| How Equity-Minded School Districts Run Afterschool and Summer Programs | 2581 | GP0|#b804f37e-c5dd-4433-a644-37b51bb2e211;L0|#0b804f37e-c5dd-4433-a644-37b51bb2e211|Afterschool;GTSet|#a1e8653d-64cb-48e0-8015-b5826f8c5b61;GP0|#ff9563e3-b973-45a7-8ac3-c9f4122f9a13;L0|#0ff9563e3-b973-45a7-8ac3-c9f4122f9a13|Summer Learning;GP0|#02d6f4ae-88a2-4236-b1a9-1f37b2599002;L0|#002d6f4ae-88a2-4236-b1a9-1f37b2599002|District Policy and Practice;GPP|#330c9173-9d0f-423a-b58d-f88b8fb02708 | <p>Wallace has some 50 active research studies across the foundation’s areas of arts, education leadership, and youth development. This blog is the second in an occasional series of conversations that Bronwyn Bevan, vice president of research, has been having with researchers Wallace has commissioned or awarded grants to. She recently talked with professors Valerie Adams-Bass, from Rutgers University, and Nancy Deutsch, from the University of Virginia, about a study they led for Wallace to understand how school districts that were taking strong steps to address equity during the school day were thinking about equity with respect to their afterschool and summer programs. Wallace has posted
<a href="/knowledge-center/pages/expanding-equity-afterschool-summer-learning-lessons-from-school-districts.aspx">a brief</a> describing key points from their study. </p><p>The interview has been edited for length and clarity.</p><p>
<strong>Bronwyn:</strong> Before you talk about what your study found, can you please share how you defined equity in your research?<br><br></p><p>
<strong><img src="/News-and-Media/Blog/PublishingImages/Pages/how-equity-minded-school-districts-run-afterschool-and-summer-programs/Valerie%20Adams-Bass.jpg" alt="Valerie Adams-Bass.jpg" class="wf-Image-Right" style="margin:5px;width:190px;height:253px;" />Valerie:</strong> We define equity as ensuring that every person has access to what they need to thrive. This is different from ensuring that every person has equal access to resources. Instead, it means that when making decisions about resources, you need to consider how existing disparities affect people's needs differentially. For example, designing programs for “all students” without attending to who has access to transportation to the programs and who doesn’t would not be an equitable approach. This way of thinking about recognizing and responding to disparities formed the backbone for
<a href="/knowledge-center/pages/expanding-equity-afterschool-summer-learning-lessons-from-school-districts.aspx">the set of equity indicators</a> we developed that then guided the selection of districts in our study.<br></p><p>
<strong><img src="/News-and-Media/Blog/PublishingImages/Pages/how-equity-minded-school-districts-run-afterschool-and-summer-programs/Bronwyn%20Bevan%20-15.jpg" alt="Bronwyn Bevan -15.jpg" class="wf-Image-Left" style="margin:5px;color:#555555;font-size:14px;width:200px;height:301px;" />Bronwyn:</strong> That's a great concrete example. I could also imagine, on a social dimension, it might involve recognizing, for example, who might feel “welcomed” in a space, and who might not.  Addressing that disparity might require more than a handshake to make a person who perhaps has felt excluded from a space, perhaps excluded across generations, to truly feel not only welcomed but as if they have what researchers Angie Calabrese Barton and Edna Tan call “a rightful presence” to be in and to make up that space. Equity would mean taking extra steps, providing meaningful social supports to ensure that a person truly experiences a sense of belonging.</p><p>
<strong><img src="/News-and-Media/Blog/PublishingImages/Pages/how-equity-minded-school-districts-run-afterschool-and-summer-programs/NancyDeutsch.jpg" alt="NancyDeutsch.jpg" class="wf-Image-Right" style="margin:5px;width:227px;height:227px;" />Nancy:</strong> We undertook this study because how districts operationalize equity in out-of-school-time spaces—logistically as well as socially—is so important. How do they ensure that all young people have an opportunity to thrive in and through the out-of-school-time space? Afterschool and summer programs clearly have the potential to increase equity and opportunity for young people, but unless districts are intentional about it, their out-of-school-time programs can end up replicating structures of inequity. </p><p class="wf-Element-Callout">“What was exciting about this study was documenting concrete actions that administrators and teachers could take to advance equity.”<br></p><p>
<strong>Bronwyn:</strong> Could you say more about that?<br></p><p>
<strong>Valerie:</strong> Particularly for young people who are not thriving in school, what happens in afterschool and summer may need to be different. What was exciting about this study was the opportunity to document concrete actions that administrators as well as teachers could take to advance equity—how they recognize disparities and provide resources and supports that address those disparities for full and meaningful student participation.</p><p>
<strong>Bronwyn:</strong> What are the kinds of things you look for when you are looking for equity in the district’s out-of-school-time space?  </p><p>
<strong>Valerie:</strong> I want to see a notable number of the afterschool staff members reflecting and knowing the community they're serving. Sometimes you see programs build pipelines by hiring students who have come through the district. Those districts are intentional and purposeful about who they hire. This can help young people feel welcome, recognized, and supported.</p><p>
<strong>Nancy:</strong> I want to see programs that celebrate and amplify students’ cultures. This can mean drawing on the strengths of the young people's families and community members. This can help young people feel that who they are and where they come from makes a contribution. </p><p class="wf-Element-Callout"> “You look to see how programs listen to the community and to young people themselves and use what they hear to develop their programs.” </p><p>
<strong>Valerie: </strong>You look to see how programs listen to the community and to young people themselves and use what they hear to develop their programs. That can look like creating spaces to engage with families outside of the normal school day hours. Parents are working during those hours.  That can look like children’s circles, where students are invited to speak up about what they want more of.  </p><p>
<strong>Nancy:</strong> Equity also looks like opportunity. Do districts have positive, fun, and meaningful options in the summer? Some kids have parents who can afford to pay for summer camps and other enrichment activities. They're not sitting around doing remedial math. It’s by definition inequitable when some students get to choose how they spend their summers, and therefore how they grow and develop when school is out, while other students have no choice. We saw a mix in the districts we studied. Some were very focused on equalizing summer opportunities for particular sub-populations of students.  </p><p>
<strong>Bronwyn:</strong> So I am hearing you define equity practices in two ways.  One is where districts are identifying sub-populations of youth to provide them with enriching growth experiences like those their more affluent peers might be getting through their family and neighborhood resources.  The other is attention to the program experience so that they are affirming of young people’s identity—through staffing, through listening and program offerings.  It reminds me of education scholar Rochelle Gutierrez’s dominant and critical axes of equity—one axis is about access and achievement and the other about identity and power, and you need both. Were there differences in how districts thought about these two opportunity axes?  </p><p>
<strong>Valerie:</strong> It really varied by district; but I believe equity-rich districts that were doing the work did a little bit of both.  The key thing is that they were very aware of who needed what in their communities.  We had one large district that was focused on psychological and social services for all young people. We had another district that was offering the services, and they were providing multiple kinds of programs and thinking about how to make sure that young people were coming, and that the parents were okay with the program menu. </p><p>
<strong>Nancy:</strong> There was a lot of focus on access, including transportation issues and figuring out which schools should be providing [programming] and how to get kids there. There was a universal sense of “Okay, we can't be doing equity if we're not having equity of access.” </p><p>
<strong>Bronwyn:</strong> I hear you saying that you might have to start with access, which Gutiérrez would call part of the dominant axis of equity (“welcome to our space”), but the other axis, the critical one, would focus on providing meaningful experiences, where issues of power and identity may be salient (“this space is yours”).  In other words there may be logistical barriers, but what about social ones, the cultural ones? There’s a bus to the program, why is it that some students choose not to get on it? </p><p>
<strong>Valerie:</strong> We saw that it was important to know the community.  One district leader described how she tapped a staff person who deeply knew what the community wanted and excelled at the cultural translation.  She leaned on that person.  I would say bilingual or multilingualism also came up a lot in terms of communicating with the parents about the programming, especially when it was new. </p><p>
<strong>Nancy:</strong> In some districts, schools thought about what is missing in their standard offerings.  So, for example, in schools where arts programs had been cut, they offered them in afterschool or summer.  That led to something else that our study found to be crucial: partnering with community-based organizations.</p><p>
<strong>Bronwyn:</strong> Can you say more about that?</p><p>
<strong>Nancy:</strong> We saw some districts recognize that they didn’t have the expertise on staff to do culturally specific or responsive or advanced programming in a particular area.  But they recognized that there was an organization in the community that did it really well.  So they contracted with those organizations to provide programs. </p><p>
<strong>Bronwyn:</strong> I’m aware of other research that talks about the importance of partnerships with community-based organizations. Did you see the equity concerns of the districts get picked up by the partners?</p><p>
<strong>Valerie:</strong> Typically I think that the partners were aware of district equity efforts. But it really depended on how long the partnership had existed.  </p><p>
<strong>Nancy: </strong>Partnerships bring really important things to the table. But you don't always have that communication between the districts and the partners in terms of what's happening in the school building, what the expectations are out of the school building, or priorities of the district versus the program. So you often have decision-making happening at the district without necessarily the knowledge or input of the partners.</p><p>
<strong>Valerie:</strong> We also saw differences in terms of what was being measured. For example, a school district may have its own metrics for equity, for student achievement, and student mental health while the community partner has different metrics. They didn’t always speak the same language, and they didn’t refer to the same data or data dashboard. We kept thinking wow, this is such an opportunity to really, you know, tighten up equity if they could come together around measurement or indicators.</p><p>
<strong>Nancy:</strong> There was also silo-ing within districts. Even when districts had offices that ran the OST programming, it was usually separate from the office of DEI. So the person in the office of diversity equity, inclusion couldn’t answer questions about OST, and vice versa. There’s a huge opportunity for coherence there.<br></p><p><em>Photos from top to bottom: Valerie Adams-Bass, Bronwyn Bevan, and Nancy Deutsch</em></p> | Bronwyn Bevan | 100 | | 2023-09-12T04:00:00Z | How Equity-Minded School Districts Run Afterschool and Summer Programs | | 9/12/2023 2:14:07 PM | The Wallace Foundation / News and Media / Wallace Blog / How Equity-Minded School Districts Run Afterschool and Summer Programs Providing access and the right experiences are two | 93 | https://www.wallacefoundation.org/News-and-Media/Blog/Pages/Forms/AllItems.aspx | html | False | aspx | |
| Two New Tools for Your Summer Learning Toolbox | 15732 | GP0|#ff9563e3-b973-45a7-8ac3-c9f4122f9a13;L0|#0ff9563e3-b973-45a7-8ac3-c9f4122f9a13|Summer Learning;GTSet|#a1e8653d-64cb-48e0-8015-b5826f8c5b61 | <p>Spring is in bloom across the country and summer learning providers are gearing up for their time in the sun. Planning may have been happening for months, but there’s plenty more to do. To help with this, Wallace pulled together eight key summer learning practices from RAND’s <a href="/knowledge-center/pages/getting-to-work-on-summer-learning-2nd-ed.aspx?_ga=2.204750421.473140566.1685978141-148854607.1683739404"><em>Getting to Work on Summer Learning (2</em></a><a href="/knowledge-center/pages/getting-to-work-on-summer-learning-2nd-ed.aspx"><em>nd</em></a><a href="/knowledge-center/pages/getting-to-work-on-summer-learning-2nd-ed.aspx"><em> edition)</em></a> report. The report distills lessons from the National Summer Learning Project, a multiyear effort to understand whether and how voluntary district-run summer learning programs can help promote success in school.<br></p><p>These eight key summer learning practices for elementary school districts cover best practices for fostering a positive climate, academic instruction, maximizing attendance and more. Check out the one-pager below as a reference guide or share the infographic with your colleagues on social media.<br><br></p><p>
