We share a wide variety of tools and resources to help you build, sustain, and expand quality afterschool systems in your state. The tools and resources include formalized systems for assessment against a quality framework, research-to-practice briefs on quality programming, tools for program staff to apply best practices in their ...
This story map is an overview of the work of the Texas Comprehensive Center, one of 15 regional comprehensive centers funded by the U.S. Department of Education for the October 2012–September 2019 grant cycle of the Comprehensive Centers Program.
The Plan, Do, Study, Act Process is central to the improvement of instructional routines. Watch one of the Better Math Teaching Network members in real time and in a real classroom setting introduce the Plan, Do, Study, Act, or PDSA, process.
Quality standards are a foundational aspect of an afterschool system, where the goal is to ensure that all youth have access to high-quality programs. The resources on this page are intended to support networks that are developing, implementing, and refining statewide quality standards.
Afterschool staff working with youth are essential partners in any program’s efforts to implement quality programming. Ultimately, strong relationships are key to whether youth feel safe and can authentically engage with peers and adults. Building staff members’ capacity to strengthen relationships and align program offerings to quality standards will help ...
Effective and thoughtful planning is the first step in developing afterschool quality standards. In this phase, you will build a strong case for establishing quality standards. In the sections that follow, we outline the principal components of planning to develop quality standards.
At this stage in the quality standards development process, you have brought together a collaborative group of stakeholders to research and design a set of afterschool quality standards, and you have successfully navigated the approval process in your state. You are now ready to share the standards with the field ...
After completing a thorough planning process, your network should have a diverse group of afterschool stakeholders who believe in the importance of a shared definition of quality and are ready to work together to design quality standards. This section outlines an effective design process for state afterschool networks that are ...
Your state has successfully designed a set of quality standards for the afterschool field, and practitioners are now using the standards across the state to improve their program practices. But are you really done? As the field advances, you may need to adapt the standards or add new components for ...
Credentials certify performance based on a set of defined skills and knowledge and allow established or emerging staff to be recognized for their competence and commitment to professional growth. To date, though research suggests that well-trained staff, such as those with credentials, are more likely to deliver high quality programs, ...