical assistance resources on financing and sustaining out-of-school time and community initiatives developed by The Finance Project, with support from the DeWitt Wallace-Reader’s Digest Fund.
Federal Resources for Education Excellence (FREE) - www.ed.gov/free Resources for teaching and learning from 30 federal agencies with search tools and a bulletin board for teachers and federal agencies to communicate about potential collaboration on new teaching and learning resources.
Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) - http://www.frac.org/ A 501(c)(3) non-profit agency with extensive information that can assist after-school programs in accessing the child nutrition programs, and that is able to provide in-depth technical support to the states and grantees.
General Services Administration - http://www.afterschool.gov/ A one-stop shopping web site for parents, teachers, after-school providers, and kids to learn about after-school resources from many different government and non-profit agencies.
Harvard Family Research Project - http://www.gse.harvard.edu The Harvard Family Research Project (HFRP) at the Harvard Graduate School of Education builds on its expertise in evaluation and knowledge development to improve evaluation work and promote greater conversation and knowledge-sharing about evaluation among practitioners, policymakers, funders, researchers, and evaluators in the after-school field. HFRP supports the development of quality information and capacity-building tools that will improve research and evaluation work and use of information in the field, especially at the local level.
National Association of Elementary School Principals - http://www.naesp.org/ This association provides a variety of resources for principals on after-school programs, including research materials, articles, resource guides including the creation of standards for Quality School-Age Childcare.
National Center for Community Education (NCCE) - http://www.nccenet.org/ An organization that provides state-of-the-art leadership development, training and technical assistance focusing on community and education change emphasizing community schools.
National Community Education Association (NCEA) - www.ncea.com/ A non-profit membership association which provides leadership to those who build learning communities in response to individual and community needs. Activities and information for members include national and regional training conferences and workshops; specialized periodicals, publications, and products; opportunities for peer support and networking; and information and referral services. In addition, NCEA acts as an advocate for community education by working with related organizations and promoting at the national, state, and local levels: parent and community involvement in public education; the formation of community partnerships to address community needs; and the expansion of lifelong learning opportunities for all community residents.
National Institute for Out-of-School Time (NOIST) - www.wellesley.edu/WCW/CRW/SAC NIOST, at the Center for Research on Women at Wellesley College, has successfully brought national attention to the importance of children’s out-of-school time, influenced policy, increased standards and professional recognition, and spearheaded community action aimed at improving the availability, quality and viability of programs serving children and youth.
National Governors Association - http://www.nga.org/ The Center for Best Practices examines innovative state practices that expand and enhance Extra Learning Opportunities (ELO) to assist states in mapping out current resources. The NGA has a database on their website in which they list all of the Extended Learning Opportunities currently available in the 50 states.
National Network for Childcare (NNCC) – www.nncc.org This organization shares knowledge about children and childcare from the vast resources of land grant universities with parents, professionals, practitioners, and the general public.
National School-Age Care Alliance (NSACA) - www.nsaca.org NSACA is the only national membership organization representing the entire array of public, private, and community-based providers of after-school programs. NSACA promotes national standards of quality school-age care for children and youth, 5-14 years old, and grants accreditation to programs meeting the standards. NSACA’s mission is to build a profession that develops, supports, and promotes quality after-school care.
National Youth Development Information Center (NYDIC) – www.nydic.org This website provides practice-related information about youth development to national and local youth-serving organizations.
North Central Regional Educational Laboratory (NCREL) – www.ncrel.org/ A useful compendium of Internet resources and examples of innovative after-school programs compiled by one of the U.S. Department of Education-funded regional education laboratories. One of the resources available on this web site is the toolkit,“Beyond the Bell:” A Toolkit for Creating Effective After-School Programs, designed to assist after-school program staff in planning and decision-making in six key areas: management, collaboration, programming, integration with the traditional school day, evaluation and communication.
Partnership for Family Involvement in Education (PFIE) – (Archived information) http://www.ed.gov/pubs/whoweare/index.html The federal Department of Education administers the Partnership and offers resources, ideas, funding, and conferences relevant to family and community involvement in education, including after-school programs.
U.S. Department of Agriculture – www.fns.usda.gov/cnd The Child Nutrition Program of the Food and Nutrition Services provided information on the after-school snack program, including eligibility and reimbursement.
U.S. Department of Education – www.ed.gov The Department of Education presents information about national education issues, publications, education statistics, and its different offices and programs. For more information about after-school programs, visit the 21st Century Community Learning Centers website at www.ed.gov/21stcclc/.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services – www.hhs.gov The section on Health and Human Child Care Program, including the Child Care Development Fund, offers useful resources.
U.S. Department of Justice – http://www.usdoj.gov This site provides information for children and youth on crime prevention, staying safe, volunteer and community service opportunities, and the criminal justice system.
Resource Guides
A Guide to Successful Public-Private Partnerships for Out-of-School Time and Community School Initiatives. The Finance Project. This guide is designed to provide policy makers, program leaders, system building advocates and others with practical information on creating maintaining public-private partnerships. www.financeproject.org
Learning Together: The Developing Field of School-Community Initiatives. (1998) Institute for Education Leadership and National Center for Community Education. Report which describes the emerging field of School-Community initiatives by mapping both the broad outlines of school-community terrain and focusing on some of its particular features utilizing individual case studies. www.mott.org
Beyond Class Time. Educational Leadership. Vol. 58, No. 7. Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. An entire issue devoted to discussing after-school opportunities in general terms and profiling specific after school programs. www.ascd.org
After-School Programs and the K-8 Principal. (1999). National Association of Elementary School Principals. Revised publication which provides practical assistance for principals interested in initiating or improving after-school programs. The publication includes guidelines for administration and programming, resource lists for information, collaboration and funding, and checklist for program evaluation and improvement planning.
The New Community Collaboration Manual. (1997). The National Assembly of Voluntary Health and Social Welfare Organizations. This manual offers step-by-step guidelines on building and sustaining collaborations. It also includes a discussion of the challenges and barriers that can hamper the development of effective partnerships.
Extended Learning Time for Disadvantaged Students. Vol. 1. Summary of Promising Practices. (1995). U.S. Department of Education. This publication provides an overview of the strategies utilized by successful extended learning programs which primarily serve at-risk students. www.ed.gov
Extended Learning Time for Disadvantaged Students. Vol. 2. Profiles of Promising Practices. (1995). U.S. Department of Education. This companion to volume one highlights fourteen specific programs which have been successful in providing quality extended learning time and academic support to at-risk students. www.ed.gov
Raising Minority Academic Achievement: A Compendium of Education Programs and Practices. (2001). American Youth Policy Forum. This publication provides an overview of educational practices and strategies employed by 38 programs aimed at raising minority academic achievement. The report includes profiles of programs which highlight the specific academic outcomes, population served, and program components. www.aypf.org