<a href="/knowledge-center/Documents/key-practices-for-summer-learning-implementation.pdf"><img src="/News-and-Media/Blog/PublishingImages/Pages/two-new-tools-for-your-summer-learning-toolbox/key-practices-for-summer-learning-implementation-hd.jpg" alt="key-practices-for-summer-learning-implementation-hd.jpg" style="margin:5px;" /></a><br> </p><p style="text-align:center;"><a href="/knowledge-center/Documents/key-practices-for-summer-learning-implementation.pdf">See the One Pager</a><br></p><p style="text-align:center;"><br></p><p>
<img src="/News-and-Media/Blog/PublishingImages/Pages/two-new-tools-for-your-summer-learning-toolbox/2023-wallace_summer-learning-infographic-hd.jpg" alt="2023-wallace_summer-learning-infographic-hd.jpg" style="margin:5px;" />
<br>
</p><p style="text-align:center;"><a href="/knowledge-center/Documents/2023-wallace_summer-learning-infographic.pdf"> See the Infographic</a><br><br><br></p><p>And don’t forget to check out our <a href="/knowledge-center/summer-learning/toolkit/pages/default.aspx">Summer Learning Toolkit</a> for other resources to help you get your program off to a strong start.</p>
<br> | Andrea Ruggirello | 114 | | 2023-06-07T04:00:00Z | Your source for research and ideas to expand high quality learning and enrichment opportunities. Supporting: School Leadership, After School, Summer and Extended Learning Time, Arts Education and Building Audiences for the Arts. | | 6/7/2023 2:10:20 PM | The Wallace Foundation / News and Media / Wallace Blog / Two New Tools for Your Summer Learning Toolbox New Infographic and One-Pager Highlight Key Summer Learning Practices for | 2199 | https://www.wallacefoundation.org/News-and-Media/Blog/Pages/Forms/AllItems.aspx | html | False | aspx | |
| Change Is Inevitable. Are Out-of-School Time Programs Ready for It? | 13068 | GP0|#b804f37e-c5dd-4433-a644-37b51bb2e211;L0|#0b804f37e-c5dd-4433-a644-37b51bb2e211|Afterschool;GTSet|#a1e8653d-64cb-48e0-8015-b5826f8c5b61 | <p>The out-of-school time (OST) sector provides many opportunities for staff learning and improvement, including webinars, newsletters, and professional conferences. These opportunities also provide time and space for networking, generating new ideas, and potentially using those ideas to change existing operations, practices, and strategies. But sometimes the ideas just don't take hold. Why is that? How could it be that the research- and evidence-based strategies that you just learned about didn’t work for your program?</p><p>This could happen for any number of reasons, including lack of time and resources, staff resistance to new ideas, confusion from youth participants about the change, or misalignment with existing policies and practices. These are just a few examples that add up to a bigger piece of the implementation puzzle: readiness.</p>The concept of “readiness”—or lack thereof—is often the culprit behind challenges in implementation.<div><br></div><div><a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jcop.21698" target="_blank">Research</a> has described readiness as the product of an organization’s motivation and capacity to implement an innovation. We have spent the last two years building on this foundational work to explore what readiness means for OST programs, by diving deep into the literature and talking to OST practitioners and field leaders.</div><div><br></div><div>One key takeaway from our work: Organizations don’t make change happen, people do. Organizations, and those who lead them, can create processes and practices that support implementation, but ultimately it is the practitioners, participants, and other key stakeholders who are essential to change management. These people are the ones responsible for implementation. In other words, all of these people need to be “ready” before any change can happen.</div><div><br></div><div>We define readiness in OST as the overall willingness and capacity within an organization and its staff that enables change to occur successfully. More specifically for programs, this means:<br><br><ol><li>Having
<strong>strong operations and procedures. </strong>This<strong> </strong>includes building a positive culture and climate, creating processes for collaborative decision-making, ensuring alignment with existing policies and practices, and having the capacity and plans for implementation.<br>
<br> </li><li>Ensuring
<strong>staff well-being</strong>. Programs should help staff develop self-efficacy and a growth mindset, as well as ensure staff feel that they have the necessary knowledge and skills to help facilitate change.<br><br> </li><li>Keeping stakeholders, including young people and their families,
<strong>engaged and informed. </strong>Programs should<strong> </strong>ensure they have input into decisions and an understanding of how these decisions will affect them.
<br>
<br> </li><li>
<strong>Accessing specific resources, materials, and training</strong> that are unique to the specific and intentional change programs are making or new idea they are introducing. </li></ol><p>This last item in the list—gathering knowledge, resources, and materials—is often where organizations start, but it is only
<em>part </em>of being ready. To be truly ready means attending to all four elements of readiness—the specific intentional practices, and the more general practices of operations, staff, and stakeholders. Our research shows that they are all equally important.</p><p>If this feels like a lot to think about, don’t worry! We have learned that readiness is something that can be measured and built over time. We find peace in this idea because it gives us a starting place to engage in readiness thinking when starting something new. We have also used what we’ve learned to create a
<a href="https://www.readytoolkit.org/" target="_blank">free, online toolkit</a> for OST leaders and staff to help support and develop readiness thinking. Users can create a free account, take a readiness assessment, and receive an automated report with readiness scores to gain insight into where they are more and less ready for change. </p><p>The toolkit links to the many other resources and tools already available that may be used to build readiness. It also includes a growing number of
<a href="https://readytoolkit.org/learn-more-about-ost-readiness/" target="_blank">readiness-specific tools</a> for those who are just beginning to think about readiness.</p><p>It is our hope that by introducing the idea of readiness and creating tools and resources to measure and build readiness, programs can more smoothly engage with new ideas and ensure that they are ready to implement them. We encourage you to consider: Are you ready for change?<br></p></div> | Jessy Newman and Arielle Lentz | 133 | | 2023-05-02T04:00:00Z | Two researchers explain readiness, why it matters, and how OST programs can build and measure it | | 5/2/2023 2:17:31 PM | The Wallace Foundation / News and Media / Wallace Blog / Change Is Inevitable Two researchers explain readiness, why it matters, and how OST programs can build and measure it | 1847 | https://www.wallacefoundation.org/News-and-Media/Blog/Pages/Forms/AllItems.aspx | html | False | aspx | |
| Ensuring Access to Out-of-School-Time Programs and Using Federal Funds to Pay for It | 1412 | GP0|#b804f37e-c5dd-4433-a644-37b51bb2e211;L0|#0b804f37e-c5dd-4433-a644-37b51bb2e211|Afterschool;GTSet|#a1e8653d-64cb-48e0-8015-b5826f8c5b61;GP0|#ff9563e3-b973-45a7-8ac3-c9f4122f9a13;L0|#0ff9563e3-b973-45a7-8ac3-c9f4122f9a13|Summer Learning;GP0|#890cbc1f-f78a-45e7-9bf2-a5986c564667;L0|#0890cbc1f-f78a-45e7-9bf2-a5986c564667|Social and Emotional Learning | <p>Ask people about the book they remember most clearly, a movie script they could recite, or the weirdest song they can sing along to, and chances are they’ll name something from their adolescence. The tween and early teen years, for better or worse, can stick with us throughout our lives, determining who we are, where we feel we belong and where we want to be when we grow up.</p><p>How can today’s adults help young people use these crucial years to become healthy, productive, and empathetic adults of tomorrow? One way is to offer meaningful and enriching out-of-school activities that provide safe spaces to experiment with new experiences, new interests, and new ways of relating to the world. </p><p>Unfortunately, many young people lack access to such activities. <a href="http://www.afterschoolalliance.org/AA3PM/">A 2020 survey conducted by the Afterschool Alliance</a> found that there were 24.6 million children in the U.S. who were not enrolled in out-of-school-time programs but would be if such programs were available to them. For every child enrolled in out-of-school programs, according to the same survey, there were three who would attend if they could. </p><p>Access is especially limited for youth from low-income backgrounds, many of whom may most need afterschool support while parents or guardians work multiple jobs to make ends meet. <a href="https://www.childtrends.org/publications/participation-in-out-of-school-time-activities-and-programs">According to a 2014 Child Trends survey</a>, 72.7 percent of households with incomes more than twice the federal poverty level enrolled children in out-of-school activities. For households making less than that, the number fell to just 43.9 percent, a 29-point difference. </p><p><img src="/News-and-Media/Blog/PublishingImages/Pages/ensuring-access-to-out-of-school-time-programs-and-using-federal-funds-to-pay-for-it/Federal-funds-for-OST-ch.jpg" alt="Federal-funds-for-OST-ch.jpg" style="margin:5px;" /><br></p><p>Decades of Wallace experience suggest that a focus on systems—the coordinated efforts of entities such as departments of education, school boards, philanthropies, nonprofit groups, and intermediary organizations—could help change this picture and expand access to quality out-of-school-time programs. Efforts in cities around the country, including <a href="/knowledge-center/Pages/building-an-effective-social-and-emotional-learning-committe-dallas-vol2-pt3.aspx">Dallas</a>, <a href="/knowledge-center/pages/expanding-social-and-emotional-learning-boston-vol2-pt2.aspx">Boston</a> and <a href="/knowledge-center/Pages/learning-to-focus-on-adult-sel-first-tulsa-vol2-pt7.aspx">Tulsa</a>, point to elements of systems that could help more young people access the programs they need, including:</p><p></p><div class="wf-Element-BlueBullet">An entity to coordinate the work of different groups and the resources available to them </div><p></p><p></p><div class="wf-Element-BlueBullet">Clear standards of quality</div><p></p><p></p><div class="wf-Element-BlueBullet">Data systems that keep track of who has access to out-of-school-time programs, populations that may be excluded from them, the quality of services these programs provide, and opportunities to improve them</div><p></p><p></p><div class="wf-Element-BlueBullet">Committed leadership from prominent officials such as mayors and county executives</div><p></p><p>Wallace has <a href="/knowledge-center/after-school/pages/default.aspx">several resources available</a> to help cities develop such systems. Among them are guides to:</p><p></p><div class="wf-Element-BlueBullet">Help <a href="/knowledge-center/pages/from-access-to-equity-making-out-of-school-time-spaces-meaningful-for-teens-from-marginalized-communities.aspx">ensure equity</a> in out-of-school-time programs </div><p></p><p></p><div class="wf-Element-BlueBullet">Use <a href="/knowledge-center/pages/framework-for-measurement-continuous-improvement-and-equitable-systems.aspx">data to assess their effectiveness</a></div><p></p><p></p><div class="wf-Element-BlueBullet">Identify<a href="/knowledge-center/pages/federal-funding-guide-for-summer-and-afterschool.aspx"> federal funding opportunities</a>, made available through the American Rescue Plan of 2021, that could help pay for the development of these systems</div><p></p> | Wallace editorial team | 79 | | 2023-03-21T04:00:00Z | Your source for research and ideas to expand high quality learning and enrichment opportunities. Supporting: School Leadership, After School, Summer and Extended Learning Time, Arts Education and Building Audiences for the Arts. | | 3/21/2023 4:40:28 PM | The Wallace Foundation / News and Media / Wallace Blog / Ensuring Access to Out-of-School-Time Programs and Using Federal Funds to Pay for It Resources to help develop and cover | 2076 | https://www.wallacefoundation.org/News-and-Media/Blog/Pages/Forms/AllItems.aspx | html | False | aspx | |
| What Young People Want from Afterschool Programs | 42608 | GP0|#b804f37e-c5dd-4433-a644-37b51bb2e211;L0|#0b804f37e-c5dd-4433-a644-37b51bb2e211|Afterschool;GTSet|#a1e8653d-64cb-48e0-8015-b5826f8c5b61 |
<p><a href="/knowledge-center/pages/the-value-of-out-of-school-time-programs.aspx?_ga=2.116943174.1727170393.1677083209-1728090683.1676648512">Research has shown</a> that out-of-school-time programs are generally effective at producing the benefits for young people that they set out to provide–whether academic gains, enriching experiences, or homework help. But while there are numerous sources of federal and state funds available for afterschool and summer programs, they have seen consistently low rates of student participation. </p><p>Take, for instance, the federal 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) program, a part of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, which provides over $1 billion in funding annually for afterschool and summer programs for children in grades K through 12. Nearly half of the regular participants in the 21st CCLC programs attend fewer than 30 days a year.</p><p>We know this because of a
<a href="https://www.proquest.com/openview/7459d0266b83629b887ac324b4f8307c/1.pdf?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=18750&diss=y" target="_blank">recent analysis</a> of the current 21st CCLC policy by Jane Quinn, a venerable figure in the world of out-of-school-time.
