Why do after-school efforts that include the arts work so well? What
is it participants are actually learning? What is critical to the success
of these programs?
The Working for Children and Families: Safe and Smart After-School Programs
report identified from the research literature eight key components of
a quality after-school program. These characteristics of high-quality
after-school programs, now widely acknowledged as key to a program's success,
help ensure children's continued growth, development and learning throughout
the pre-adolescent and adolescent school years. The eight components are:
1. Goal setting, strong management and sustainability
- Focus on the goals of the program
- Solid organizational structure
- Effective management and sustainability
- Meeting legal requirements
2. Quality after-school staffing
- Role of the program administrator
- Hiring and retaining qualified staff
- Professional development for staff
- Use of volunteers
- Low staff-to-student ratio
- Smaller group sizes
3. Attention to safety, health and nutrition issues
- Creating safe places with adequate space and materials
- Meeting nutritional needs
4. Effective partnerships with community-based organizations, juvenile justice agencies, law enforcement and youth groups
- Steps to building an after-school partnership
- Using community resources effectively
5. Strong involvement of families
- Involving families and youth in program planning
- Attending to the needs of working parents
6. Enriching learning opportunities
- Providing engaging opportunities to grow and learn
- Challenging curriculum in an enriching environment
- Coordinating learning with the regular school day
- Linking school-day and after-school curriculum
7. Linkages between school-day and after-school personnel
- Planning time to maximize children's opportunities
- Coordinated use of facilities and resources
8. Evaluation of program progress and effectiveness
- Designing effective evaluations
- Using data for improvement
| Characteristics of Effective Arts Programs |
| In 1996, the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities issued, Coming Up Taller: Arts and Humanities Programs for Children and Youth at Risk, produced in cooperation with Americans for the Arts, that identified characteristics similar to those listed in Working for Children and Families for after-school arts programs. For example, it recommended that programs emphasize hands-on learning and apprenticeship relationships, and that they take full advantage of the capacity of the arts to develop social skills such as teamwork, self-respect and self-discipline as well as verbal, math and physical skills. Building on what young people already value, such programs should provide opportunities for success, shaped by the youth themselves. Like Working for Children and Families, the report also recognized that positive adult relationships are central to success; that quality staff, small class size, and long-term sustainability are critical elements; and that programs should serve as gateways to other services for children and youth. |