Afterschool and summer learning: Opportunities to advance local - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Afterschool and summer learning: Opportunities to advance local priorities in Oklahoma Gigi Antoni Director of Learning and Enrichment, The Wallace Foundation Testimony before the Oklahoma State Legislature Common Education Committee Oct. 3, 2018

Today’s discussion  About The Wallace Foundation – our approach and experience  Why think beyond the traditional school day  Afterschool and summer learning: What we know about benefits and how to achieve them  Considerations for state policy and practice 2

About The Wallace Foundation  The mission of The Wallace Foundation is to foster  improvements in learning and enrichment for disadvantaged children and  the vitality of the arts for everyone.  We work with grantee partners to develop -- then broadly share -- evidence-based, practical insights in our focus areas 3

Wallace’s policy engagement principles  Full compliance with the law, in letter and spirit  We say more only as we know more based on our evidence and experience base  Support flexible approaches that allow for adaptation to local context 4

Wallace’s work in expanded learning  Since 2003 , we have invested more than $100 million nationally in supporting local progress and developing credible evidence and lessons about:  How cities can support high-quality afterschool  Full-day summer learning programs  School-run, read-at-home summer programs  Afterschool arts programs  With independent researchers like RAND, we have published more than 60 reports distilling key lessons 5

Our funding in Oklahoma today – $6 million since 2014  Partnerships for Social and Emotional Learning Initiative – aligning opportunities for social and emotional learning in school and afterschool  Tulsa, Boston, Dallas, Denver, Palm Beach County, Tacoma  Partners here are Tulsa Public Schools and community-based organizations led by the Opportunity Project  Tulsa in Wallace’s Principal Supervisor Initiative – one of two districts that are more advanced  We are learning from Oklahoma’s innovations 6

Today’s discussion  About The Wallace Foundation – our approach and experience  Why think beyond the traditional school day  Afterschool and summer learning: What we know about benefits and how to achieve them  Considerations for state policy and practice 7

Afterschool: A time for development beyond experiences in school  Need to bolster achievement, particularly for low-achieving children  Need opportunities to develop their own interests and skills, self-management, and enriching interactions with peers and adults  Need for safety and reducing risky behavior 8

Summer: A time of risk for many kids  Disadvantaged children lose ground academically during summer  Fewer structured opportunities for enrichment  Less access to healthy foods  Higher rates of obesity  Risk of unsafe behaviors 9

Children from low-income families have half the access to enrichment activities Participation of children ages 6 - 11 in enrichment activities Sports Clubs Lessons 0 10 20 30 40 50 Annual family income $72,000 and over Annual family income $18,000 and less 10 Source: U.S. Census Bureau

Growing gap in spending on enrichment (Family spending on enrichment for children in 2008 dollars) 10,000 8,872 6,975 7,500 Gap = Gap = $7,557 5,650 $2,701 5,000 3,536 2,500 1,315 1,264 1,173 835 0 1972 to 1973 1983 to 1984 1994 to 1995 2005 to 2006 Top Quintile Income Bottom Quintile Income Source: Whither Opportunity? Rising Inequality, Schools, and Children’s Life Chances , 2011, Russell Sage Foundation, Greg Duncan and Richard Murnane, ed., p. 11 11

Afterschool and summer are opportunities to meet these needs  Time available in children’s schedules to provide learning opportunities  Programs can be adapted to use community resources  Multiple local institutions across sectors – schools, city agencies, nonprofits – can work together 12

In Oklahoma, parent support is high for afterschool and summer programs  Afterschool  77% support public funding  73% say afterschool helps give parents peace of mind about their kids  75% say it helps parents keep jobs  Top factors in parents’ selection: quality; hours; child’s enjoyment; safety; qualified staff  Summer learning  84% support public funding  20% say their child in a program  58% would enroll their child Source: America After 3PM , Afterschool Alliance, 2014 ; America After 3PM Special Report on Summer, Afterschool Alliance, 2010, available at afterschoolalliance.org and www.wallacefoundation.org 13

Summing up  Children from low-income families have an achievement gap relative to their peers  They also have fewer opportunities for enriching experiences – creating an ‘opportunity gap’  Children benefit from opportunities to address these – and gain the safety of supervised hours.  Parents see value both for their children and for themselves 14

Today’s discussion  About The Wallace Foundation – our approach and experience  Why think beyond the traditional school day  Afterschool and summer learning: What we know about benefits and how to achieve them  Considerations for state policy and practice 15

Afterschool and summer learning – benefits depend on program design  “Across studies, we find evidence that OST programs typically produce the primary outcomes expected by the content of programming delivered to youth.”  Communities have choices to make The Value of Out-of-School Time, RAND, 2017, www.wallacefoundation.org and www.rand.org 16

Communities have choices in programs Program focus Examples of Typical staffing Potential Additional activities primary outcomes outcome • • • • Specialty Drama Staff with New skills Attitudes • • Coding specialized New toward • Science skills experiences school • • SEL Behavior in school The Value of Out-of-School Time, RAND, 2017 17

Communities have choices in programs Program focus Examples of Typical staffing Potential Additional activities primary outcomes outcome • • • • Specialty Drama Staff with New skills Attitudes • • Coding specialized New toward • Science skills experiences school • • SEL Behavior in school • • • • Multipurpose Homework Youth Safety Attitudes • help workers Family toward • Recreation employment school • • • Enrichment New Behavior in experiences school The Value of Out-of-School Time, RAND, 2017 18

Communities have choices in programs Program focus Examples of Typical staffing Potential Additional activities primary outcomes outcome • • • • Specialty Drama Staff with New skills Attitudes • • Coding specialized New toward • Science skills experiences school • • SEL Behavior in school • • • • Multipurpose Homework Youth Safety Attitudes • help workers Family toward • Recreation employment school • • • Enrichment New Behavior in experiences school • • • • Academic English, Teachers Academic Attitudes math (academics) achievement toward • • • Enrichment Youth New school • workers experiences Behavior in (recreation) school The Value of Out-of-School Time, RAND, 2017 19

Basic building blocks for benefits in both summer learning and afterschool Strong participation by • Consistent attendance children and youth • Qualified staff • Age-appropriate Implemented with high quality materials and activities • Positive, safe climate • Targeted outcomes Well-designed and • Sufficient duration and aligned with community needs frequency 20

Use of ESSA funds depends on evidence – and afterschool and summer learning programs qualify  Federal funds for Title I, II, and IV can be spent on afterschool and summer programs if they meet evidence requirements  More than 60 studies in afterschool and 47 in summer do meet the standards (positive results indicating improved outcomes for students)  Programs cover pre-K and K, elementary school, middle and high school… and a variety of different approaches Source: Forthcoming studies by RAND and Research for Action commissioned by 21 The Wallace Foundation.

Afterschool systems can help increase access and quality  “This initiative provided a proof of principle — that organizations across cities could work together toward increasing access, quality, data- based decisionmaking, and sustainability. ” -- Hours of Opportunity: Lessons from Six Cities on Building Systems to Improve After-School, Summer School, and Other Out-of-School-Time Programs Note: This evaluation studied Wallace-funded efforts in six cities. We have heard of regional efforts in rural areas, but have not studied them. 22

Afterschool systems: Four key elements • No one-size-fits-all approach • Coordinating organization varies by community Is Citywide Afterschool Coordination Going Nationwide?, FHI360, 2013, available at www.wallacefoundation.org. 23

Today’s discussion  About The Wallace Foundation – our approach and experience  Why think beyond the traditional school day  Afterschool and summer learning: What we know about benefits and how to achieve them  Considerations for state policy and practice 24