<a href="https://www.childrensaidnyc.org/impact/stories/jane-quinn-leader-and-advocate-community-schools" target="_blank">An expert in afterschool and OST, she has more than five decades of experience</a> in the sector, having working as a social and youth worker for organizations including the Juvenile Protective Association of Chicago, Girls Clubs of America, Children’s Aid—and as program director here at Wallace for seven years in the 1990s.</p><p>Quinn is also, at age 78, a newly minted Ph.D. In fact, her findings about the low participation rate in out-of-school-time programs emerged from her dissertation for a doctoral program in urban education at the CUNY Graduate Center. In her thesis, Quinn analyzes the strengths and shortcomings of the current 21st CCLC policy. She argues that the challenge of meager participation can be addressed by “listening to the voices of young people and responding to their desire for engagement and challenge in out-of-school time programs.” We sat down with her to learn more about this and other key findings in the study. Her responses have been edited for length and clarity. </p><p>
<strong>Wallace Foundation: Your study found that nearly half of regular participants in the 21st CCLC programs attend fewer than 30 days a year. Why do you think attendance is so low, and what can be done to improve it?</strong> </p><p>Jane Quinn: According to the U.S. Department of Education’s data–specifically, their Annual Performance Reports on the 21st Century Community Learning Centers–fully 45 percent of students deemed to be “regular participants” in these programs across the country were reported to attend fewer than 30 days a year.  This number is problematic for several reasons, including the fact that we know from
<a href="/knowledge-center/pages/the-value-of-out-of-school-time-programs.aspx?_ga=2.116943174.1727170393.1677083209-1728090683.1676648512">prior research</a> that “dosage makes a difference,” meaning that higher program attendance has been shown to produce better outcomes. </p><p>When we combine this information about low attendance rates with US DOE [Department of Education] data about the content of 21st CCLC programs, we can begin to surmise why these rates might be so low. The Annual Performance Reports show that two of the three most frequently offered programs in 21st Century Community Learning Centers are homework help and tutoring, suggesting that many of the programs have largely become “more school” and are operating in ways that are not consistent with what young people say they want to do during their non-school hours. Homework help is offered five times more frequently than mentoring–something young people
<em>do</em> want–and tutoring is offered four times more frequently than leadership development. </p><p>
<strong>WF: Why is enrichment so important, and why do you think it is so overlooked?</strong></p><p>JQ: In the context of the 21st Century Community Learning Centers policy and program, enrichment should be considered important because it is central to the Congressionally mandated purpose of the program. However, the legislation never defines what is meant by enrichment, which has led to multiple interpretations, many of which seem off base to me. </p><p>In the context of what we know about young people’s development, enrichment is critical because it starts with student interests and focuses on engaging young people in their own learning. Why is it overlooked in many schools and afterschool programs? Because most people don’t understand what the term means, and some have never seen high-quality enrichment in practice. </p><p>Enrichment involves both pedagogy and program content. According to Professor Joseph Renzulli and his University of Connecticut colleagues, enrichment as a pedagogy consists of four elements: it is based on student interest; it uses authentic methodologies, such as project-based learning; it addresses issues that have no existing solution or “right” answer; and it results in culminating activities that allow young people to demonstrate what they have learned. This kind of pedagogy can be applied to a nearly endless array of content. The experts I interviewed had no problem naming the kinds of programming that they viewed as enrichment: book clubs, chess, debate, music, drama, dance, visual arts, robotics, computer programming, community service, sports, mentoring, and leadership development, among others.<br></p><p class="wf-Element-Callout">I believe that kids shouldn't have to be born rich to have access to enrichment. </p><p></p><strong>WF: Can you describe some characteristics of a good enrichment program? </strong> 
<p>
<br>JQ: Joseph Renzulli says that good enrichment programs are characterized by engagement, enjoyment, and enthusiasm. Many years ago, before I became acquainted with his work, I wrote a column for
<em>Youth</em><em>Today</em>, in which I described a similar set of characteristics. Mine were engagement, exposure, and experience. By exposure, I meant that afterschool and youth development programs can introduce young people to new relationships that build their social capital, to new ideas that enlarge their sense of the world around them, and to new opportunities that feed their aspirations. More affluent children and youth tend to have these kinds of experiences built into their academic and at-home environments. I believe that kids shouldn’t have to be born rich to have access to enrichment.  </p><p>
<strong>WF: What are some ways the quality of the programs can be improved, and how should quality be measured?</strong></p><p>JQ:<strong> </strong>When conducting my dissertation research, I was rather astonished to find that the federal 21st Century Community Learning Centers legislation and guidance said almost nothing about program quality, despite the great advancements over the past 25 years in the field’s definition of best practices. The field has produced well-documented guides, rooted in research, about the program factors that are associated with the achievement of positive results.<br><br>In addition, we now have several quality assessment tools that program operators can use to examine and strengthen their own practice. One of the best tools, in my view, is the
<a href="https://protect-us.mimecast.com/s/vuFuC4x463i48x3cOFbHx?domain=forumfyi.org/" target="_blank">Youth Program Quality Assessment</a>, supported by the Weikart Center.  When assessing program quality, we want to look at a range of factors, including program content, health and safety, staff qualifications, youth voice and choice, and interpersonal relationships, including peer-to-peer and adult-youth interactions.</p><p>
<strong>WF: </strong><strong>You were involved in the community schools movement from the early days. Can you reflect on where it was back then and how it has evolved?</strong></p><p>JQ:<strong> </strong>Well, I wasn’t there in the<em> really</em> early days—that would have been at the turn of the 20th century when John Dewey, the renowned educational philosopher, wrote a monograph entitled
<em>Schools as Social Centers</em> (1902). He had the right idea then, and his work has influenced several generations of community school leaders. In 1998, John Rogers, a UCLA education professor, wrote a seminal paper on the history of community schooling in America, documenting that the current generation of community schools is the fourth such iteration of the work to foster strong relationships between schools and their local communities. </p><p>My involvement in this current generation of community schooling includes two phases. First was my work as a program director at Wallace in the mid- to late-1990s, which helped to create the
<a href="/knowledge-center/pages/findings-from-the-extended-service-schools-initiative.aspx">Extended-Service Schools</a> Initiative. And second, was my 18-year tenure as director of the National Center for Community Schools, a program of Children’s Aid. </p><p>In my view, all of these early investments contributed substantially to the current community schools movement, which is demonstrating success in informing federal, state, and local education policy and in responding to the documented needs of students and families in what is now being referred to as the post-COVID environment. More than 100 districts nationwide have adopted community schools as a preferred reform strategy, and Congress recently authorized an additional $75 million for the USDOE’s Full-Service Community Schools program, which will provide incentives for additional districts to adopt this strategy. </p><p class="wf-Element-Callout">The first and most important is clarifying what is meant by enrichment </p><p></p><p>
<strong>WF: What do you think policymakers should consider if they were to reimagine the 21st Century Community Learning Centers?</strong></p><p>JQ:<strong> </strong>My research offers 10 lessons for strengthening the 21st CCLC policy and program. The first and most important is clarifying what is meant by enrichment —an element that distinguishes this program from other federal initiatives that focus on remediation and compensatory approaches. </p><p>A related lesson is finding ways to address the participation rate problem. My sense is that, if programs were required and supported to offer genuine enrichment, rather than a steady diet of homework help and tutoring, young people would make it their businessto participate. And, in turn, outcomes would improve because young people would be engaged in activities of their own choosing.  </p><p>Another consideration would be how to encourage the creation of authentic partnerships between schools and such community resources as youth development agencies, arts organizations, and science museums. And, since 21st Century funding is one of the few sources of public support for summer programming, the authors of federal guidance could consider placing more emphasis on encouraging and enabling providers to include summer enrichment in their 21st Century-funded programs. </p><p>Policymakers should seize the opportunity provided by COVID’s disruptions of the educational landscape by re-envisioning the enrichment role of out-of-school-time programs in the lives of America’s children and youth.  <br><br></p> | Jenna Doleh | 91 | | 2023-02-24T05:00:00Z | An expert on out-of-school-time argues for focusing on vital enrichment programs rather than on homework help or tutoring | | 2/23/2023 8:37:56 PM | The Wallace Foundation / News and Media / Wallace Blog / What Young People Want from Afterschool Programs An expert on out-of-school-time argues for focusing on vital enrichment | 1213 | https://www.wallacefoundation.org/News-and-Media/Blog/Pages/Forms/AllItems.aspx | html | False | aspx | |
| How Seven Foundations Bolstered Afterschool, Summer Programming as COVID Raged | 42467 | GP0|#ff9563e3-b973-45a7-8ac3-c9f4122f9a13;L0|#0ff9563e3-b973-45a7-8ac3-c9f4122f9a13|Summer Learning;GTSet|#a1e8653d-64cb-48e0-8015-b5826f8c5b61 |
<p>In the frantic early days of the pandemic, afterschool program providers went into overdrive. While schools shut, many programs stayed open, delivering meals, helping families meet basic needs, moving youth programs online, or launching all-day learning centers for the children of essential workers.<br></p><p>
<img src="/News-and-Media/Blog/PublishingImages/Pages/how-seven-foundations-bolstered-afterschool-summer-programming-as-covid-raged/Cover_EmergingVoicesSeries_Brief.png" alt="Cover_EmergingVoicesSeries_Brief.png" class="wf-Image-Left" style="margin:5px;width:212px;height:275px;" />For seven philanthropies, the heavy load shouldered by youth programs was a crisis to address. It also presented an opportunity—to heighten awareness among policymakers and others of the importance of the out-of-school-time (OST) sector, which includes afterschool, summer and other beyond-the-school-bell programs. Their response, organized through Grantmakers for Education, was to pool $1.5 million to invest in a range of projects to help national organizations both advocate for OST programs
