Major report on setting up city-wide out-of-school-time programs

Investments in Building Citywide Out-of-School-Time Systems: A Six-City Study

from Public Private Ventures and the Finance Project
by Cheryl Hayes, Christianne Lind, Jean Baldwin Grossman, Nichole Stewart, Sharon Deich, Andrew Gersick, Jennifer McMaken and Margo Campbell
September 2009

This report is a must-read for any one trying to establish a city-wide out-of-school-time (OST) system. It examines in-depth the efforts of six cities -- Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Denver, New York and Seattle -- to set up OST systems, and covers everything from leadership strategies, cost, structure, alligning to district curricula, data management, sustainability and outreach strategies, and the role of training and technical assistance. And all aspects of implementation are costed out, and detailed information is provided on how the efforts are financed, so policy makers can really look objectively at what it takes to create and sustain the systems! There is a lot of information here, and the report has two companion pieces that we have already posted about (http://mentoringforums.nwrel.org/node/90): The Cost of Quality Out-of-School-Time Programs; and my favorite, the online cost calculator that enables users to generate tailored cost estimates for all sorts of out of school time programs. Whether you run a school-based mentoring program, an afterschool program or any sort of community youth program, there is a lot of information in this report about what it takes to offer these opportunities to scale.