Staying Relevant During Tough Times: OST Programs and School Day Alignment

One doesn't need to be a "politics freak" to know that, during these tough economic times, cutting public investment and spending seems to be the only "solution" being offered by politicians and talking heads alike. Although OST programs, including afterschool and summer programs, offer a tremendous ROI to the taxpayers, they are almost universally faced with a severe shortage of funding from both public and private sources. This decrease in available funding has been, over the last few years, paired with increased expectations for providers, particularly in the area of academic outcomes.

OST programs, accustomed to doing more with less, must continue to focus on embracing evidence-based strategies for improving academic outcomes for participants in order to stay relevant (and stay funded). That is why more and more programs are actively working towards increased alignment between school day content and afterschool curricula. From Seattle, WA to districts all over Massachusetts, OST programs are being rightly viewed as a cost-effective, student centered approach to improving academic outcomes through alignment.

A 2006 report by the Harvard Family Research Project highlighted four steps programs need to take in order to facilitate alignment with school content and state standards:

• Strategic Staffing: School day staff, from paraprofessionals to school aides, staffed this OST program.
• Focus on Communication: From homework completion logs to inclusion of OST staff in school day planning sessions, the most successful programs have been intentional about their communication protocols and systems.
• Aligning Content: Time and resources were dedicated to developing an afterschool curriculum that not only addressed the broad state standards, but aligned with the school's curriculum maps.
• Professional Development: The school and the OST provider intentionally created opportunities for shared professional develop, in addition to the traditional PD provided by the OST provider.