<em>and</em> provide guidance to their members and affiliates scrambling to meet pandemic-created needs. </p><p>
<img src="/News-and-Media/Blog/PublishingImages/Pages/how-seven-foundations-bolstered-afterschool-summer-programming-as-covid-raged/jodi-grant.jpg" alt="jodi-grant.jpg" class="wf-Image-Right" style="margin:5px;width:161px;height:201px;" />It was a move perhaps unprecedented for OST donors. “In 18 years, this is the first time I’ve seen this kind of collaboration with funders,” said Jodi Grant, executive director of the Afterschool Alliance, one of the first four of the eight Afterschool and Summer Recovery and Opportunity Fund grantees in 2020 and 2021.</p><p>Personal stories can be influential with policymakers, Grant noted, and so her group used a portion of its grant to fund its Afterschool Ambassadors and Youth Ambassadors programs, which train providers and young people to speak publicly about their experiences with afterschool programs. Ambassadors are of diverse races and ethnicities and represent all regions of the country and communities in urban, rural, and suburban areas, Grant said. “Getting all those people to be seen and heard is key.”</p><p>She thinks similar communications efforts by a number of grantees helped lay the groundwork for the approval in federal pandemic relief packages of significant funding to bolster out-of-school-time efforts. “To date, we believe about $5 billion in federal COVID dollars have been used to support afterschool and summer learning programs,” she said. “Normally the federal budget is $1.3 billion for afterschool, so we’re talking about more than tripling that.”</p><p>
<img src="/News-and-Media/Blog/PublishingImages/Pages/how-seven-foundations-bolstered-afterschool-summer-programming-as-covid-raged/GinaWarner.jpg" alt="GinaWarner.jpg" class="wf-Image-Left" style="margin:5px;width:125px;height:167px;" />Amid the protests surrounding George Floyd’s murder in May 2020, social justice became a focus for the fund. The National AfterSchool Association, for one, used its grant in part to develop the <a href="https://naaweb.org/all-documents/41-the-ost-leaders-guide-to-equitable-hiring-and-staff-development-practices/file"><em>OST Leader’s Guide to Equitable Hiring and Staff Development</em></a>, a resource to help its 32,000 members establish more equitable workplace practices. While many nonprofits post equity statements and have good intentions, they often lack needed plans of action, such as strategies for attracting a more diverse applicant pool and reducing bias in interviews, according to Gina Warner, the association’s president and CEO. “I don’t think it’s a lack of interest,” she said. “It’s a lack of awareness and understanding, and access to resources for how to do it.” </p><p>In partnership with another grantee—Every Hour Counts, a coalition of organizations that coordinate communitywide out-of-school-time efforts—the group also led “equity strategy sessions” for more than 500 afterschool leaders, including those heading statewide or citywide program networks.</p><h3 class="wf-Element-H3">More Diverse Perspectives Needed</h3><p>The first four grantees, which included the National Summer Learning Association, met through video conferences with the philanthropies to share information from the sector and discuss how funders could most effectively respond, especially in communities of color hardest hit by the pandemic. Yet it was evident that more diverse perspectives were needed, recalled Grant. “We were all very aware that we were four organizations led by white people even though the communities we serve are much more diverse.”</p><p>The second group of grantees—the National Urban League, the National Indian Education Association, UnidosUS, and the Coalition for Community Schools—had deep expertise with K-12 education in communities of color as well as experience supporting OST initiatives.<br></p><p>
<img src="/News-and-Media/Blog/PublishingImages/Pages/how-seven-foundations-bolstered-afterschool-summer-programming-as-covid-raged/EmergingVoicesBrief_Graphic3.png" alt="EmergingVoicesBrief_Graphic3.png" style="color:#555555;font-size:14px;margin:5px;" /><br><br></p><p>
<img src="/News-and-Media/Blog/PublishingImages/Pages/how-seven-foundations-bolstered-afterschool-summer-programming-as-covid-raged/Claudia-DeMegret.jpg" alt="Claudia-DeMegret.jpg" class="wf-Image-Right" style="margin:5px;width:194px;height:217px;" />“The idea was to diversify and strengthen the national out-of-school-time community,” said Claudia DeMegret, a senior program officer at Wallace, one of the funders. “We laid the groundwork for that to happen.”</p><p>Like the first four grantees, the members of the next cohort were given flexibility to spend their grant dollars on projects they believed would have the most impact.</p><p>The National Urban League wanted to spotlight a problem raised by its local affiliates—the number of young people who pulled back from school during the pandemic. In a powerful series of 13 short films titled <a href="https://nul.org/event/emerging-voices-pandemic-students-speak-out" target="_blank">Emerging Voices from the Pandemic: Students Speak Out</a>, teens interviewed peers about the circumstances that had led to their disengagement and solicited ideas for improving learning and student well-being in schools. The need for more emotional support emerged as a theme.<br></p><p>
<img src="/News-and-Media/Blog/PublishingImages/Pages/how-seven-foundations-bolstered-afterschool-summer-programming-as-covid-raged/EmergingVoicesBrief_Graphic4.png" alt="EmergingVoicesBrief_Graphic4.png" style="margin:5px;" />
<br>
<br>
</p><p>
<img src="/News-and-Media/Blog/PublishingImages/Pages/how-seven-foundations-bolstered-afterschool-summer-programming-as-covid-raged/Horatio-Blackmanv1-Headshot.png" alt="Horatio-Blackmanv1-Headshot.png" class="wf-Image-Left" style="margin:5px;width:200px;height:200px;" />“In our conversations with national policy tables, staffers on the Hill, and local advocates and our affiliates, people have told us that they’ve seen those videos and that they impacted their thinking on how to support youth,” said Horatio Blackman, vice president of education policy, advocacy, and engagement at the National Urban League. “I think it helped push the national conversation on social-emotional learning and whole child support.”</p><p>
<img src="/News-and-Media/Blog/PublishingImages/Pages/how-seven-foundations-bolstered-afterschool-summer-programming-as-covid-raged/Diana-Cournoyer.jpg" alt="Diana-Cournoyer.jpg" class="wf-Image-Right" style="margin:5px;width:175px;height:175px;" />The National Indian Education Association used its grant to conduct a study of the characteristics and availability of afterschool programs in Native American communities nationwide. “I wanted to shine a light on these issues that don’t always get talked about in afterschool learning,” said Executive Director Diana Cournoyer.</p><p>Among other findings, nearly 36 percent of native parents surveyed did not enroll their child in an afterschool program because of lack of program availability or accessibility. For many Native American students in rural communities, commuting to and from school can take 90 minutes to four hours a day, Cournoyer explained. Running extra buses for afterschool programs, she said, is an expense rural school districts often can’t afford and grantmakers typically don’t cover.</p><h3 class="wf-Element-H3">A New Direction for Wallace</h3><p>
<img src="/News-and-Media/Blog/PublishingImages/Pages/how-seven-foundations-bolstered-afterschool-summer-programming-as-covid-raged/GrantmakingPracticesOSTRecoveryOpportunityFund10-7-22-1.jpg" alt="GrantmakingPracticesOSTRecoveryOpportunityFund10-7-22-1.jpg" class="wf-Image-Left" style="margin:5px;width:195px;height:252px;" />As a culminating activity, the eight grantees <a href="https://www.edfunders.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/GrantmakingPracticesOSTRecoveryOpportunityFund10-7-22.pdf" target="_blank">wrote a report</a> with recommendations to out-of-school-time funders. Suggestions included allowing nonprofits more flexibility in defining grant outcomes that meet their own priorities, getting community input into foundation initiatives, and putting longer grant cycles into place.</p><p>Gigi Antoni, director of learning and enrichment at Wallace, said that the foundation is using what it learned from the grantees’ feedback and its experience with the pooled fund to rethink its approach to out-of-school-time grant making.</p><p>For example, instead of soliciting grant proposals only from selected national nonprofits, which is typical for a national foundation, she said, Wallace recently put out a broad call for first-round applicants to a forthcoming, one-year venture. The hope is that this will lead to a more diverse applicant pool from which to draw finalists.</p><p>
<img src="/News-and-Media/Blog/PublishingImages/Pages/how-seven-foundations-bolstered-afterschool-summer-programming-as-covid-raged/Gigi-Antoni.jpg" alt="Gigi-Antoni.jpg" class="wf-Image-Right" style="margin:5px;width:158px;height:167px;" />“We’ve talked to hundreds of communities in the last couple of months,” Antoni said, “and now have 1,700 applications from rural, suburban, and urban communities in every state in the country.”</p><p>The other contributors to the Afterschool and Summer Recovery and Opportunity Fund were the Bezos Family Foundation, S.D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation, Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, New York Life Foundation, Overdeck Family Foundation, and Susan Crown Exchange.<br><br><br></p> | Elizabeth Duffrin | 97 | | 2023-01-24T05:00:00Z | Novel fund supported pandemic guidance for youth programs and efforts to raise awareness of their importance | | 1/26/2023 5:04:11 PM | The Wallace Foundation / News and Media / Wallace Blog / How Seven Foundations Bolstered Afterschool, Summer Programming as COVID Raged Novel fund supported pandemic guidance for | 840 | https://www.wallacefoundation.org/News-and-Media/Blog/Pages/Forms/AllItems.aspx | html | False | aspx | |
