Improving Afterschool Teaching and Learning
With the implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act, federally
supported 21st Century Community Learning Centers are working
to improve student achievement. In support of this, the National
Partnership is engaged in a 5-year study to better define high-quality
afterschool teaching and learning. Analyzing available data,
our staff identify afterschool sites demonstrating a positive
effect on student achievement. We then rigorously document
program characteristics and practices, looking specifically
at six content areas: literacy, mathematics, science, the arts,
technology, and homework help. For that staff conducted site
visits at over 54 schools nationwide.
Assistance and Training
The National Partnership coordinates an annual summer institute and eight regional conferences to share the what we have learned about promising practices, and to allow practitioners to hear from other experts in the area of afterschool programming. Our staff is also available to assist state education agencies and local practitioners in planning, developing, implementing, and evaluating high-quality programs. We have an extensive catalog of professional development options that can be customized for local practitioners.
Tools and Resources
Using data acquired from our site visits, along with other available research,
the National Partnership develops tools and resources to help afterschool
practitioners improve their ability to create and implement activities that
support student learning.
- The Afterschool
Training Toolkit describes promising practices in the arts, literacy, mathematics,
science, technology, and homework help.
- The lesson plan database contains fun and enriching
lesson plans for afterschool projects working in arts, literacy, mathematics, science, and technology.
- Four curriculum databases contain
expert reviews of materials for literacy, mathematics, science, and technology.
Download
National Partnership brochure (PDF - 318K) |
