- Building a Movement
- On the Cutting Edge
- Philanthropic Partnerships
- A New Conversation about Evaluation
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Play it Forward
is a quarterly newsletter that introduces you to the builders and influencers of the Afterschool Development movement, offers updates on the latest and most innovative thinking and practices in the field and lets you know how you can become involved.
Play it Forward
also provides a forum for exploring some of the latest topics of interest in the Afterschool Development community.
To find out more about Afterschool Development
CLICK HERE
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Movement creators have to break rules, they have to take risks, they have to cast out into areas where people are otherwise afraid to go. You are part of a risk taking movement.
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The annual Afterschool Development Conference in New Jersey was honored to host
David Chard, Ph.D.
, Dean ad interim of Boston University Wheelock College of Education and Human Development. In his keynote address, Dr. Chard, one of the country’s top educators, made a strong and passionate case for the value of Afterschool Development (ASD) and the importance of being part of a “risk-taking movement.” Held at the Scott Flamm Center for Afterschool Development in Newark, the conference brought together members of the ASD working group, business leaders, academics, young people and other community and non-profit leaders representing organizations from across the state. To hear more from Dr. Chard on the Afterschool Development movement,
click here
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he next stop for Dr. Chard is Chicago, where he will meet and speak with Afterschool Development advocates in the Windy City on November 15. For more information about the Chicago conference
click here
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I’m extremely grateful to those that have taken up [my] ideas for making the world a better place and shown that you can really do something with them. Ideas are actually powerful if we figure out how to make them work.
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–
Dr. Kwame Anthony Appiah
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The Afterschool Development community was pleased to welcome
Kwame Anthony Appiah, Ph.D.
to the All Stars Project’s national gala this spring, where he accepted an honorary “Doctorate of Development.” Dr. Appiah spoke about the importance of building collaborative partnerships to “work against division and bring us together.” Dr. Appiah’s visionary work has provided important insights into creating environments where people who are very different from one another can transcend the narrow confines of identity and create new conversations and new relationships with each other. A professor of philosophy and law at New York University, Dr. Appiah is the author of several books, including his most recent,
The Lies That Bind: Rethinking Identity
, and is also
“The Ethicist” for
The New York Times Magazine
. To hear Dr. Appiah’s remarks,
click here
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If it hadn’t been for my afterschool experiences, I would not have my company – it’s as simple as that. I am honored to be part of this journey.
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–
Nick Bey,
CEO of Relevant Systems
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C
onnected Community
is a new digital platform designed to facilitate introductions between
Development School for Youth
(DSY) alumni looking for employment and companies seeking to recruit from this population. Developed in partnership with
Corsis, LLC
and its CEO
David Barnett
,
Connected Community is a powerful tool that will help companies advance their diversity efforts and provide a platform for young people to launch their careers.
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Connected Community task force meeting: David Barnett, CEO of Corsis (left)
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If evaluation is used too narrowly or punitively it can suppress innovation and can lead to results with very little meaning or systemic impact.
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A
s recognition of the need for new kinds of evaluation tools continues to grow within the afterschool arena, we are pleased to feature an interview with
Annie Wright, Ph.D.
, the Director of Evaluation at Southern Methodist University’s
Center on Research and Evaluation (CORE)
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A clinical community psychologist and program evaluator who received her Ph.D. from the University of South Carolina, Dr. Wright’s research expertise covers out-of-school time settings, social and emotional learning, community-based initiatives and systems for supporting large-scale social change interventions.
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What are some of the afterschool evaluation projects you are working on?
At the root of CORE’s work is the desire to promote equity, since it is well known that affluent youth have more access to afterschool and summer programs, and that these extended learning opportunities can lead to very positive outcomes for the young people involved. So, one of the projects that CORE, in partnership with
Big Thought
and
Dallas Afterschool
, is working on is the building of a single, comprehensive data system – what we are calling the Expanded Learning Information System (ELIS) – in support of the out-of-school time community across Dallas. We are in the process of collecting data from over 800 summer and/or afterschool programs on the programming that students have access to, and the impact these arrangements have on the young people involved. As we learn more about the total landscape, we can begin to identify where there are “program deserts” and then use the data to ensure that content is spread around the city. For example, is there a need for more programs – or a more diverse set of programs – in any given community? Or do we need to open up more seats? We are also able to monitor the difference that quality of programming can have and to share the data with programs providers and stakeholders who are working to improve access and impacts.
We are also partnering with the All Stars Project and have worked closely with them on customizing the evaluation tools to fit their model, which has contributed to a more accurate evaluation. For example, while there are overlaps between social emotional learning (SEL) and what the All Stars calls development, if we had used – or even tried to adapt – a standard social emotional learning survey, it would not have hit the bullseye for them. I think our work with the All Stars might help generate a desire for more customized metrics in the afterschool sector, which no longer has to settle for the “closest fit” or cheapest measurement tools. Having more refined tools will allow organizations to take a deeper dive into their programs and discover not what they think they are providing, but what they are actually doing with and for their clients. This, in turn, contributes to producing a more accurate and honest assessment of the impacts they are having.
What advice do you have for the afterschool field?
One of the key lessons I’ve learned is that the more evaluation an organization incorporates into its ongoing culture, the more it will benefit from rapid and continuous quality improvement. I’ve also learned that this process is easier and more effective when the organization has some internal evaluation capacity – evaluation isn’t something you can fully outsource. We understand that funding requirements can sometimes make this difficult to achieve. If evaluation is used too narrowly or punitively it can suppress innovation and can lead to results with very little meaning or systemic impact. But funders can also be important allies and catalysts. In fact, CORE prefers to collaborate with both funders and program providers so that we are all aligned in what we want to know, why we want to know and what resources are needed to implement the project in a way that maximizes the likelihood that desired outcomes will be achieved.
I’d also like to say that, while evaluation is hard work, I really do believe it’s worth it!
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See below on how you can join us in building the Afterschool Development movement!
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Please share your responses to anything in
Play it Forward
and thoughts you have on Afterschool Development and what it means for our communities and country.
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Play It Forward
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In the Next Quarter Issue of
Play it Forward
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- Building a Movement – Updates on the issues that practitioners, academics, and business, civic and community leaders are coming together to discuss in Afterschool Development working groups and conferences.
- In the Field -- Profiles of people on the frontlines in our communities who are changing lives and making a difference.
- On the Cutting Edge – The latest developments in thought leadership, research and policy helping to shape the conversation about Afterschool Development, education and poverty in America.
- Philanthropic Partnerships – Featuring partners and funders who are stepping up and investing in Afterschool Development and its growth nationally.
- A New Conversation about Evaluation – Highlights of the growing national conversation about evaluation and the need for new tools.
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