| Study Seeks to Understand Adults Working with Young People Outside of School | 42559 | GP0|#b804f37e-c5dd-4433-a644-37b51bb2e211;L0|#0b804f37e-c5dd-4433-a644-37b51bb2e211|Afterschool;GTSet|#a1e8653d-64cb-48e0-8015-b5826f8c5b61 | <p>Millions of professionals and volunteers work with young people every day in the many settings where they play, learn and grow outside of the school day. To learn more about these youth-serving professionals, the American Institutes for Research (AIR) is conducting a study, with support from Wallace. The study includes a national survey called the <a href="https://powerofussurvey.org/"><em>Power of Us Workforce Survey</em></a>, in which the results are intended to ultimately better support the youth workforce and inform policy, practice and further research.</p><p>In this Q&A, Deborah Moroney, a vice president at AIR, and Ann Stone, senior research officer at Wallace, reflect on this work. This post originally appeared on the <a href="https://workforce-matters.org/">Workforce Matters</a> website and is reprinted with their permission.</p><p><strong>The Wallace Foundation: What is the Youth Fields Workforce Study?</strong><strong> </strong></p><p><strong>Deborah</strong>: The U.S. Department of Education has challenged educators to <a href="https://engageeverystudent.org/">engage every student</a>. But who are the adults who are allies to, support and foster learning and development outside of the school day? While we know that those who work in youth fields play an important role, we lack the broader knowledge, context and holistic understanding of these individuals’ experiences and career pathways. The Youth Fields Workforce Study is a nationwide effort to fill that knowledge gap and gain critical insights into the people who make up these fields, where they work, what they do and what supports they need to continue engaging in transformative work with young people. </p><p><strong>WF: Why did the Wallace Foundation decide to invest in the Youth Fields Workforce Study?</strong><strong> </strong></p><p><strong>Ann</strong>: Over the years, we’ve heard anecdotal evidence that staffing has been a consistent challenge for out-of-school time programs. The COVID-19 pandemic, and the associated labor shortage it caused, only made things worse. For example, a <a href="http://afterschoolalliance.org/documents/Afterschool-COVID-19-Wave-6-Brief.pdf">survey by the Afterschool Alliance</a> found that the top two concerns among afterschool providers were finding staff to hire or staffing shortages and maintaining staff levels through health concerns and safety protocols.</p><p>Given this, we felt it was important to learn more from the field itself about the state of the workforce. </p><p>The challenge is not a trivial one. Skilled staff are crucial to fostering the <a href="/knowledge-center/pages/the-value-of-out-of-school-time-programs.aspx">many benefits </a>that afterschool and summer programs can provide young people—including new skills, exposure to new experiences, academic gains, awareness of career options, and life skills like persistence. These benefits vary, based on how programs are designed. But no matter what kind of program, we know that staff are central to creating positive relationships with young people, setting the climate, and sharing special expertise. Hardworking, well-trained staff play a key role in quality, and quality plays a key role in outcomes, so it’s important that this vital workforce is better understood—and supported. </p><p><strong>WF: What do you hope to learn from the results of the Youth Fields Workforce Study?</strong><strong> </strong></p><p><strong>Ann:</strong> The study is unusual in how thoroughly it seeks to incorporate views from those actually <em>in </em>the workforce. It will offer a window into who makes up the workforce, their career pathways, how they see their expertise and training needs, thoughts on job mobility, and retention. In capturing the lived experience of the staff who are forming relationships with youth, teaching skills and setting the climate, this study by AIR will not only help the field understand the challenge—but also suggest solutions. For example, understanding what motivates staff to stay in this field could be used to help attract new staff. This information should be especially useful since the pandemic, along with the influx of federal funding, have elevated the importance of afterschool and summer programming. </p><p><strong>Deborah:</strong> There are real and practical uses for the survey findings, which is timely because we know that this field is not immune to <a href="https://www.edweek.org/leadership/afterschool-programs-are-low-on-staff-leaving-students-unsupervised-and-underserved/2022/03">shifts in the labor market</a>. Our partners tell us they will use the survey data to make the case to expand access to programs for youth, prioritize professional development supports, and develop career pathways for adults. But we need the information first, and we need your help! If you are part of the youth fields workforce, share your story by taking the survey. If you support the youth fields workforce, help us spread the word by sharing the survey with your networks. The more people who complete the survey, the more we will know about the adults in the youth fields workforce, and the more we can all do to support them as they support all youth to thrive<br></p> | Jenna Doleh | 91 | | 2022-12-08T05:00:00Z | Your source for research and ideas to expand high quality learning and enrichment opportunities. Supporting: School Leadership, After School, Summer and Extended Learning Time, Arts Education and Building Audiences for the Arts. | | 12/12/2022 3:55:00 PM | The Wallace Foundation / News and Media / Wallace Blog / Study Seeks to Understand Adults Working with Young People Outside of School Millions of professionals and volunteers work | 1226 | https://www.wallacefoundation.org/News-and-Media/Blog/Pages/Forms/AllItems.aspx | html | False | aspx | |
| Two Summer Programs Inch Towards Normal as Covid Subsides | 42586 | GP0|#ff9563e3-b973-45a7-8ac3-c9f4122f9a13;L0|#0ff9563e3-b973-45a7-8ac3-c9f4122f9a13|Summer Learning;GTSet|#a1e8653d-64cb-48e0-8015-b5826f8c5b61;GP0|#890cbc1f-f78a-45e7-9bf2-a5986c564667;L0|#0890cbc1f-f78a-45e7-9bf2-a5986c564667|Social and Emotional Learning | <p>Trenton, N.J.,
<a href="https://www.nj.com/mercer/2014/04/from_iron_to_steel_to_pottery_trenton_once_flexed_industrial_might_for_world_to_take.html" target="_blank">a former manufacturing hub</a> where
<a href="https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/trentoncitynewjersey/AGE775219#AGE775219" target="_blank">nearly a third of the population now lives in poverty</a>, is not known for nature or green spaces. It is understandable, then, that when two busloads of children from the city arrived last August at the <a href="https://princetonblairstown.org/" target="_blank">Princeton-Blairstown Center</a>, a bucolic, 268-acre environmental education center in Blairstown, N.J., some were a bit nervous.</p><p>When some two dozen children set out on canoes to explore the center’s Bass Lake, two stayed behind, both terrified of the unfamiliar body of water. Staffers had to coax them into the lake, first getting the children into life jackets, then helping them onto canoes, then gently bumping off the pier and, only when the panicked parties had found their sea legs, paddling off to join the other students in the center of the lake.<br></p><p> This is what the Princeton-Blairstown Center, a 114-year-old organization that brings students from some of the poorest parts of New Jersey to its campus in Blairstown every summer, calls “challenge by choice.” The goal is to help
<a href="/knowledge-center/pages/podcast-lets-talk-social-and-emotional-learning-(sel)-podcast.aspx?_ga=2.40619170.1045308987.1648136693-1352763000.1643649010">build social and emotional skills</a> by getting children out of their comfort zones, helping them confront some fears and showing them how they could use those experiences to overcome challenges at home, in school and in their communities. The practice can cause its share of anxious outbursts, but staffers are trained to help students learn from them. “That’s the whole point of our activities,” says Christopher Trilleras, one of the counselors who helped the wobbly mariners onto Bass Lake. “To process frustrations at the end, to really talk about them and prevent them.”<br></p><p>Such<a href="/News-and-Media/Blog/pages/helping-children-feel-safe,-understood-and-supported.aspx?_ga=2.47824935.1045308987.1648136693-1352763000.1643649010"> social and emotional support is especially important</a> for children today, as the coronavirus pandemic has robbed them of months of school, play and interpersonal experimentation. The Wallace editorial team visited two summer programs in 2021—one operated by the Princeton-Blairstown Center and the other by
<a href="https://freshair.org/" target="_blank">The Fresh Air Fund</a> in New York City—to see how they worked to help young people overcome the effects of months of isolation, including social anxiety, emotional volatility and a lack of focus after several school terms spent spacing out on Zoom. Both programs have had to get creative with established practices to help young people through two Covid-infested summers, staffers say, and are learning from those experiences to take on an unpredictable summer ahead.<br></p><div class="ms-rtestate-read ms-rte-wpbox"><div class="ms-rtestate-notify ms-rtestate-read fae0f294-6dd2-4d33-b4ca-9d4fcd783c83" id="div_fae0f294-6dd2-4d33-b4ca-9d4fcd783c83" unselectable="on"></div><div id="vid_fae0f294-6dd2-4d33-b4ca-9d4fcd783c83" unselectable="on" style="display:none;"></div></div><h3 class="wf-Element-H3">
<br>Old principles, new social and emotional needs<br></h3><p>The two organizations, both more than a century old, have well-developed practices to help young people develop the sorts of social and emotional skills that the pandemic appears to have compromised. When they take children out canoeing, for example, they’re working to help children build confidence to confront new experiences. When they design collaborative construction projects or obstacle courses, they’re looking to grease social wheels and encourage teamwork. When they teach kids to tend to vegetable gardens or model farms, they’re working to foster a sense of responsibility. The students’ mere presence in peaceful but unfamiliar outdoor spaces, far removed from their regular lives in urban centers such as Trenton, New York City and Newark, N.J., can help build relationships, says Pam Gregory, president and chief executive officer of the Princeton-Blairstown Center. “When you come together for a week with people who have a shared experience that’s really unique from most of the other people in your life,” she says, “you form a very close bond.” </p><p>Such practices can be insufficient in a pandemic, however. Months in isolation without social opportunities have made many young people more reluctant to try new things, program staffers say. Last August in Sunset Park, a diverse, middle-class neighborhood in Brooklyn, N.Y., about 30 tots and tweens spent a morning practicing crafts, learning to dance and racing handmade carts on a street blocked off for summer programs by The Fresh Air Fund. Most seemed comfortable enough, but one 10-year-old clung to a counselor, too uncomfortable to approach the others. It was a situation familiar to Jane Li, an area resident whose son faced similar anxieties when he first came to The Fresh Air Fund.  “Sometimes in the beginning, he’s a little withdrawn,” Li says of her son. “Maya, the counselor, she talks to him, plays games with him, gets him warmed up and gradually join the small group and then the bigger group.” </p><p>Some counselors are even able to use the pandemic to help students deal with deeper traumas. Many students who find their way to the Princeton-Blairstown Center or The Fresh Air Fund have histories of homelessness, domestic abuse or worse. Tabs Alam, a senior environmental education facilitator at the Princeton-Blairstown Center, speaks of group sessions with students where conversations began with talk of the pandemic but ended with discussion of more visceral worries about home, family, friends and poverty. Some students will admit how they find lockdowns especially hard, Alam says, because home has never been safe for them. </p><p>“Covid was a vessel to have people think about themselves a little bit more,” she says.<br></p><div class="ms-rtestate-read ms-rte-wpbox"><div class="ms-rtestate-notify ms-rtestate-read c042efd2-9392-414f-9c95-097f0727d9c0" id="div_c042efd2-9392-414f-9c95-097f0727d9c0" unselectable="on"></div><div id="vid_c042efd2-9392-414f-9c95-097f0727d9c0" unselectable="on" style="display:none;"></div></div><h3 class="wf-Element-H3">
<br>Learning Without Knowing It</h3><p>There are fewer silver linings when it comes to academics, however. School closures and other pandemic-related disruptions have set students, especially “historically marginalized students,” months behind, according to
<a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/education/our-insights/covid-19-and-education-the-lingering-effects-of-unfinished-learning" target="_blank">consulting firm McKinsey & Company</a>. Basic math and English are rarely the central focus of programs like The Fresh Air Fund and the Princeton-Blairstown Center, but they are still working to help students regain the ground they’ve lost. </p><p>Both face two major constraints when doing so. For one thing,  they can’t really drag children into classrooms and force them to make up for the academics they’ve lost.
