Leveraging the Power of Afterschool and Summer Learning for Student Success

This morning I was lucky enough to be a part of the 500-person crowd at the National Press Club to celebrate the release of Expanding Minds and Opportunities: Leveraging the Power of Afterschool and Summer Learning for Student Success.  The impressive compendium includes studies, reports and commentaries by more than 100 authors and is edited by Terry Peterson, Afterschool Alliance’s board chair and director of the Afterschool and Community Learning Resource Network.

Bill White, president and CEO of the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation kicked off the release with a rousing speech about the impact of afterschool and summer learning programs.  He shared with the audience his belief that if you can educate, enrich and mentor youth in the afterschool and summer hours, they have a significantly better chance of having positive life outcomes.  His remarks earned him a standing ovation from the crowd.

He then introduced the man of the hour, Terry, who took the stage and spoke about afterschool programs across the country—from New York to Florida to Texas—that were creating new and exciting ways for children to learn, such as through botany, the arts, robotics and fitness. 

Terry stressed that because kids spend between 75 and 80 percent of their time outside of school, it is up to afterschool and summer learning programs to help students “catch up and keep up.”  If afterschool and summer learning programs continue their work to create a spark of excitement for children to learn, partner with local schools, build on their community partners and engage families, there is a truly great opportunity to make expansions in the area of out-of-school time.

To close, Terry rallied the crowd of educators, researchers, policy makers and advocates with a call to action, stating that the evidence is in and the time is now to help spread this dream of quality afterschool for all.

Next up was the event’s moderator, Jim Kohlmoos, executive director of the National Association of State Boards of Education.  Jim keyed in on the compendium’s use of the word “leveraging,” discussing the need to leverage opportunities, resources and knowledge.  In order to work to close the opportunity gap in America, we need to promote student success by creating enrichment activities during the hours out of school that complement and supplement the school day, but that “don’t do more of the same.” 

The panel was a stellar representation of policy, research, school and community groups:

• Mayor Christopher Colemen, City of St. Paul, MN
• Gail Connelly, Executive Director, National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP)
• Ayeola Fortune, Director, Education Team, Untied Way Worldwide
• Deborah Lowe Vandell, Founding Dean, School of Education, University of California, Irvine

Each panelist spoke to a different facet of the power of afterschool and summer learning programs, but each person highlighted the significant benefits these programs have on children and the need to work together to make certain the youth of our country are given the opportunity to succeed.  Afterschool programs offer an environment that is flexible and doesn’t mirror the school day, allowing students to explore their interests and become more engaged in learning.  Kids from low-income households are often the ones who benefit most from these programs, and if we want to see a narrowing of the achievement gap, investment in high-quality afterschool and summer learning programs is a necessity.

Mayor Coleman discussed his work as a public defender in the area of juvenile justice.  Through his work, he saw it was a child’s environment that led them into trouble.  It was then he saw that all roads in economic development lead back to education, and now he views afterschool and summer learning programs as his city’s crime fighting strategy, housing strategy and economic growth strategy.  

Deborah from UC Irvine spoke next about the importance of research (one of her more recent studies, a 2007 analysis of 45 afterschool programs, is a key piece of research linking regular participation in afterschool programs to significant gains in test scores and reductions in behavior problems) and the sizable body of research currently available on afterschool field.  The three takeaways from her talking points were:

1. Afterschool program quality—specifically supportive relations with adults and staff, positive relationships between students and sustained engagement in activities kids care about­—matters.
2. Dosage, or the amount of time a child participates in an afterschool program, matters.
3. 21^st century skills, such as persistence and team work, are linked to participation in high-quality out-of-school time programs.   

Gail, from NAESP, and Ayeola, from United Way Worldwide, each spoke about the importance of partnerships and the need to work together, implement together and share responsibility.  Gail shared that principals are the gateway into the schools and by working together, afterschool programs and schools can be a cohesive and coherent approach to leveraging student potential and creating more opportunities.  Ayeola offered the metaphor of the United Way Worldwide pushing to be the glue in communities.  She shared that their organization is working to increase the graduation rate and make certain that a diploma means something to graduates.  They take a holistic view of what a child needs to succeed—starting from birth and going through to age 21. 

The Afterschool Alliance’s own Executive Director Jodi Grant was one of the compendium’s 14 contributing authors who gave a “shout out” during the event, speaking about the importance of building partnerships with the business community.

There were a number of great questions during the Q&A period, but perhaps the most relevant was the last question of the day asked by Jean Walker, vice president of education at the United Way of Greater Atlanta.  Dr. Walker asked how we make sure that this compendium, filled with excellent research and makes a convincing case for afterschool and summer learning programs, doesn’t end up on our shelf with the other books that we meant to read or are planning to read at some point in the future?  I think she summed it up best when she said, “So what, now what?”

The answer to her question is to leverage networks and share the compendium as a resource, reach out and involve more groups in the afterschool and summer learning cause and mobilize efforts supporting afterschool in an organized and cohesive way.  Lastly, one concrete and immediate way to put the compendium’s base of knowledge to use is to join the Afterschool Alliance and participate in the Afterschool for All Challenge this Thursday, Feb. 7.