The Out-of-School Time Policy Commentary

This year, with funding from the William T. Grant Foundation, we are focusing the Forum’s policy commentary series (originally funded by the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation) on issues related to recent and emerging research related to out-of-school time, with an emphasis on exploring the many factors that contribute to setting quality and affect youth developmental outcomes.

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Out-of-School Time Policy Commentary: "Speaking in One Voice"

This commentary highlights the work of the Collaborative for Building After-School Systems, a collaborative of mature, city and county-wide nonprofit OST intermediaries, to develop and adopt common youth-, program- and system-level measures that are easy and cost-effective for local systems to implement.

11/03/2008
Out-of-School Time Policy Commentary #12: Unpacking Youth Work Practice

The Forum's OST Policy Commentary series is back! In this issue we discuss the implications of recent research led by Bart Hirsch, Reed Larson and Charles Smith. Each study helps deepen our understanding of youth work practice and can inform policy strategies aimed at developing a strong, stable, committed and prepared OST workforce.

06/26/2008
Out-of-School Time Policy Commentary #11: People, Places and Possibilities: Integrating Mentoring and After-School

This commentary explores the relationship between mentoring and after-school, two fields that have garnered significant policy attention and momentum over the past several years. The question is not which makes more sense — mentoring or after-school — but how can we utilize both strategies to increase the likelihood that young people have the supports they need to thrive.

02/28/2006
Out-of-School Time Policy Commentary #10: Rethinking the High School Experience: What's After-School Got to Do With it?

With high school reform now a front-burner issue, districts and communities cannot afford to have high school after-school on the back burner.

08/26/2005
Out-of-School Time Policy Commentary #9: When School Is Out, Museums, Parks and Libraries Are In

Parks, libraries, museums and other cultural organizations represent a diverse array of assets and share a broad mission to serve their communities, however, some may not realize the roles that these institutions can and do play in supporting young people during out-of-school time hours.

01/01/2005
Out-of-School Time Policy Commentary #8: Out-of-School Time and Civic Engagement

The non-school hours, often framed as periods of risk, idleness or remediation, in fact constitute a powerful opportunity for civic renewal, engagement and change. This commentary describes how out-of-school time programs make ideal contexts for nurturing civic engagement, exploring the issue from the practice, research and policy perspectives.

10/01/2004
Out-of-School Time Policy Commentary #7: School's Out: A Look at Summer Learning and Engagement

The word summer brings to mind images of a relaxed, unstructured season – a time markedly different from other seasons of the year. In the United States we have a particularly entrenched notion that summer is different – a notion reflected in popular assumptions about summer as a “break” and reinforced by carefree depictions of summer that abound in popular culture.

07/01/2004
Out-of-School Time Policy Commentary #6: Participation during Out-of-School Time: Taking a Closer Look

This commentary examines the issue of youth participation in out-of-school time programs from two perspectives. It begins broadly and with a youth-centered lens, by asking how children and youth spend their discretionary time and how time use patterns relate to outcomes.

05/01/2004
Out-of-School Time Policy Commentary #5: Inside the Black Box: Exploring the "Content" of After-School

How do effective programs deliver academic content? Can after-school programs help students master a broader base of content? What strategies can help programs and systems deliver content effectively? What is realistic to expect of programs? Program content is closely linked with our understandings about the purpose of after-school programming.

11/01/2003
Out-of-School Time Policy Commentary #4: After-School for All? Exploring Access and Equity in After-School Programs

While significant progress has occurred over the past several years in terms of expanding both the quantity and quality of after-school opportunities, the ambitious idea of “after-school for all” remains a distant goal.

07/01/2003