<a href="/knowledge-center/pages/getting-to-work-on-summer-learning-2nd-ed.aspx?_ga=2.47824935.1045308987.1648136693-1352763000.1643649010">Research suggests</a> that attendance is a key component of student success, and students are unlikely to want to attend if they’re crammed back into rooms after months spent indoors. </p><p>For another, both programs have less time than usual to dedicate to academics. In normal times, the Princeton-Blairstown Center would host its students for at least five days, while The Fresh Air Fund would shuttle campers to nature reserves north of New York City for two weeks. In 2021, after a season spent online, the Princeton-Blairstown Center was able to offer four days of programming in parks and schoolyards in its students' communities and a fifth-day daytrip to Blairstown. The Fresh Air Fund had to move most activities to New York City, cordoning off streets for camp-like activities for two, three-hour sessions a day, four days a week. </p><p>Both programs work to meet these twin challenges by doubling down on one of the things they do best: making learning fun. “We like to fold education in without kids knowing that they’re learning,” says Sheila Wilson-Wells, chief program officer of The Fresh Air Fund. The programs feature libraries that staffers encourage students to use and quiet spaces where students can read, reflect and write. They also offer activities such as cooking, architecture and soil and water analysis that help students brush up on science and math. “For a lot of the young people that we serve, it’s the first time that they understand that learning can be fun,” Gregory says. “Because it’s hands-on, not just sitting there doing worksheets or a lecture.”</p><p>“Throughout their time with us, they’re learning,” adds Wilson-Wells. “From the time they get off the bus and they don’t even know it.”</p><p>Such subtle blends of academics, fun and social and emotional learning are essential in summer programs, say Aaron Dworkin and Broderick Clarke of the
<a href="https://www.summerlearning.org/" target="_blank">National Summer Learning Association</a> (NSLA), especially in the wake of a crippling pandemic. “We have to get away from false-choice binary arguments that are a waste of time,” says Dworkin, chief executive officer of the NSLA. “Do kids need academic help or do they need social emotional help? They need both.”</p><p>“The best practitioners don't necessarily make that distinction or separation,” adds Clarke, the association’s vice president for programs. “They figure out a way to make the magic happen and to incorporate social and emotional competencies in the course of whatever activities they're presenting.”</p><h3 class="wf-Element-H3">O to Struggle Against Great Odds…</h3><p>Summer programs must make this magic happen while dealing with their own daunting challenges, from staff burnout and fatigue to the limited time they have with their campers. Three characteristics help them do so, say staffers from the two programs: flexibility, partnerships and continuous improvement.</p><p>Both programs have had to be nimble to offer children as much programming as the pandemic permits. When the coronavirus shut everything down in 2020, for example, the Princeton-Blairstown Center sent its students “PBC in a Bag,” kits with books, snacks and the materials they needed for daily activities such as building catapults and seeing how far they could shoot projectiles across their rooms. After each activity, counselors led discussions on Zoom and helped students draw lessons from the experience. “It was very challenging for our facilitators,” says Gregory, “but over time they perfected it.”</p><p>The following summer, as the relative safety of outdoor gatherings became clearer, the Princeton-Blairstown Center resumed in-person activities. It still couldn’t host people overnight, as most parents were still nervous about children sharing rooms, so it devised its schedule of four days in students’ neighborhoods and one at its Blairstown campus so students could get at least a little taste of nature. It isn’t much, but Richad Hollis, a rising eighth grader from Trenton visiting the center in August, appeared to appreciate it. “In Trenton, it’s just streets and people playing outside,” he said. “Here, it’s a whole creek right over here. It’s just way more stuff that you can do other than just running around in the streets.”</p><p>The Fresh Air Fund never stopped in-person programming, but it created
<a href="https://freshair.org/summer-spaces/" target="_blank">a new Summer Spaces</a> program to avoid crowding children into buses or dorms. It blocked traffic on 11 city blocks throughout New York City and opened them up so children could drop in for activities including dancing, sports, STEM projects and arts and crafts. Each site featured two health and safety officers to ensure adherence to pandemic protocols and social workers traveled from site to site to help acclimate children unnerved by the sudden onslaught of social activity. </p><p>These adaptations would have been impossible without partnerships, says Wilson-Wells. To find and secure city blocks, staffers worked with communities, city councilmembers and the New York City Department of Transportation. To offer dance lessons, they recruited performers through a partnership with  the
<a href="https://www.abt.org/" target="_blank">American Ballet Theatre</a>. To help teach science, they asked for help from
<a href="https://www.biobus.org/" target="_blank">Biobus</a>, a New York City-based organization that runs mobile labs for children. To get books, they worked with the Brooklyn and Queens libraries. “There were so many wonderful partners that really pulled together to do comprehensive services,” Wilson-Wells says, “so we can ensure that, even in the pandemic, we were able to impart learning moments.”</p><p>There are about 22 million children who receive free or reduced-price lunches in American schools, according to the
<a href="https://schoolnutrition.org/aboutschoolmeals/schoolmealtrendsstats/" target="_blank">School Nutrition Association</a>, a trade group for the school-food-service industry. Such partnerships are essential to get those children the services they need, says Aaron Dworkin of the NSLA. “No one program can serve 22 million kids,” he says. “But collectively, we can.”</p><h3 class="wf-Element-H3">…To Meet Enemies Undaunted</h3><p>Both programs are now using these experiences to gear up for an uncertain summer ahead, inching towards traditional programming, keeping what worked during the pandemic and tweaking what did not. The Fresh Air Fund plans to reopen camps for two-week experiences again. But 2022 will include important adjustments to help students and staffers adapt and respond to new realities. The organization will open just four of its six camps and limit capacity to 50 percent. The reduction in size, says Wilson-Wells, should help get campers the extra attention they need, give staffers room to reacquaint themselves with camp life and ensure everyone has enough space to return to social distancing should that become necessary. </p><p>To help meet the demand it cannot meet at its condensed camps, The Fresh Air Fund will continue to operate the Summer Spaces program it created during the pandemic. However, as it begins to direct resources back to more traditional programs, it will trim that program from 11 sites to four, focusing on neighborhoods that were hardest hit by the pandemic and where families have expressed the greatest interest. </p><p>All experiences, both at the camps and in New York City, will still include the health and safety workers who helped ensure adherence to Covid restrictions during the pandemic. Staffers felt kids could use more social and emotional support, however, so the fund will replace its traveling social workers with support staffers dedicated to each site. “We're hoping that that will allow us to have organic conversations with young people to really hear how we can best serve them,” says Wilson-Wells.</p><p>The Princeton-Blairstown Center, meanwhile, is staying flexible. It will begin to host groups for overnight sessions at Blairstown if the parents, schools and organizations that send them are comfortable. But it will keep a pandemic schedule to accommodate students from communities with low vaccination rates, those who may live with vulnerable family members in multigenerational households and those whose regular teachers are too Covid-worn to chaperone them.</p><p>Like The Fresh Air Fund, the center is adapting that pandemic schedule based on observations from the last two years. The one, five-hour day at Blairstown seemed rushed in 2021, Gregory says, so the center  may expand it to an eight-hour day for children who cannot visit for a whole week. The extra time, says Gregory, would allow children to experience more of the pastoral expanse of the Blairstown campus, learn more about their relationships with nature and form closer bonds with each other. “Dosage matters,” she says. “The amount of time kids spend doing the activities matters a lot.”<br></p><p>The center will also tweak its curriculum to adapt to shifting needs during the pandemic. In 2021, most students read
<em>Seedfolks</em>, a book about 13 children of different ethnicities tending a community garden in Cleveland. To spark conversations, counselors asked students which of the book's characters they found most relatable. The book remains the same for 2022, but the discussion will now focus on the plants in the garden and what they could teach campers about sprouting from the ashes of a pandemic. "It's to provide kids with more of an opportunity to talk about how challenging it's been," Gregory says, "and what they need moving forward." </p><p>It is unclear whether such careful planning can help children recover from the two years they have lost to the pandemic. Many parents and educators, however, are happy just to see them get out, let loose and have fun again. “They were free to run,” says Alice Lightner, a parent who was chaperoning children in Blairstown in August. “They were free to play, free to explore and engage with their peers.”</p><p>“Getting in touch with nature, just a quick walk, you feel so at peace,” adds Samantha Elliott, another parent. “I just saved probably about $500 from the therapist.”<br></p>
<p><em>Additional reporting, editing and production work by </em><a href="/about-wallace/people/pages/jenna-doleh.aspx"><em>Jenna Doleh</em></a><em>.</em><br></p> | Sarosh Z. Syed | 50 | | 2022-03-29T04:00:00Z | The Princeton-Blairstown Center and The Fresh Air Fund lean on creativity, flexibility and self-reflection to help kids rise from the ashes of a pandemic | | 7/26/2022 1:07:26 PM | The Wallace Foundation / News and Media / Wallace Blog / Two Summer Programs Inch Towards Normal as Covid Subsides The Princeton-Blairstown Center and The Fresh Air Fund lean on | 6056 | https://www.wallacefoundation.org/News-and-Media/Blog/Pages/Forms/AllItems.aspx | html | False | aspx | |
| American Rescue Plan: Five Things State and District Leaders Need to Know Now | 23669 | GP0|#330c9173-9d0f-423a-b58d-f88b8fb02708;L0|#0330c9173-9d0f-423a-b58d-f88b8fb02708|School Leadership;GTSet|#a1e8653d-64cb-48e0-8015-b5826f8c5b61 | <p>
<em>Earlier this year, President Biden signed into law the American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act, the federal government’s third major COVID-19 relief bill. The law provides nearly $2 trillion to support the nation’s efforts to reopen and recover from the coronavirus pandemic. Included is more than $126 billion for K-12 schools and additional funding for early childhood and higher education.  </em></p><p>
<em>These are historic levels of K-12 funding, far surpassing the amounts in previous pandemic relief bills, and they go well beyond annual federal K-12 education investments. Moreover, the relief package could have an impact well into the future, as districts and states are allowed to spend their allotments through September 2024—enabling them to identify and develop solutions that meet immediate needs and seed long-term, evidence-based shifts to better promote equity and improved outcomes.  </em></p><p>
<em>This description of the ARP, with considerations for states and school districts, was prepared for The Wallace Foundation by </em>
<a href="https://educationcounsel.com/">
<em>EducationCounsel</em></a><em>, a mission-based education consulting firm. EducationCounsel advises Wallace and has analyzed the new law. </em></p><p>
<strong>1. ARP provides at least $126 billion in K-12 funding to states and districts, building upon previous COVID-19 relief packages, to support school reopening, recovery and program redesign. </strong></p><p>The ARP includes $123 billion for the Elementary and Secondary Schools Emergency Relief (ESSER) fund—nearly $109.7 billion (about 90 percent) for districts (or local education agencies) and nearly $12.2 billion (about 10 percent) for state education agencies. These funds can be used by states and districts directly or through contracts with providers from outside the public school system.  </p><p>
<img src="/News-and-Media/Blog/PublishingImages/Pages/american-rescue-plan-five-things-state-and-district-leaders-need-to-know-now/ARP-Funding-Compared-ch.jpg" alt="ARP-Funding-Compared-ch.jpg" class="wf-Image-Left" style="margin:5px;width:494px;" />The ESSER fund also includes $800 million dedicated to identifying and supporting students experiencing homelessness. While not included in the ESSER fund, an additional $3 billion is available under the law for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).</p><p>Further, the ARP provides $40 billion for colleges and universities (of which $20 billion must be used to support students directly) and more than $40 billion to support the child care and early childhood education systems.  For additional information on the other funding provided by the ARP, please see
<a href="https://educationcounsel.com/?publication=educationcounsels-summary-of-the-american-rescue-plan-act-of-2021">EducationCounsel’s fuller summary of the law</a>. </p><p>In addition, the ARP includes hundreds of billions of dollars in  <a href="https://home.treasury.gov/policy-issues/coronavirus/assistance-for-state-local-and-tribal-governments/state-and-local-fiscal-recovery-funds">State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds</a> that can be used to support early childhood, K-12 and higher education. This includes $195.3 billion to state governments and up to $154.7 billion to local governments and territories. Under the
<a href="https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/136/SLFRP-Fact-Sheet-FINAL1-508A.pdf">U.S. Treasury Department’s guidance</a>, state and local governments are encouraged, among other possible uses, to tap the State and Local Recovery Funds to create or expand early learning and child care services; address pandemic-related educational disparities by providing additional resources to high-poverty school districts, offering tutoring or afterschool programs, and by providing services that address students’ social, emotional and mental health needs; and support essential workers by providing premium pay to school staff.  </p><p>
