Integrating K-12 and Afterschool Programs

This section includes 7 resources on developing connections between K-12 education and afterschool programs. These materials provide information on building relationships with school personnel and on extending the learning opportunities in afterschool programs.

Home, School, and Community Partnerships

Larry E. Decker and Virginia A. Decker

This book assists educational leaders, teachers, family members, and community advocates in creating and maintaining home-school-community partnerships. The authors present ideas and strategies for engaging people—whether they are individuals, agencies, businesses, or organizations—in partnerships with schools. Specifically, the book examines the principles and strategies for building family and community partnerships, the essential role of communities in supporting schools, school-community collaborations, the political realities of school partnerships, school safety and crisis management and its impact on partnerships, and ways to plan and evaluate your own comprehensive home-school-community partnership. The appendix includes contact information and Web sites organized by content area as additional resources. (284 pages)

© 2003 Print $32.95

Rowman and Littlefield Publishing Group 4501 Forbes Blvd., Ste. 200 Lanham, MD 20706 Phone: 800-462-6420 Fax: 717-794-3803 Web: http://www.rowmaneducation.com

Leading After-School Learning Communities: What Principals Should Know and Be Able to Do (New)

National Association of Elementary School Principals

Principals have a key opportunity to share in the development of a successful afterschool program. Another edition in the Leading Learning Communities series, Leading After- School Learning Communities is an excellent resource for principals who strive to enrich the afterschool experience. This resource offers a new perspective on the purpose of afterschool, encouraging principals and collaborators to reinvent programs to focus on creative, productive supplementary activities. In addition, the guide provides suggestions for how to implement such programs, how to involve the community and culture of the school, and how to evaluate the current and future effectiveness of afterschool programs. The information is practical and clear and encourages a broad vision of afterschool success. (114 pages)

© 2006 Print $26.95

National Association of Elementary School Principals 1615 Duke St. Alexandria, VA 22314-3483 Phone: 800-38-NAESP Fax: 800-39-NAESP Web: http://www.naesp.org

Learning In and Out of School in Diverse Environments (New)

James A. Banks, Kathryn H. Au, Arnetha F. Ball, Philip Bell, Edmund W. Gordon, Kris D. GutiŽrrez, Shirley Brice Heath, Carol D. Lee, Yuhshi Lee, Jabari Mahiri, Na'ilah Suad Nasir, Guadalupe Valdés, and Min Zhou

The researchers involved in this report developed a set of four principles that educational practitioners, policymakers, and future researchers could use to understand and build on the learning that occurs in the homes and community cultures of diverse students with the hope that the achievement gap between marginalized students and mainstream students can be reduced. There are four parts of this report. Part 1 describes the educational implications of significant changes related to demographics and globalization that are occurring in the United States and around the world. Part 2 describes life-long, life-wide, and life-deep learning and states why these concepts should guide learning inside and outside of schools and other educational institutions. Part 3 focuses on the four principles. Part 4 includes conclusions and recommendations. (36 pages)

© 2007 Print $12.00 Web Resource http://depts.washington.edu/centerme/LEARNING%20LIFE%20REPORT.pdf

LIFE Center University of Washington 210 Miller, Box 353600 Seattle, WA 98195-3600 Phone: 206-616-4480 Web: http://www.life-slc.org

Links to Learning: Supporting Learning in Out-of-School Time Programs

National Institute on Out-of-School Time

This video describes the role that afterschool programs play in contributing to children's learning and overall development. Research has identified the following as necessary to succeed in today's economy: literacy and numeracy, written and oral communication skills, problem-solving and critical-thinking skills, knowledge of and comfort with technology, and the ability to work with diverse groups of people. After introducing the viewer to these skills, the video shows many afterschool programs that are implementing them in their daily activities. With these examples, the video helps the viewer tie the research concepts discussed on the tape to everyday afterschool programming. (12 minutes)

© 2003 Video $20.00

National Institute on Out-of-School Time Wellesley Centers for Women at Wellesley College 106 Central St. Wellesley, MA 02481 Phone: 781-283-2547 Fax: 781-283-3657 Web: http://www.niost.org

More Than Homework, a Snack, and Basketball: Afterschool Programs as an Oasis of Hope for Black Parents in Four Cities (New)

Gerald Robinson and Leslie Fenwick

This resource reports the results of a study about Black parents who have children enrolled in an afterschool program. Four general themes emerged from the parent responses: barriers to afterschool programs, parents' knowledge of afterschool programs, the quality of afterschool programs, and the power of focus groups. Findings of this study include what Black parents believe is the purpose of an afterschool program, what they expect from an afterschool program, what they think makes an afterschool program weak or strong, and what activities their children like and dislike. (12 pages)

© 2007 Web Resource http://www.scoter.baeo.org/news_multi_media/mottSummary.pdf

Black Alliance for Educational Options 1710 Rhode Island Ave. NW Floor 12 Washington, DC 20036 Phone: 202-429-2236 Fax: 202-429-2237 Web: http://www.baeo.org

Quality Time After School: What Instructors Can Do to Enhance Learning (New)

Jean Grossman, Margo Campbell, and Becca Raley

This resource examines what makes afterschool activities engaging, detailing key characteristics linked to youth engagement and learning and providing instructors with a road map for how to create successful learning environments. The authors explore what conditions lead youth to want to attend the activity, what aspects of an afterschool activity engage youth, and what conditions lead youngsters to feel they have learned in an activity. (64 pages)

© 2007 Print $7.50 Web Resource http://www.ppv.org/ppv/youth/youth_publications.asp?section_id=8#pub217

Public/Private Ventures 2000 Market St., Ste. 600 Philadelphia, PA 19103 Phone: 215-557-4400 Fax: 202-557-4469 Web: http://www.ppv.org

The Principal's Guide to Afterschool Programs, K–8: Extending Student Learning Opportunities (New)

Anne Turnbaugh Lockwood

This book discusses how principal leaders can maximize student academic proficiency through afterschool programs, particularly for students most at risk of academic failure. Using a step-by-step process, the book guides principals through creating a successful afterschool program focused on achievement. It includes information on integrating standards, developing a parent and community base of support, hiring staff and obtaining volunteers, getting funding and grants, and collecting and evaluating program data. In addition, profiles of successful principals and programs and resources such as checklists, planning worksheets, evaluation tools, and surveys make this book very practical. (121 pages)

© 2008 Print $24.95

Corwin Press 2455 Teller Rd. Thousand Oaks, CA 91320 Phone: 800-233-9936 Fax: 800-417-2466 Web: http://www.corwinpress.com