Seattle, Washington--Back in 1995, when Adrienne Bloom gave presentations about quality outcomes for out-of-school care, "people would get a glazed look," she admits. Fast-forward seven years. "The norm has shifted," says Bloom, who has played a key role in a groundbreaking initiative to raise public awareness that the needs of the city's children don't stop when the school day ends. "Now people say, 'Sure! Of course quality matters --of course after-school programs are important.' Attitudes have changed, and that may be our greatest legacy."
For the past seven years, Bloom has coordinated a $2.2 million initiative known as Seattle MOST (for Making the Most of Out-of-School Time). Underwritten by the Wallace-Readers Digest Fund and designed in partnership with the National Institute on Out-of-School Time, the MOST Initiative has challenged three cities to pursue collaborative, long-term strategies to support the quality and availability of after-school programs for children ages five to 14. Seattle, Boston, and Chicago were selected largely because each city had a history of engaging diverse stakeholders. They were ready to take on the complex challenge of building a system for out-of-school care.
In Seattle, the MOST initiative engages several organizations. School's Out Washington, a statewide organization hosted by the YWCA of Seattle-King-Snohomish County, has been the lead agency. Strong participation has come from Child Care Resources, Seattle Central Community College, and the City of Seattle.
In March, just as she was stepping down from her post, Bloom paused to share with Northwest Education some of the lessons learned along the way and to talk about how the universe of out-of-school time continues to evolve.
What was your biggest surprise, going into Seattle MOST?
One of our first steps was to do a community assessment. Many of us involved in this collaboration came from mainstream groups, and we had a certain way of looking at the world. We wanted to know more about the needs of low-income families of color. Who was providing care for their children? This was one of the first times an effort was made to hear their needs. About 700 individuals participated, including youth, and what they told us opened our eyes. A lot of families couldn't afford to pay for licensed programs, or they didn't find them culturally relevant, or they couldn't access them because of transportation issues. We realized there's a whole universe of care providers outside the mainstream.
How did that understanding shape the initiative?
Parents will use programs whether they're licensed or not. How can we help families know if programs are of high quality? How can we improve quality and access while maintaining the variety and choices families want? We established a Community Oversight Group reflective of the diverse range of providers in Seattle. It's very grassroots, reflecting the whole gamut of those involved in providing care at the elementary and middle school level. These are the people with a passion for this work. Each organization brought expertise, and all of us needed to be willing to examine our understanding of quality care. We met weekly for the first two years--a huge investment of time--but we would not have accomplished what we have unless so many people had been willing to take part. Priorities for action came from the community.
What did you learn about the general state of out-of-school care?
The field of programs is fragmented. The state of the care provided is often of uncertain quality, unaffordable, and unavailable to many families who want it. There are a diversity of programs and a number of funding streams. We have a database of 800 out-of-school programs. They have philosophical differences. Because it's not a cohesive field, it's hard to share best practices and effective strategies. We know that out-of-school time is a local issue, and that it also involves systemic issues that are huge--bigger than any one program can tackle alone. The core issues that get in the way of quality require a systemwide strategy including state-level public policy development to increase financing for programs and community supports for these programs.
How have you tackled some of the day-to-day challenges facing programs, such as staff turnover?
MOST understood from the beginning that turnover is a problem, and we chose an indirect strategy--creating new professional roles, new mechanisms to act as incentives for people to stay in the field. For instance, we created a mentor project where experienced program staff work one-to-one with newer staff. They role-model effective practices. They encourage and coach. This helps the newer person--in the same way that a new teacher is inducted--and also creates a new professional role that acknowledges the talents of that more experienced person.
What other staff training has proved effective?
For years, School's Out Washington has maintained a pool of trainers and provided technical assistance to out-of-school programs. We expanded that cadre and added a new role: trainer apprenticeship. It's a year-long process of becoming a trainer. Apprentices receive a small stipend. It's a way to encourage staff to see their work as important and provides an incentive for them to stick around and eventually give back to the field. We acknowledge their talents, and that doesn't happen much in this field.
So you're creating more opportunities for career growth?
We're building a career ladder in the out-of-school field. Before, it was either program director or line staff. Now there's an expanded range of roles. This promotes the idea that this is a profession. There are skills you need to have. You can advance and grow in the field. There are acknowledged competencies. (See Defining Quality Care.) The community college (Seattle Central Community College, a partner in Seattle MOST) provides coursework on out-of-school care. You can earn a certificate. It's a whole mindset. We provide networking meetings of providers, bring in guest speakers, share resources, provide onsite training. It's the way you treat staff --a set of expectations that this is valuable and important work.
The catch is, the policies are not there yet to reward people who pursue this field as a profession. After-school staffing is unique. It's often part time, with inadequate compensation. We need to either create full-time opportunities, or look at it as a paraprofessional field. These are policy issues. After the first three years of MOST--when we had a pretty good idea of what a system needs to look like--we took what we have learned to the state level and began doing advocacy work. It's important that our funder stuck with us for seven years. That has enabled us to make some lasting changes.
What happens now that the grant is ending?
We knew it was important to create a long-term home for the values and approach of MOST, and School's Out Washington is taking on that role on a statewide level. We have focused on leadership development, so we know there will be a core set of champions for this issue. A $650,000 grant from the Stuart Foundation is supporting the next phase of this work through the BOOST Learning Initiative.
Better Outcomes for Out-of-School Time Learning is a three-year collaborative effort to support young people's learning--broadly defined--during the hours they are not in school. It will serve families in South Seattle and North Highline, communities with significant numbers of children from low-income families and children of color. It comes at a time of increasing focus on academic performance. Schools are looking for ways to reinforce academics in out-of-school time and partner with after-school programs. School's Out Washington is the lead agency.
Are you surprised by the attention out-of-school time is earning on the national level?
There's a surge of interest--the 21st Century Community Learning Centers, Afterschool Alliance, the Mott Foundation, many other initiatives. In Seattle, Project Lift-Off was Mayor Paul Schell's and the City Council's vision to do something big and bold for youth through early learning and out-of-school opportunities. I have been a community representative in the planning process. At one meeting, I looked around the room and saw the heads of the chamber of commerce, United Way, the community college. The mayor and superintendent of schools were there. To me, it was like a fantasy come true! Institutional leaders have galvanized around this issue. Out-of-school time has been propelled into the spotlight.
What does high-quality after-school programming look like? The National School-Age Care Alliance has established standards to guide in program development and staffing. According to NSACA standards, quality programs enhance these characteristics:
|
This document's URL is: Home | Up & Coming | Programs & Projects: Northwest Education | People | Products & Publications | Topics © 2001 Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory Date of Last Update: 5/24/2002  |