<strong>2. ARP funding for districts and states is intended to support a wide array of programs that use evidence-based practices to attend to matters including the academic, social, emotional and mental health needs of marginalized students.  </strong></p><p>States and districts have substantial flexibility in how they can use their ARP ESSER funds to support recovery efforts and to seed fundamental shifts in their programs and services. Within the text of the ARP and the U.S. Department of Education guidance about the law, states and districts are encouraged to use funds in ways that not only support reopening and recovery efforts but also seek to address the unique needs of our most marginalized students. This emphasis is woven throughout the ARP, including in its state and district set-asides (discussed below) and the provisions focused on
<a href="https://oese.ed.gov/files/2021/04/MOE-Chart_with-waiver-FAQs_FINAL_4.21.21Update.pdf">ensuring continued</a> and
<a href="https://oese.ed.gov/files/2021/06/21-0099-MOEq-FAQs.-FINAL.pdf">equitable education funding</a> from state and local governments, particularly for highest poverty schools. This equity focus is also inherent in the U.S. Department of Education’s actions to implement the ARP, as evidenced by departmental requirements for state and district ARP plans as well as the department’s guidance regarding use of ARP funds. Equity considerations are meant to help drive state and district decisions to address the disproportionate impact that the pandemic has had on students of color, low-income students, students with disabilities, English learners and students experiencing homelessness. To accomplish this, the
<a href="https://oese.ed.gov/files/2021/05/ESSER.GEER_.FAQs_5.26.21_745AM_FINALb0cd6833f6f46e03ba2d97d30aff953260028045f9ef3b18ea602db4b32b1d99.pdf">Department of Education has described several ways</a> in which the funds can be used. The ARP includes important
<a href="https://oese.ed.gov/files/2021/03/FINAL_ARP-ESSER-FACT-SHEET.pdf">priority state and local set-asides as well</a>, as described below, all of which must be focused on attending to the academic, social and emotional learning needs of students, and must attend to the unique needs of marginalized youth.  </p><p>
<strong>States</strong>. Of their $12.2 billion in ARP ESSER funding, states must spend:</p><ul><li>At least 50 percent (or roughly $6.1 billion) on evidence-based interventions to address the lost instructional time caused by the pandemic; </li><li>At least 10 percent (or roughly $1.2 billion) on evidence-based summer learning and enrichment programs; and  </li><li>At least 10 percent (or roughly $1.2 billion) on evidence-based afterschool programs. </li></ul><p>
<strong>Districts</strong>. Of their $109.7 billion in ARP ESSER funding, districts must devote at least 20 percent (or roughly $21.9 billion) to evidence-based interventions to address both the lost instructional time caused by the pandemic and the crisis’s disproportionate impact on certain students.  Similar to the previous COVID-19 relief bills, the ARP allows districts to use funds for activities directly related to the pandemic, such as purchasing equipment and supporting and protecting the health and safety of students and staff, as well as for activities to address the unique needs of marginalized students and any allowable activity under major federal education laws, such as the Every Student Succeeds Act and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. </p><p>
<img src="/News-and-Media/Blog/PublishingImages/Pages/american-rescue-plan-five-things-state-and-district-leaders-need-to-know-now/Full-Set-of-Allowable-Activities-for-ARP-ESSER-Funds-ch.jpg" alt="Full-Set-of-Allowable-Activities-for-ARP-ESSER-Funds-ch.jpg" style="margin:5px;" />
<br>
</p><p>
<strong>3. Funds are flowing to states and districts and will be available immediately, but they can also be spent through September 2024 to support recovery and redesign.</strong></p><p>In
<a href="https://oese.ed.gov/files/2021/03/ARP_Letter_Sec_to_Chiefs_Final_03.24.2021-1.pdf">late March</a>, states received nearly $81 billion (about two-thirds) of the ARP ESSER fund. Although states and districts were allowed to spend this funding immediately to support efforts to reopen schools for in-person learning or to design and operate
<a href="/knowledge-center/pages/getting-to-work-on-summer-learning-2nd-ed.aspx">summer learning programs</a>, the remaining third of funding is conditioned on states submitting a plan for how they and their districts would use their ARP ESSER funds. Once the U.S. Department of Education
<a href="https://oese.ed.gov/offices/american-rescue-plan/american-rescue-plan-elementary-and-secondary-school-emergency-relief/stateplans/">approves a state’s plan</a>, the Department will send the remaining funds to the state, and districts will receive their full shares of the funding (via Title I formula) when the state subsequently approves their district plan. The Department has approved plans from several states already and is expected to approve more over the coming weeks. Districts are currently developing their plans, and those should be submitted in the coming months, but timelines vary across states.  </p><p>While ARP funds are available immediately to support relief and reopening efforts,
<a href="https://oese.ed.gov/files/2021/05/ARP-ESSER-Plan-Office-Hours-5.6.21.pdf">states and districts can spend funds over several years to promote and support efforts to redesign</a> and improve K-12 education and supports for young people.  In particular, districts have until September 30, 2024* to “obligate”<span style="background-image:initial;background-position:initial;background-size:initial;background-repeat:initial;background-attachment:initial;background-origin:initial;background-clip:initial;">—</span>which means to decide on the funding’s use and plan for it through contracts, service-agreements, etc.<span style="background-image:initial;background-position:initial;background-size:initial;background-repeat:initial;background-attachment:initial;background-origin:initial;background-clip:initial;">—</span>their funding. States, in comparison, have a shorter timeline. Within one year of receiving funding from the U.S. Department of Education, states must obligate their funding; however, similar to the timeline for districts, states may spend those funds through September 30, 2024. This three-year period will be critical for states and districts in redesigning how they provide services and supports to students and staff, and states and districts are encouraged to think about this when developing their ARP ESSER plans.<br></p><p> *Per
<a href="https://oese.ed.gov/files/2021/05/ESSER.GEER_.FAQs_5.26.21_745AM_FINALb0cd6833f6f46e03ba2d97d30aff953260028045f9ef3b18ea602db4b32b1d99.pdf">federal spending regulations</a>, states and districts have 120 days after a performance period to fully liquidate funds received. Accordingly, states and districts have until January 28, 2025, to liquidate their funding. Although this provides a slightly longer window to spend funding, we are using the September 30, 2024, obligation as the main deadline for states and districts to keep in mind for planning purposes.</p><p>
<img src="/News-and-Media/Blog/PublishingImages/Pages/american-rescue-plan-five-things-state-and-district-leaders-need-to-know-now/Timeline-ARP-Implementation-ch.jpg" alt="Timeline-ARP-Implementation-ch.jpg" style="color:#555555;font-size:14px;margin:5px;" />
 </p><p> <strong>4. The U.S. Department of Education requires states, and districts, to develop plans for how they will use ARP ESSER funding and to revisit plans for periodic review and continuous improvement.</strong></p>
As a condition of receiving their full ARP ESSER funds,
<a href="https://oese.ed.gov/files/2021/04/ARP-ESSER-State-Plan-Template-04-20-2021_130PM.pdf">every state and district must produce a plan</a> that describes how they will use their share of the ARP ESSER funding, and districts must also produce school reopening plans. Although they are required to submit plans to the U.S. Department of Education only once, states and districts must periodically review and, if necessary, improve those plans. The requirement for states and districts to develop and submit plans is new; it was not a feature of the previous two pandemic relief bills. The requirement also has several noteworthy aspects.  <p></p><p>For one thing, to complete the plans states and districts must evaluate and report out the needs of their students and staff, including their most marginalized student groups. For another, states must identify their top priority areas in recovering from the pandemic. In addition, states and districts must consult with key stakeholders such as students, families, educators, community advocates and school leaders.</p><p>Below is a list of the seven major areas that the U.S. Department of Education requires each state plan to address,
<a href="https://educationcounsel.com/?publication=educationcounsels-summary-of-used-state-plan-template-for-arp-elementary-and-secondary-school-emergency-relief-esser-fund">each of which has several requirements</a>:  </p><ol><li>The state’s current reopening status, any identified promising practices for supporting students, overall priorities for reopening and recovery and the needs of historically marginalized students<br></li><li>How the state will support districts in reopening schools for full-time in-person instruction, and how the state will support districts in sustaining the safe operation of schools for full-time in-person instruction<br></li><li>How the state will engage with stakeholders in developing its ARP ESSER plans and how the state will combine ARP funding with funding from other federal sources to maximize the impact of the spending<br></li><li>How the state will use its set-aside funding to address lost instructional time, support summer learning and enrichment programs and support afterschool programs<br></li><li>What the state will require districts to include in their ARP ESSER plans, how the state will ensure that districts engage with stakeholders during the planning process, and how states will monitor and support districts in implementation of their ARP ESSER plans<br></li><li>How the state will support its educator workforce and identify areas that are currently experiencing shortages<br></li><li>How the state will build and support its capacity for data collection and reporting so that it can continuously improve the ARP ESSER plans of both the state and its districts  </li></ol><p>Although they may provide valuable insight into how states and districts will approach using their ARP ESSER funds, the plans may not give the full picture of how the funds will be used—especially for some states and districts. That’s because the plans may not be the only governing documents for states and districts, and the plans can change. In fact, as noted above, the
Department encourages—indeed requires in some aspects—states and districts to periodically review and adapt the plans. Plans may also be limited because of current circumstances; that is, it may be difficult for districts and states to be plotting moves several years ahead of time while facing pressing and immediate summer programming and fall-reopening needs.    </p><p>
<strong>5. What possibilities and factors might state/district leaders consider when planning for using ARP ESSER funds? </strong></p><p>Education leaders and practitioners across the country have faced the pandemic with resilience and compassion for their students and families. They have overcome challenges unheard of only 18 months ago, and they will continue to face an uphill battle as our nation recovers from this pandemic. The funding from the ARP can help in this effort—to address immediate needs and transform our education systems based on evidence and stakeholder input, including what we know from the science of learning and development.  <br>
<br>Based on our long history at EducationCounsel of supporting state and district leaders in developing equity-centered approaches and policies, we provide, below, several considerations for sound planning and use of ARP funding. We hope these considerations will offer leaders insights into how they can think longer-term, best support their most marginalized students and those most severely affected by the pandemic, and develop strong systems of continuous improvement.  </p><ul><li>
<em>Don’t just fill holes, plant seeds. </em>The ARP gives leaders the opportunity to provide what their students and families need most immediately, but there is also great need and opportunity to create improved systems over the longer-term. Because funds can be obligated and spent through September 30, 2024, leaders have time to think about the potential of their systems in the next three to five years. While deciding on evidence-based programs that will support current reopening needs, leaders can simultaneously look ahead to how public school education and necessary comprehensive supports for young people can be redesigned and improved. Successful improvements may require additional state or local funding, if efforts are to be sustained long term. Accordingly, leaders may want to consider various strategies to blend ARP funding with other funding sources (including future funding sources) to avoid any funding cliff that may occur when ARP funding ends in 2024. Forming strategic partnerships, building and leaning on the full system of supports for students, and creating community investment will help plant and cultivate those seeds for future progress.<br><br></li></ul><ul><li>
<em>Focus funding on programs and initiatives that will have the most direct impact on marginalized students. </em>The ARP is centered on equity and is designed particularly to attend to the needs of students who have been most severely affected by the pandemic. The
<a href="https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/20210608-impacts-of-covid19.pdf">U.S. Department of Education has documented the level of trauma</a> such students faced over the course of the pandemic and how this trauma compounds the previous challenges and inequities our students were forced to confront. We encourage leaders to consider how to implement programs that will provide targeted relief and support to marginalized students and those programs that will have the greatest impact on those with the greatest need. This necessitates deep examination of the unique needs of low-income students, students of color, students with disabilities, English learners, LGBTQ+ students and students experiencing homelessness, and how those unique needs may require unique solutions. <br><br></li></ul><ul><li>
<em>Support the academic, social, emotional and mental health needs of students and staff<span style="background-image:initial;background-position:initial;background-size:initial;background-repeat:initial;background-attachment:initial;background-origin:initial;background-clip:initial;">—</span>in schools and across the various systems of student supports.</em> The level of trauma students
<em>and</em> staff have faced these last 18 months is unprecedented. Given this, leaders can use ARP funds to create cultures and structures that address the whole spectrum of student needs.
