Hours of Opportunity: Lessons from Five Cities on Building Systems to Improve After-School, Summer School, and Other Out-of-School-Time Programs

by Susan J. Bodilly, Jennifer Sloan McCombs, Nate Orr, Ethan Scherer, Louay Constant

Overview

High-quality out-of-school-time (OST) programs have a positive effect on youth development, but many cities have found it difficult to address the challenges of expanding and improving the quality of programs offered to underserved and high-need students. In response, The Wallace Foundation sponsored an initiative to help five cities increase collaboration, access, quality, information sharing, and sustainability in their OST systems. The overall goals of the initiative were to increase access, improve quality, develop information systems for decisionmaking, and plan for financial stability. Each city received a planning grant, which it focused on particular efforts tied to city context and area of need. The first in this three-volume series describes the cities' early work under the grant and analyzes the conditions and activities that contributed to their progress in building a coordinated system of services to meet the initiative's goals. Specifically, it addresses how city context affected the approaches implemented, the effectiveness of these approaches, and important enablers of progress, particularly in the areas of collaboration and coordination. Of particular note was the finding that city context and the involvement of the mayor had a significant influence on both decisionmaking and outcomes. In addition, the cities depended on the ability to gain buy-in from the schools and other key stakeholders, as well as financial assistance through city budgets and grants to ensure sustainability.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780833050489
Publisher:	RAND Corporation
Publication date:	10/16/2010
Pages:	102
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.30(d)

Table of Contents

Preface iii

Tables ix

Summary xi

Acknowledgments xix

Abbreviations xxi

Chapter 1 Introduction 1

Foundation Goals and Expectations 2

Purpose of This Monograph 3

Methods 4

Themes from the Literature on Coordination and Collaboration Across Agencies 5

Data Sources 8

Analysis 10

Study Caveats 11

Organization of This Monograph 11

Chapter 2 The Early Phases of the Initiative and Decisions Made: The Importance of Context 13

The Start of the Initiative 14

City Context and the Planning Process 15

Demographics 15

Needs 15

City Context and the Strategic Focus and Scope of the Initiative 18

Changes in City Context and Changes in the Structure of the Initiative 24

Coordinating Structures 26

The Role of the Mayor 29

Summary 30

Chapter 3 How Sites Attempted to Improve Access, Quality, Information, and Sustainability and the Progress They Made 33

Results of the OST Initiative 33

Activities to Meet The Wallace Foundation's Goals 37

Goal 1: Increase Access and Participation 37

Address Transportation 37

Increase Convenience 40

Increase the Number of Locations and Available Slots 41

Increase Enrollment 42

Ensure Affordability 42

Goal 2: Improve Quality 43

Create Standards and Assessment Tools 43

Monitor Quality and Vet Providers 46

Provide Professional Development and Performance Incentives 46

Evaluate Progress 48

Goal 3: Develop Information Systems for Decisionmaking 49

Goal 4: Plan for Financial Sustainability 53

Summary 56

Chapter 4 Enabling Coordinated System-Building Efforts 59

How Cities Used Cross-Organizational Collaboration to Support Greater Coordination 60

The Importance of Establishing a Common Vision 63

The Impact of Data and Information 65

The Crucial Role of the Mayor 66

Buy-In of the Schools 68

The Need for Investment and Other Funding Issues 70

Summary 71

Chapter 5 Lessons for Other Cities 73

References 79