After School enrichment

The After School Project, a five-year, three-city demonstration of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), "aimed at connecting significant numbers of young people in low-income neighborhoods with responsible adults during out-of-school time." At the end of June, RWJF published its final report on the Project.

...the Project focused on developing: (1) an array of developmental opportunities for youth, including physical activity and sports, educational, social and recreational programs; and, (2) strong local organizations with the necessary resources, credibility, and political clout to bring focus and visiblity to the youth development field.

The Project's demonstration sites were:

• Boston After School & Beyond
• After School Matters (Chicago)
• Team-Up for Youth (San Francisco)

RWJF's report emphasizes the importance of keeping after-school programs local, to accommodate "the different priorities, needs, ideas, and opportunities that predominate in different places." While acknowledging the resources that can be provided by such federal programs as the 21st Century Community Learning Centers, RWJF feels such a one-size-fits-all philosophy is "regrettable."

Supporting and empowering intermediaries that can rally local actors around local solutions is the surest way to produce a system that genuinely serves each community's parents, schools, and youth - that holds the allegiance of the many leaders and organizations on which all these programs depend.

Making the Most of the Day, the Final Report of The After School Project (pdf, 3.1MB, 40p.)

RWJF contracted with Conwal as its evaluation consultant on this Project and is awaiting Conwal's full report. FR will do a follow-up post when that report is published.