School & District Management

Project Aims to Strengthen Cities’ After-School Efforts

By Linda Jacobson — August 06, 2003 2 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

Mayors in six cities will soon receive new support to help develop after-school services through a National League of Cities project that seeks to strengthen the connections between learning that take place during the regular school day and in after-school programs.

Mark Ouellette, a senior program associate at the league, said mayors are uniquely positioned to draw attention to after-school services because their offices usually control funding for a variety of youth-development and crime- prevention programs. He said they can also work with city parks and recreation departments to improve the quality of programs for school-age children.

“They’re more concerned [than educators] with safety, and with economic development,” Mr. Ouellette said. “And they can use their bully pulpit to raise awareness.”

Cities involved in the 18-month effort are Brockton, Mass.; Cleveland; Little Rock, Ark., Norfolk, Va., Pasadena, Calif.; and Waco, Texas.

Through the $550,000 project, staff members from the Washington-based league’s Institute for Youth, Education, and Families will review the existing after-school programs in the cities and suggest ways for them to improve their homework components and integrate academic standards.

Staff members will also work with the cities to form regional networks so people working in separate cities can learn from each other. A report on the progress of the project is expected in the fall.

Addressing Achievement

The new project—underwritten by the Flint, Mich.-based Charles Stewart Mott Foundation— builds on past work that the National League of Cities has done to improve after-school programs in eight other cities. That initiative, which also was financed by the Mott Foundation, is now ending after almost three years.

Project officials said it helped cities write academic standards for their after-school programs, devise financing plans, involve local businesses in their efforts, and survey residents on their opinions and perceptions of after- school programs.

The new six-city initiative will help address an issue highlighted in a report from Mathematica Policy Research Inc., of Princeton, N.J., that examined schools involved in the federal 21st Century Community Learning Centers program.

In their first report, the Mathematica researchers found that while academic achievement increased for some groups of students, children overall who participated in the $1 billion after-school program did not improve their performance. (“Study Critiques Federal After-School Program,” Feb. 12, 2003.)

Events

This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Mathematics Webinar
Pave the Path to Excellence in Math
Empower your students' math journey with Sue O'Connell, author of “Math in Practice” and “Navigating Numeracy.”
Content provided by hand2mind
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Recruitment & Retention Webinar
Combatting Teacher Shortages: Strategies for Classroom Balance and Learning Success
Learn from leaders in education as they share insights and strategies to support teachers and students.
Content provided by DreamBox Learning
Classroom Technology K-12 Essentials Forum Reading Instruction and AI: New Strategies for the Big Education Challenges of Our Time
Join the conversation as experts in the field explore these instructional pain points and offer game-changing guidance for K-12 leaders and educators.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

School & District Management What's Stopping Later School Start Times That Support Teen Sleep? Bus Schedules, for One
See practical strategies for districts looking to move start times to accommodate teen sleep schedules.
5 min read
Crossing guard Pamela Lane waves at a school bus passing her intersection as she crosses students going to Bluford Elementary School on Sept. 5, 2023, in Philadelphia.
Crossing guard Pamela Lane waves at a school bus passing her intersection near Bluford Elementary School on Sept. 5, 2023, in Philadelphia.
Alejandro A. Alvarez/The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP
School & District Management Opinion 'I Used to Think School Systems Were Broken': Educators Reflect
Changing your mind or evolving your thinking is not easy. Hear how these education leaders did just that.
1 min read
Used to Think
Hear how these Harvard education graduate students evolved their thinking around both their practice and work as systems leaders.
School & District Management Opinion I Teach Educators How to Change Their Minds. Here’s How
Four important lessons for how educators—school and district leaders, especially—can create opportunities for growth.
Jennifer Perry Cheatham, Erica Lim & Carmen Williams
5 min read
Video stills
The students from the Leaders of Learning class taught by Jennifer Perry Cheatham at the Harvard Graduate School of Education last year.
Vanessa Solis/Education Week
School & District Management Opinion The 4 Gifts Principals Should Give Teachers This Year (Hint: Not Another School Mug)
Instead of a staff pizza party or a school-branded mug, give them meaningful gifts that really nourish their craft.
4 min read
A Large yellow bow across the foreground of a  photo illustration group of teachers line up happily closely together along a wall
Vanessa Solis/Education Week via Canva