AFTER SCHOOL NORTHWEST is a quarterly newsletter brought to you by the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory (NWREL). We hope that it can be a resource for you and your program. For more information about our organization and downloadable resources in a variety of areas, please visit our Web site at www.nwrel.org

MOVING TOWARD SUSTAINABILITY

There are several solid resources on maintaining funding and moving toward sustainability. As part of this process, it is good to keep in mind two things: (1) it’s never too early to start planning for sustainability and seeking additional funds; and (2) there is no goose that lays golden eggs. The following list provides links and resources that are worth investigating:

• www.afterschoolalliance.org/sustain.pdf — Link to the After School Alliance’s Sustainability Workbook
• www.afterschoolalliance.org/funding_main.cfm — Lists after-school funding streams with links for more information
• www.nccenet.org/funding/balanced_funding-paper.htm — A very compelling article, Balanced and Diversified Funding: A Formula for Long-Term Sustainability for After School Programs
• www.financeproject.org/osthome.htm — Links to a number of helpful publications, including Getting Started: A Sustainability Self-Assessment and Strengthening Partnerships: Community School Assessment Checklist

TIPS FOR READING TUTORS

The LEARNS project at NWREL provides us with some effective tutor strategies for reading with small groups. While the best book discussions are student-driven and student-centered, tutors are instrumental in keeping the conversation on track. Do this by:

1. Focusing the discussion:
• Introduce the story and author and tell children why you chose the book
• Do a "picture walk," if appropriate, to stimulate predictions and/or prior knowledge
• Redirect irrelevant discussion back to the story
2. Prompting
• Invite children to ask questions or comment throughout the story
• Model responses or questions when children don't have any
• Relate responses to real-life experiences and other stories children have read
3. Supporting and informing
• Answer questions and respond to comments
• Encourage students to question and respond to each other
• Provide positive reinforcement (Adapted from Morrow, 1985)

For more great tips for reading tutors, check out our Web site at www.nwrel.org/learns/tutor

RESOURCES & EVENTS

The Harvard Family Research Project has released the first piece of its series, "A Review of Out-of-School Time Program Quasi-Experimental and Experimental Evaluation Results." This review of 27 quasi-experimental and experimental OST evaluations provides an overview of the impact of OST programs on an array of academic, prevention, and youth development outcomes. It also includes a resource list of other OST evaluation reviews. Visit www.gse.harvard.edu/hfrp/projects/afterschool/resources/snapshot1.html

"The Bridge From School to Afterschool and Back: Supporting Children's Learning Across the Hours" conference will be taking place on October 27-28, 2003 in Vancouver, WA. The event is sponsored by School’s Out Washington and The Oregon School Age Care, Enrichment and Recreation Project, in partnership with the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI). A link to more information about the event can be found at www.schoolsoutwashington.org

LINKS TO LEARNING

There are many ways that you can add an engaging academic component to your program. Writing letters allows participants to learn and practice their skills in a meaningful way. The following activity plan can be easily modified to fit varying schedules and timeframes.

1. Brainstorm ideas about whom to write. One idea is to write local and regional government officials about what great things are happening in your after school program!
2. Introduce/review basic letter writing format. (If writing to public figures, you may want to have students sign the letters using only their first names.)
3. Writing time: Students should use personal stories to make the letters come alive for the intended audience.
4. Editing: As part of a mini writer's workshop, have students and staff work together to edit each other's work. You may want to particularly focus on one aspect of punctuation as a whole group.
5. Optional: Students draw pictures illustrating what they've talked about in their letters.
6. Mailing: Students address envelopes and mail letters in the school office or at a local mailbox or post office.

NEWS RELEASE

The Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory in Portland, Ore., is a partner in a three-year $9.6 million contract from the U.S. Department of Education to strengthen the content, teaching methods, and retention of the nation’s after-school programs.

The Northwest Lab is one of seven organizations in this nationwide project led by the Southwest Educational Development Laboratory (SEDL) in Austin, Texas. The collaborative includes the National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing at the University of California, Los Angeles; The Mid-Continent Resources for Education and Learning in Aurora, Colo.; SERVE in Greensboro, N.C.; and WGBH Educational Foundation and Institute for Responsive Education in Boston. SEDL and its partners will support program quality among more than 1,600 21st Century Community Learning Centers, which provide after-school programming throughout the United States. The project will assist after-school programs in meeting two main goals: (1) including high-quality, research-based academic content using appropriate teaching and learning methods and (2) attracting and retaining students who participate regularly to benefit from these investments.

"After-school programs need a strong connection to the learning objectives of the school day to successfully increase student achievement," said SEDL program manager Catherine Jordan, who will direct the project. "This project will identify and validate existing after-school programs that positively impact student achievement. It will also create tools, provide training opportunities, and deliver technical assistance to other after-school programs so they can have similar results."

"SEDL's partners, the project's staff, consultants, and advisors bring to the table some of the most active and respected experts in after-school programming, core academic content issues, and evaluation and research related to the effectiveness of after-school initiatives," said SEDL president and CEO Wesley Hoover.

Contact us at ecc@nwrel.org if you have evaluation questions or to learn more about how we can assist with your next evaluation project.