<a href="https://eb0b6ac7-8d5b-43ca-82bf-5fa89e49b5cb.usrfiles.com/ugd/eb0b6a_042c6c82a88144249223ca80bc9c2919.pdf">This could include designing school and other learning environments</a>, based on evidence, to best serve whole-child recovery and equity by fostering positive relationships, improving the sense of safety and belonging, creating rich and rigorous learning experiences, and integrating supports throughout the entire school. Implementing such efforts and building these cultures was
<a href="/knowledge-center/pages/early-lessons-from-schools-and-out-of-school-time-programs-implementing-social-and-emotional-learning.aspx">beneficial to students before the pandemic</a> and will be even more important now. School and district leaders might do well to remember the needs of their staff members during this moment, including
<a href="/knowledge-center/pages/evidence-based-considerations-for-covid-19-reopening-recovery-planning-the-importance-of-sel.aspx">how developing staff social and emotional learning skills is essential</a> to supporting students’ needs. (We’ve linked to design principles created by the Science of Learning and Development (SoLD) Alliance, on which Scott Palmer serves as a member of the leadership team and EducationCounsel is a governing partner in the initiative.)<br><br>Among the questions they might ask are: What needs to be different about welcoming procedures? Do schools need additional support staff? Are teachers and school leaders equipped with the tools and resources they need to fully respond to the circumstances schools now face? How can out-of-school-time providers become full partners with schools, so that students find themselves fully supported in<a href="/knowledge-center/pages/stability-and-change-in-afterschool-systems-2013-2020-a-follow-up-study-of-afterschool-coordination-in-large-cities.aspx"> an ecosystem of school and out-of-school</a>-time supports?   <br><br></li><li>
<em>Develop current (and future) school leaders to meet the moment.</em> School leaders are
<a href="/knowledge-center/pages/how-principals-affect-students-and-schools-a-systematic-synthesis-of-two-decades-of-research.aspx">central to successful efforts to improve schools and outcomes for students</a>, but no current school leader has experienced a pandemic and interruption in learning at this scale, and principals more than ever need support from their state and district leadership. State and district leaders can use ARP funds to develop and provide guidance on reopening and recovery; provide professional development to support school leaders in meeting the academic, social and emotional health needs of their students; and involve school leaders in critical decision making. State and district leaders can also consider how to balance providing direction to school leaders with ensuring school leaders have the autonomy and flexibility to attend to their communities’ singular needs. Similar to the suggested approach above to consider the needs of the future, state and district leaders can use ARP funding to develop the next generation of school leaders and to support
<a href="/knowledge-center/school-leadership/pages/principal-pipelines.aspx">principal pipelines</a> that can both develop talent and diversify the profession. They may also want to evaluate what changes are necessary to existing structures and systems so that future leaders can be prepared to address the long-term impacts of the pandemic.   <br><br></li></ul><ul><li>
<em>Regularly revisit plans to analyze impact, identify new needs and continuously improve over time.</em> Recovering from the pandemic and redesigning systems and programs will require ongoing leadership. State and district ARP ESSER plans and strategies should not be viewed as stagnant; instead, they can evolve to meet the needs of students and staff as we progress from reopening to recovery to reinvigorating. By periodically reviewing (and improving) their plans, leaders can help ensure that ARP funds are being used effectively to meet immediate needs, while also evaluating how improvements are aligning to the future. In other words, they can think about the seeds that are planted. To support periodic review efforts, state and district leaders can review data and evidence, consider lessons from implementation and develop feedback mechanisms so that stakeholders are continually engaged and are able to share how funds are (or are not) having the most impact on students’ experiences. It may be helpful for state and district leaders to reevaluate their plans each semester or every six months, at least to make sure that previously identified priorities and interventions are still pertinent to their communities and long-term goals.  </li></ul>
<br> | Sean Worley, Scott Palmer | 107 | | 2021-08-04T04:00:00Z | Your source for research and ideas to expand high quality learning and enrichment opportunities. Supporting: School Leadership, After School, Summer and Extended Learning Time, Arts Education and Building Audiences for the Arts. | | 7/25/2023 4:47:53 PM | The Wallace Foundation / News and Media / Wallace Blog / American Rescue Plan: Five Things State and District Leaders Need to Know Now The latest round of federal COVID aid can be | 3513 | https://www.wallacefoundation.org/News-and-Media/Blog/Pages/Forms/AllItems.aspx | html | False | aspx | |
| How Can Teachers Support Students’ Social and Emotional Learning? | 42457 | GP0|#890cbc1f-f78a-45e7-9bf2-a5986c564667;L0|#0890cbc1f-f78a-45e7-9bf2-a5986c564667|Social and Emotional Learning;GTSet|#a1e8653d-64cb-48e0-8015-b5826f8c5b61 | <p>As schools begin to reopen across the country, concern about student well-being is at the forefront of many conversations. Teachers’ voices in this conversation are critical. To gather perspectives from teachers on social and emotional learning (SEL), RAND Corporation conducted a survey in Spring 2019, collecting responses from more than 1,200 K-12 teachers via the American Teacher Panel. The findings are shared in a report released in November, <a href="/knowledge-center/pages/supports-social-and-emotional-learning-american-schools-classrooms.aspx"><em>Supports for Social and Emotional Learning in American Schools and Classrooms: Findings from the American Teacher Panel</em></a><em>.</em>  </p><p>The study found that teachers felt confident in their ability to improve students’ social and emotional skills, but want more supports, tools and professional development in this area. Notably, RAND found a relationship between teachers’ sense of their own well-being and their use of SEL practices. The Wallace Blog sat down with the researchers, Laura Hamilton and Christopher Doss, to chat about these findings and more, putting them in the context of COVID-19 and school re-openings and shedding light on implications for school leaders and policymakers. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. </p><p><strong>According to the report, many teachers felt confident they could improve students’ social and emotional competencies but that factors beyond their control had a greater influence on SEL than they did. What are those factors and is there research on their influence on student’s social and emotional well-being? </strong></p><p><strong>Hamilton: </strong>Thanks for that great question. I want to start by acknowledging that surveys are excellent for capturing broad trends and for collecting systematic data across different contexts, but getting the nuances often requires more in-depth, qualitative data collection. I think our findings raise a number of important questions like the one you just asked that could benefit from conversations with teachers and other educators to get the kinds of rich information that will really inform our understanding of these findings. That said, we know from research that SEL is influenced by a wide variety of conditions and experiences, both in and outside of school. Families, neighborhoods and community-based organizations all provide opportunities for children to develop relationships and to build competencies such as resilience and self-management. One specific example of a non-school influence that we've heard about from educators a lot recently is the news media. Students are exposed to news about protests against systemic racism or the negative effects of the pandemic, for example, which can influence their sense of well-being and identity. All of these non-school factors are inequitably distributed, with some students much more likely to experience high levels of toxic stress or limited access to supportive communities than others. The effects [of non-school factors] on SEL are well researched and have led to numerous efforts to promote SEL through partnerships between schools and other organizations. I think a nice example of that type of partnership is another Wallace project, the <a href="/knowledge-center/pages/early-lessons-from-schools-and-out-of-school-time-programs-implementing-social-and-emotional-learning.aspx">Partnerships for Social and Emotional Learning Initiative</a>, which brings together schools and afterschool programs to support SEL at the same time. <strong></strong></p><p><strong>The report found that higher levels of teacher well-being were associated with greater use of SEL practices. Can you speculate as to why that might be and what the implications may be for school leaders and policymakers?</strong></p><p><strong>Doss: </strong>Like all of us, teachers who feel stressed and burned out may not be able to engage with others, including their students, as effectively as they can when their mental health is better. There is research that points to negative effects of teacher stress on student outcomes. And this relationship can be explained in part by teachers not engaging in practices that promote positive relationships with other aspects of SEL. In our study, we can't determine whether there is a causal relationship between teachers' well-being and their SEL practices. It is possible, but this relationship might also reflect other factors, such as positive school climate and high-quality principal leadership, which might both support SEL practices and teachers' sense of well-being. And so, the primary implication for education leaders and policymakers is that supporting educators at all levels in ways that promote their well-being and their ability to form supportive relationships with colleagues is likely good for everyone, including their students.<strong></strong></p><p><strong>Can you talk a little about the disparities in SEL practices reported by teachers in lower-poverty schools versus higher-poverty schools and why these differences may exist, as well as how they may be addressed?</strong></p><p><strong>Doss: </strong>There are typically large differences in school funding and availability of higher-quality instructional resources between schools serving lower- and higher-income students. This could stem from differences in access to professional development and other SEL supports. It could also reflect greater pressure in high-poverty schools to emphasize academic achievement as measured by accountability tests, since these schools are more likely than affluent schools to be classified as lower-performing. To the extent that income is correlated with race and ethnicity, it is possible that students in higher-poverty schools don't have access to SEL instruction, materials or practices that they view as culturally appropriate for their students. We've heard a lot of concerns about the cultural appropriateness of materials from teachers across the U.S. Whatever the reason, it's clear that we need to pay attention to greater equity or resource allocation and development of materials and instructional strategies that meet the needs of a diverse student population.<strong></strong></p><p><strong>Many teachers surveyed found the pressure to focus on student achievement made it difficult to focus on SEL. Do you think that pressure has shifted during the pandemic and distance learning, and if so, do you think this shift will have a permanent effect on making SEL a priority? </strong></p><p><strong>Hamilton: </strong>There's been other survey data that have been gathered from teachers, principals and school and district leaders during the pandemic, and they've indicated that educators view addressing SEL and other aspects of students' social and emotional well-being as a priority—sometimes a higher priority even than academics. It's not hard to understand why. Kids lost access to in-person relationships with trusted adults and with their peers. They weren't able to participate in some of the activities that they found really motivating and engaging. And many of them were living in homes that were characterized by high levels of stress stemming from job losses and overworked, homeschooling parents. There's been some national survey data on family concerns about COVID, and that has also raised the importance of the concerns about students' well-being beyond just academics. I think that there will be intense pressure to address learning loss, and so what teachers are going to need is a set of strategies, including professional development curriculum and instructional strategies, that they can use to promote SEL and to integrate it into their academic instruction.<strong></strong></p><p><strong>What role should SEL play as children—and teachers—return to the classroom? And should SEL be a priority component of reopening plans?</strong></p><p><strong>Hamilton: </strong>Educators and families are telling us SEL should be a priority and it's important to listen to them. Clearly this is something we need to be paying attention to as schools start to look like something resembling normal. Reinforcing the message that SEL does not have to come at the expense of academic learning and that, in fact, they reinforce one another will be really important.</p><p>An interesting finding was that relatively few teachers were using digital resources to promote SEL pre-COVID. We also know that during the pandemic teachers prioritized finding ways to address SEL while they were teaching remotely. So it seems likely that there was a lot of learning that took place during this time very quickly, and that educators will be able to draw on their own efforts and those of their colleagues to promote SEL both in person and remotely. </p><p>One other thing I'll mention here is that it's important not to confuse SEL with mental health and to ensure that schools have the trained staff and other supports to address both. These things sometimes get mixed up together in the conversation, but SEL involves a set of competencies that all students and adults need to succeed and thrive. So, every student in our schools should have access to supports for SEL. But some students are going to suffer from anxiety, depression or other mental health challenges, and they'll need supports from professionals who are trained to address those issues. We shouldn't expect classroom teachers to do all of that.</p><p><strong>Did any of the findings surprise you in this report?</strong></p><p><strong>Doss: </strong>We looked at states that have [SEL] standards instituted and required versus those that did not, and then we also asked teachers, “Do you have standards that you're required to address?” We found that there was no correlation between what teachers did in the classroom and whether their states actually had standards, but there <em>was</em> a correlation between whether they thought they had to have standards and their practices. What this means is that the adoption of SEL standards in many states and districts can be a helpful lever for increasing SEL in school, but it's not likely to be effective if educators aren't aware of it. We have to not only think about instituting these standards, but then also making sure that educators are aware of them.<strong></strong></p><p><strong>Hamilton: </strong>Another finding that surprised me was that we saw almost all teachers indicating fairly high levels of well-being on the three different measures that we administered. This conflicts a little bit with some of the other data that we've gotten from other sources about how stressful the teaching profession is and how many teachers were planning to leave even prior to COVID because of the stressful conditions that they were facing. I think what we're seeing is high levels of reported burnout.<strong></strong></p><p>At the same time teachers were saying they generally felt good while on the job, and that while they felt committed and felt valued by their colleagues, there was also this sense of impending burnout and stress that was affecting them. Of course, this was all prior to COVID, and we know that the job got significantly more stressful post-COVID. This reinforces the idea that we need to be paying attention, not just to students’ SEL, but to the well-being of the adults who are providing the instruction in the schools. I hope that [focus on adults] will be something that continues after COVID, and that once we go back to school, there will be more widespread efforts to make sure that teachers are feeling good about the work that they're doing.</p> | Andrea Ruggirello | 114 | | 2021-04-22T04:00:00Z | Your source for research and ideas to expand high quality learning and enrichment opportunities. Supporting: School Leadership, After School, Summer and Extended Learning Time, Arts Education and Building Audiences for the Arts. | | 4/22/2021 2:10:24 PM | The Wallace Foundation / News and Media / Wallace Blog / How Can Teachers Support Students’ Social and Emotional Learning Teachers know SEL is important, but they need support to | 5330 | https://www.wallacefoundation.org/News-and-Media/Blog/Pages/Forms/AllItems.aspx | html | False | aspx | |